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.

* ALLEGRO: Allegro is a suburban Italian restaurant with a big-city sensibility: Tokyo, maybe, or even Milan. Chef Mario Petillo, formerly of Rafaello, doesn’t over-sauce his pastas and isn’t afraid of simplicity. There is a delicious rice and potato soup, a great Sicilian-style pasta made with tuna, eggplant, capers and olives and a long dessert list. The chairs could be comfier, but overall, this is quite a find. Allegro, 1160 N. Tustin Ave., Orange. (714) 639-7921. Lunch Mondays-Fridays, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; dinner Mondays-Thursdays, 5:30-9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 5-10 p.m.; Sundays, 5-9 p.m. $$$

* BACK POCKET: At Back Pocket, the casual restaurant attached to Gustaf Anders, you get most of the benefits of dining at a first-rate establishment without the formality or expense. In the tiny Scandinavian Modern dining room, you eat chef Anders Strandberg’s terrific cured herring and salmon, Swedish comfort foods such as beef Lindstrom and excellent desserts. Don’t miss the creamy Swedish princess cake, a marzipan-frosted treat. Back Pocket, South Coast Plaza Village, Bear and Sunflower streets, Santa Ana. (714) 668-1737. Lunch Tuesdays-Fridays, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; dinner Tuesdays-Sundays, 5:30-10 p.m. $$$

* BAYSIDE: Chic, grown-up Bayside is one of Newport’s most auspicious new restaurants. Designed by Michael Carapetian of Venice, Italy, it is really striking, with a towering glass wine case that houses almost 500 vintages. Chef Paul Gstrein’s menu is short and sweet. Try tuna tartare, Colorado lamb loin and practically anything from the dessert menu. Bayside, 900 Bayside Drive, Newport Beach. (949) 721-1222. Lunch daily, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; dinner Sundays-Wednesdays, 5-10 p.m.; Thursdays-Saturdays, 5-11 p.m. $$$$

* BLUE AGAVE SOUTHWESTERN GRILL: A fun, slightly kitschy theme restaurant, but the food does not suffer. Good beef, such as carne asada adovada in blackened tomatillo sauce. Some thoughtful fusion dishes (kebabs with chipotle-spiked orange marmalade), some traditional Mexican (excellent carnitas) and 92 primo tequilas at the bar. Blue Agave Southwestern Grill, 18601 Yorba Linda Blvd., Yorba Linda. (714) 970-5095. Lunch and dinner daily . $$

* BLUEBERRY HILL: This location in Long Beach is the company’s first sit-down restaurant. Besides Blueberry Hill’s superb hamburger (the Grand Thrill), the restaurant serves a big menu of family favorites, including a great spinach artichoke dip and fine desserts. Don’t miss the gravy fries and the foot o’ rings--light, crisply battered onion rings piled on a wooden ring toss. Blueberry Hill, 5735 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach. (562) 986-4455. Daily 7 a.m.-10 p.m. $$

* BLUEWATER GRILL: South Coast Plaza Village needed a good seafood restaurant, and now it has one. Chef Brian Hirsty stocks more than 15 fresh fish varieties daily and prepares them in a variety of imaginative ways. It’s best to stick with fish caught close to home and to order them blackened or served with the delicious teriyaki sauce. Accompanying the fish are good sides and a great list of wines by the glass. Go elsewhere for dessert. Bluewater Grill, South Coast Plaza Village, 1621 W. Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana. (714) 546-FISH (3474.) Lunch and dinner Mondays-Fridays, 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon-9:30 p.m. $$. There is also a Bluewater Grill in Newport Beach at 630 Lido Park Drive. (949) 675-3474.

* THE BUNGALOW: The Bungalow specializes in trendy cocktails (a million fruit-juice-based martinis) and expensive, high-quality prime beef, the pride and joy being the rib-eye. But this toniest of Orange Coast steakeries also offers fine seafood (e.g. a decadent lobster tail), novel appetizers and a meaty rack of lamb. The Bungalow, 2441 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. (949) 673-6585. Open for dinner daily. $$$

* CAFFE PIEMONTE: A family-owned place that serves excellent northern Italian food with a personal touch. Try the calamari saltati alla marinara, tagliolini alla Bolognese, pheasant ravioli and osso buco . Caffe Piemonte, 498 E. 1st St., Tustin. (714) 544-8072. Lunch Tuesdays-Fridays, dinner Tuesdays-Saturdays. $$

* CAFE TU TU TANGO: This cavernous, high-octane space is filled with art created on the premises by working artists. The eclectic, all-appetizer menu includes smoked ham and crab fritters, great rosemary lamb and Jim Beam wings and ribs. Live entertainment also surfaces (“spontaneously,” to quote management). Is this a taste of the 21st century? Cafe Tu Tu Tango, the Block at Orange. (714) 769-2222. Sundays-Fridays, 11 a.m.-midnight; Saturdays, 11 a.m.-1 a.m. $$

