In July we are staying in Dana Point. Any restaurant suggestions would be helpful. I would like suggestions for formal and casual dining. We like "fun" places and places with good views. Thanks!

Studio at the Montage Resort (south Laguna Beach) is The New Hot Spot in Orange County-- haute cuisine at très, très haute prices. Views, Booze, Food with Great Reviews.

The restaurants at the St. Regis and the Ritz-Carlton are both highly-regarded, so don't rule them out.

Splashes at the Surf & Sand Hotel is quite nice as well. You're practically eating on the sand, so views are good. And the food is nice as well.

Las Brisas is a Laguna Beach institution for an eatery with great views. The food? Well, go there for a couple of rounds of drinks with "safe" appetizers, then eat elsewhere.

The Los Angeles board at chowhound.com can be an interesting place to try and navigate (you have to wade through long posts of sushi lovers fetishizing the glorified bait served at okamase joints), but their Orange County recommendations are solid. For that matter, Zagat's LA/OC guide is beyond reproach in my opinion.

Watch out for Studio! It's great in many ways, but also the most expensive meal I've ever had, including in Paris, NY and at French Laundry.

It might be out of your way, but there's a little place called Le Quai on Lido Island in Newport Beach. I love it. It's tiny, on the water, outdoors under a little glass roof. The food is great, the wine list super, the mood very intimate. We moved to OC from San Francisco, and it's the first restaurant here that eased my dining pangs.

Gee, and I thought OC meant Ocean City. And I was going to ask which one....

Was is rjw that wrote no one actually calls Orange County 'OC' nor does any call Las Vegas 'The Vegas'?

Toppings for "Le Quai" We live in Huntington Beach and go there twice a month.

If you like Italian, Ferrantelli's, just across the street from the Dana Point Harbor has delicioius food! It's great for a more formal dinner.

For a fun and delicious take on Thai, try "Thai This" on PCH in Dana Point. Food's great, and so are the cocktails!

I love 230 Forest on Forest Ave. in Laguna Beach. Casual, trendy, great people watching, and delicious food!

Hi Go!! Actually, it's that no one calls Orange County "The OC" (and no one outside the hip-hop community calls my hometown "the LBC"). In writing, you often see OC used (like Bay Area residents using SF when writing about the City)-- see the local free rag the OC Weekly. Abbreviations are cool when writing....

Thanks rjw

I live in Orange County and yes, I do call it "The OC". I don't think I'm weird... I just think it's a fun way of saying it... and most people will recognize it as such, so I think it is becoming more accepted.

I wanted to suggest Ti Amo in Laguna on PCH. It's Italian food and I loved our last dinner there a few weeks ago. Way better than Claes at Hotel Laguna, which we dined at the night before.

Have fun! Maybe by July the rain will finally stop. lol.

Now Simone, you must admit no one said that before the tacky TV show, right? LA County residents might say "going behind the Orange Curtain", but more often we just said "going down to Orange County". We'd write "OC" occasionally....

I have to try that Ti Amo. I forget-- have you tried Savoury in Casa del Camino? That's still on my list too.

Salt Creek Grill or Tu Dai?

hi, rjw, sorry to butt in, but I've been to Savourys. It had a lovely atmosphere, but it was a bit hit and miss for me. Food was fine, not great...maybe others will have enjoyed it more.

Ti Amo was romantic, and the food for me was also good, not great. (Great being food like Pinot Provence or even 230 Forest, right in Laguna.)

rjw - I admit, yes, I only started calling Orange County, The "OC", after the show came out.

I think it's cool for Orange County, as far as raising awareness for our area to increase tourism.

We almost went to Savoury's... but ended up choosing Ti Amo instead. We did have a drink at Woody's - a gay bar on the corner opposite Savoury's - and that was fun. The B&B owner recommended Woody's for good food, but we were looking for something more intimate. Savoury's didn't look very crowded when we were in Laguna - but of course, it is "winter" right now..

Rain rain go away!!!

bodi - I've never heard of Tu Dai, but Salt Creek is good. I prefer the Salt Creek in San Juan Capistrano, to the one on PCH in Dana Point/Laguna, though. Just better, IMO. And, don't ever go to the Salt Creek in Palm Springs - way down on the quality scale. You can't even believe they're part of the same chain!

Frankie: Thanks for the tip.

Simone: I've actually eaten at Woody's. Although at first glance it's a gay bar with a restaurant attached, the food is a serious thing there-- and it's seriously good. The place is straight-friendly, and you do see straight couples from the neighborhood. Definitely go with an appetite and an open mind, and you'll have a great time. The last time we went, we sat in the indoor bar area at a open-seating table for eight, where everyone raved about everyone else's main course (according to one stylist, "it all looks so FABULOUS!!!"), and we all complimented the two beautiful 40ish ladies celebrating their 15th year of togetherness. There's a more intimate area with ocean views, but even that gets pretty boisterous once the martinis start flowing. I guess I'm used to it, living in Long Beach....