DINING

In these capsules of recent reviews, dollar signs indicate the average price of a meal for one, without beverages.

$: less than $10

$$: up to $20

$$$: up to $30

$$$$: more than $30.

* OAK OVEN BARBECUE: The attraction at Lou’s Oak Oven Barbecue is Santa Maria-style barbecued tri-tip. But you can also get chicken, pork loin and Portuguese sausage. The food comes on metal camping plates and drinks, including wine, are served in Mason jars, but it’s 200 miles closer than Santa Maria. Lou’s Oak Oven Barbecue, 21501 Brookhurst St., Huntington Beach. (714) 965-5200. Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday . $

* ON THE BORDER and OSCAR’S: Across the parking lot from each other at the Market Place, On the Border and Oscar’s represent chains new to our area. One is a Cal-Mex joint with great fajitas, lots of deep-fried appetizers and not much soul. The other is a family-run, kid-oriented operation with forgettable pizzas, good salads and what might be the best baked chicken on the planet. On the Border, 13772 Jamboree Road, Irvine. (714) 508-1060. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. $$. Oscar’s, 13786 Jamboree Road, Irvine. (714) 505-6070. Sunday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. $$

* OPAH: Opah is the latest restaurant from architect Mark Singer and his Peruvian-born wife, Miriam, and has made an immediate impact on the South County dining scene. The cuisine is eclectic and the decor stylish, factors that draw a young, well-dressed crowd. Crab cakes and a delicious oyster po’boy are among the best dishes, but several main courses are lackluster. Opah, 26851 Aliso Creek Road, Suite C, Aliso Viejo. (949) 360-8822. Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. $$$

* OSTERIA DABBASSO: Osteria Dabbasso, in the old Kachina space, is an art-filled Laguna basement serving some of the biggest Italian dishes in the county. Come for the salads, imaginative pastas and good meat courses. Osteria Dabbasso, 222 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach. (949) 494-0495. Sunday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. $$

* OYSTERS: “Asian-influenced California cuisine”--well, you can’t blame Oysters for wanting to distance itself from all the bad fusion cuisine around. But this spot, with its Chicago speak-easy ambience, could give fusion a good name with dishes like artichoke with tarragon sambal-aioli and Near East paella. Good oysters too, of course. Oysters, 2515 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. (949) 675-7411. Open for dinner daily. $$

* THE PERUVIAN GRILL: It specializes not so much in grilled food as in Peruvian seafood dishes, such as ceviche appetizers large enough for a small meal and pescado ajo macho, a grilled fish topped with scallops, shrimp, calamari and a spicy cilantro sauce. Empanadas, not listed on the menu, are also worth a try. The Peruvian Grill, 9606 Hamilton St., Huntington Beach. (714) 593-3883. Dinner Monday-Saturday. $$

* P.F. CHANG’S CHINA BISTRO: It serves Asian-inspired dishes in a high-voltage setting--and the dishes can be high-voltage with pepper themselves. Good appetizers are seared ahi and Chang’s spare ribs. The best entree is Paul’s catfish: tender chunks of fried catfish tossed with a garlicky black bean sauce. Desserts are outstanding. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Irvine Spectrum Center, 61 Fortune Drive. (949) 453-1211; Fashion Island, 1145 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, (949) 759-9007. Lunch and dinner daily. $$

* PICAYO: Hidden away in residential north Laguna, a little bungalow houses Picayo, a French restaurant with Spanish and Moroccan influences and a taste for duck, both as appetizer and entree. Try Chilean sea bass on eggplant with olive vinaigrette, or the napoleon of scallops, prawns and salmon with black truffle sauce. Picayo, 1155 N. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. (949) 497-5051. Dinner Tuesday-Saturday. $$$

* POLISH RESTAURANT MR. SMOKE B.B.Q.: First it was a plain barbecue restaurant, but patrons liked the Polish dishes that sneaked on the menu so now it’s Polish Restaurant Mr. Smoke B.B.Q. So enjoy the potato pancakes, the sweet-sour sauerkraut, the veal cordon bleu- like cutlet Sobieski--and once in a while, have some of that barbecue too. Polish Restaurant Mr. Smoke B.B.Q., 2610 W. La Palma Ave., Anaheim. (714) 827-6251. Lunch and dinner daily. $$

* THE QUIET WOMAN: The Quiet Woman leads a sedate life, but it is one of the area’s most consistently good dining spots. Entrees, mostly cooked on a mesquite grill, include Angus beef steaks, fresh fish and a terrific rack of lamb. There are good salads, excellent homemade soups and fine desserts too. Don’t miss the homemade pumpkin pie in season and the fudgy Toll House pie all year. The Quiet Woman, 3224 Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. (949) 640-7440. Lunch Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner Sunday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m.-11 p.m. $$$

