RETAIL AND RESTAURANTS : A Bite of the Big Orange

There are plenty of good places to eat in Orange County, according to Survey, the annual restaurant review published by New Yorkers Eugene H. Zagat Jr. and Nina S. Zagat.

Topping the list is Pascal, the Newport Beach eatery on Bristol Street, which scored 28 out of 30 possible points in the “top food” category. Pascal’s grade fell somewhere between “extraordinary” and “perfection.”

The restaurant guide also ranks restaurants on decor, service and value. The Towers on South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach and the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point tied for top decor. The Ritz at Newport Fashion Island, Pascal and the Ritz-Carlton tied for top service.

Ruby’s, Cafe Zinc, Cafe El Cholo, Burrell’s Rib Cage, McCharles House, Mother’s, Angelo & Vinci’s, Z Pizza, Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant and Stix tied in the top value category.

Gretchen Kurz, Orange County restaurant correspondent for KABC in Los Angeles, edited the Survey’s Orange County section.