The following are summaries of recent Times...

The following are summaries of recent Times restaurant reviews.

Almagreb, 23700 El Toro Road, in the Saddleback Valley Plaza, El Toro. (714) 859-9393. Open Tuesdays through Sundays 6 to 10 p.m.

Almagreb, a Moroccan restaurant in El Toro, has one of the most dramatic dining areas anywhere: clustered tent canopies among a maze of mirrors with an almost mystical dimension. Meals are taken in the traditional style, with no utensils, and are finger-licking good. Among the better offerings: b’stilla (a sugar-dusted chicken pie), couscous (cracked semolina wheat in a savory vegetable stew), and Tanya, belly dancer extraordinaire. The Arabic music accompanying her is deafening.

Thien Thanh, 5423 W. 1st St., Santa Ana. (714) 554-7260. Open weekdays 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., weekends till 3 a.m.

Thien Thanh is more than just one of the area’s best restaurants: It is a crossroad of Vietnamese and American culture: The crowd is as diverse as the menu. Cua rang muoi (cooked salted crab) and bo dam (garlic centered beef) are two dishes not to miss, but lighter appetites can indulge in more than 50 noodle dishes. While away the day listening to Asian pop music, gawking at the new wavers and sipping filter coffee and tropical freezes made from durian and jackfruit.

Caffe Piemonte, 1835 E. Chapman Ave., Orange. (714) 532-3296. Open Tuesdays through Fridays 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays 5 to 10 p.m.

Two brothers from Piemonte, one of Italy’s most scenic provinces, have opened this handsome, spotless little trattoria in the city of Orange, and already it has become a county hotspot. Start any meal here with the wonderful, sumptuous antipasto and then move on to one of chef Luigi Ravetto’s hand extruded homemade pastas (such as chewy ruotelle , little, six-spoked wheels perfect for soaking up sauce). Ravetto’s cooking is somewhat generic, but he has included polenta , the cornmeal staple of his province, and you really should try it. His polenta Piemontese, with a light, grainy cheese sauce, is most appealing.

California Pizza Kitchen, Fashion Island, 1151 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. (714) 759-5543. Open Mondays through Thursdays 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays to 11, Sundays to 9.

With the ‘80s has come the designer pizza, and it looks as if the phenom is here to stay. That’s what the California Pizza Kitchen is banking on, anyway. This slicked down operation, designed for flash and staffed with young, beautiful people, serves an eclectic, almost futuristic array of pizzas topped with everything from goat cheese to peanut sauce. Service is somewhat indifferent at present; high energy owners Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfeld should fix that problem soon. Best to stick with the pizzas that don’t fall too far from the tree; five-cheese, homemade sausage, and a delicious barbecued chicken.

1520 AD, 821 S. Beach Blvd., Anaheim. (714) 995-5464. Seatings are Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.

The food at 1520 AD may not be authentic Tudor, but who cares? When you eat with your fingers, everything tastes better. The opening course at this re-creation of a Merrie Olde England roadhouse is a hearty lentil barley soup, drunk from large draughts and eaten with hunks of brown bread. There is a choice of four entrees: slow-cooked chicken, lamb shank in a white sauce, steak kabob, and a most modern filet of halibut with a heathen Spanish sauce on top. The abundant platters of rice and vegetables, the fine, lemony pound cake, and the bottomless mugs of ice cold beer make for a dinner that King Henry himself would have enjoyed.