* RESTAURANT ABE: Master chef Abe (pronounced AH-bay) has been called the Matsuhisa of Orange County, and the comparison is apt: He has worked at Nobu Matsuhisa’s famed Japanese fusion restaurant in West Hollywood. Come to Abe’s Newport restaurant for the sushi if you must, but he has far more interesting creations, such as tuna rib, smoked monkfish liver, oddball oyster shooters and mind-blowing omakase dinners. Restaurant Abe, 2900 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach. (949) 675-1739. Lunch Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner Monday-Thursday, 5:30-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5:30-10:30 p.m. $$$

* THE RITZ: Hans Prager’s ornately decorated restaurant, the Ritz, remains a bastion of Continental cuisine after more than two decades at Fashion Island. A well-dressed Newport crowd still turns out for retro faves such as lobster bisque and veal Oscar. Now there is a lovely outdoor garden area open during lunch and dinner. The Ritz, 880 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. (949) 720-1800. Lunch Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner Monday-Thursday, 6-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5:30-11 p.m. $$$

* RIVERBOAT RESTAURANT: Riverboat Restaurant, formerly Reuben E. Lee and later Charley Brown’s, is trying to turn this full-sized Delta Queen into a serious eatery. The erratic kitchen churns out a series of hits and misses, with an emphasis on steaks and seafood. The atmosphere, anyway, is belle epoque, and there’s a variety of premium bourbons in the bar. Riverboat Restaurant, 151 E. Coast Highway, Newport Beach. (949) 673-3425. Lunch Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner Tuesday-Sunday 4:30-10 p.m.; Saturday brunch, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. All major cards . $$-$$$

* ROYAL KHYBER: In its new location, Royal Khyber is aiming to be O.C.’s top Indian restaurant, and it has all the tools--a gorgeous dining room, an innovative menu and the talents of chef Arun Puri in the kitchen. Some of the dishes need more oomph, but certainly not the terrific shrimp samosa, killer warm eggplant salad or wonderful lamb shank in spicy broth. Royal Khyber, Fine Indian Cuisine, 1621 W. Sunflower Ave., South Coast Plaza Village, Santa Ana. (714) 436-1010. Lunch Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; dinner Sunday-Thursday, 5:30-9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5:30-10:30 p.m.; Sunday brunch, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. $$$

* ROY’S: Roy’s benefits from the inventive Pacific Rim cooking of superstar Hawaii chef Roy Yamaguchi. But this isn’t the islands, and you won’t find many of the fresh Hawaiian fish or Japanized items that make the restaurant soar there. Don’t miss crunchy lobster pot stickers and peppered Chilean sea bass. There also is a signature chocolate souffle.. Roy’s, 453 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. (949) 640-7697. Dinner only Sunday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5-11 p.m. $$$

* SPAGHETTINI: With a name like Spaghettini Italian Grill and Jazz Club, it’s hard to know what to expect. Not improvisation, it turns out; the ingredients are of the highest quality, but they’re used in a cautious, lackluster way. Still, it has jazz, an open kitchen and dramatic low lighting, and the chocolate souffle cake is a knockout. Spaghettini Italian Grill and Jazz Club, 3005 Old Ranch Road, Seal Beach. (714) 960-6002. Lunch Monday-Friday; dinner nightly. $$

* S.W. SEAFOOD & BARBECUE RESTAURANT: Featuring a mind-numbing range of barbecue entrees (go with the pork) and seafood dishes (great shrimp and scallops). If you’re feeling particularly carnivorous, order the blossom platter, a heaping cold-cut sampler of pork, chicken, duck and jellyfish. S.W. Seafood & Barbecue Restaurant, 5406-A Walnut Ave., Irvine. (949) 262-0128. Lunch and dinner daily. $$

* TANGATA: Joachim Splichal’s museum-located restaurant is worth going to even if you aren’t interested in art. At Tangata, the famous chef is playing with Mexican themes as well as brunch ideas like a crab Benedict and light, “tall food” French toast. Tangata, Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana. (714) 550-0906. Open for lunch daily. $$

* THAI PORN: This restaurant is named for its owner, Pornpan, whose name means “blessing.” But Isarn (northeast Thai) dishes are the real blessings here. This disarmingly simple restaurant is the place to come for raw green papaya salad (som tam), Thai barbecued chicken, the chopped meat salad larb or anything made with the homemade sour pork sausage. Thai Porn, 1739 W. La Palma Ave., Anaheim. (714) 956-8105. Daily, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. $

* THANH MY: The big deal at Thanh My, one of Little Saigon’s oldest Vietnamese restaurants, is bo 7 mon, beef served in seven courses such as salad, soup, rice paper wrap and meatloaf. The hot pots, cooked at your table, are also good, though messy to eat. Thanh Myh stays open till 1:30 a.m. Thanh My, 9553 Bolsa Ave., Westminster. (714) 531-9540. Lunch and dinner daily . $