* CAFE ZOOLU: Cafe Zoolu is Laguna Beach all the way, from the funky quasi-Polynesian interiors to former Pascal chef William Withrow’s jazzy cooking. Try the grilled swordfish in lemon, caper and butter sauce. This place is hip without being trendy. Cafe Zoolu, 860 Glenneyre St., Laguna Beach. (949) 494-6825. Open for dinner daily. $$$

* CALIFORNIA CAFE: For a warm, energetic, contemporary-looking place with a bit of Asian influence on the menu, try California Cafe. For appetizers, try the chicken spring roll or the corn crisp calamari. For entrees, the crab-crusted halibut perfectly cooked and the “chicken under a brick” is redolent of garlic and rosemary. California Cafe, the Shops at Mission Viejo, (949) 347-9333. Lunch and dinner daily . $$

* CANYON LODGE: Canyon Lodge overlooks a rustic golf course landscaped with chaparral, and the restaurant serves a menu of comfort foods that is nearly as American in spirit. They serve a mean cream of tomato soup and sumptuous desserts. Best dishes: flatiron steak, smoked prime rib and an amazing Mandarin chicken salad. Canyon Lodge, 31106 Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. (949) 499-2271. Lunch Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner Sundays-Thursdays, 5-9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 5-10 p.m.; Sunday brunch, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. $$

* CAPRICCIO: It doesn’t hold back on big flavors like garlic and capers. The massive pasta dishes are smothered with aromatic sauces and, with some dishes, savory shrimp, mussels and clams. A fine selection of daily seafood specials. Capriccio Italiano Ristorante. 25380 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo. (949) 855-6866. Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner daily. $

* CEDAR CREEK INN: The Cedar Creek Inn in Brea may be less homey than the others, but it’s an appropriate setting for a serious, fine-dining approach to American food. There are classics like German pot roast and prime rib, mostly successful innovations like chicken breast stuffed with pecans and Brie--and, of course, devastating chocolate desserts. Cedar Creek Inn, 20 Pointe Drive, Brea. (714) 255-5600. Lunch and dinner daily. Also in Laguna Beach, San Juan Capistrano. $$

* CHIMAYO AT THE BEACH: Chimayo at the Beach has a hot concept, a killer location opposite Huntington Beach Pier and stunning design. The menu is half Southwestern (star restaurateur David Wilhelm’s forte), half seafood. Don’t miss the rare ahi rolls with avocado or the slushy mango margarita. Chimayo at the Beach, 315 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach. (714) 374-7273. Sundays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. $$$

* CHINA PALACE: China Palace has kept pace with changing tastes in its 20-year existence, while dozens, even hundreds of nearby restaurants have come and gone. This gaudy, tropical-themed place has a sushi bar and a Chinese kitchen that turns out dishes such as veal scaloppine with basil, fried soft-shell crab, Pekin duck and terrific fried calamari. China Palace, 2800 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach. (949) 631-8031. Lunch Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner Sunday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5-11 p.m. $$

* CHIN CHIN: A longtime Los Angeles staple, this Orange County outpost specializes in Chinese snacks and dumplings, as well as noodles, salads, barbecued meats and stir-fried dishes. The best items include barbecued pork, Sichuan dumplings and stir-fried eggplant. If you want real dim sum, though, you still have to go to Monterey Park. Chin Chin, 27441 Crown Valley Parkway, Mission Viejo. (949) 367-9595. Sundays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. $$

* COWBOY NEWPORT BEACH: The hot Cowboy seafood has been packing ‘em in from Day One. It has a hip, comforting American menu, plus a lively bar filled with the young and the restless of Newport Beach. The best dishes on the menu are wonderful fried jumbo shrimp, pan-roasted, cedar-plank salmon and the terrific Caesar. Cowboy Newport Beach, 850 Avocado Ave., Newport Beach. (949) 718-0187. Sundays, 4-11 p.m.; Mondays-Wednesdays, 5:30-10 p.m.; Thursdays-Saturdays, 5:30-11 p.m. $$$

* CUBAN PETE’S: The menu, not surprisingly, tends toward Cuban, but there are also wonderful dishes of Puerto Rico, a combination of many influences. The atmosphere is lively, the staff especially cheerful. Cuban Pete’s, 1050 W. Ball Road, Anaheim. (714) 490-2020. Dinner only Tuesdays-Wednesdays 5-10 p.m.; Thursdays-Saturdays, 5 p.m.-2 a.m.; Sundays, 3-10 p.m. $$$