The following are summaries of recent Times...

The following are summaries of recent Times restaurant reviews by Max Jacobson. Prices are based on average cost for a party of two without wine. $--less than $15 $$--$15 to $39 $$$--$40 to $75 $$$$--More than $75

AMERICAN

* Belisle’s, 12001 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove. (714) 750-6560. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. $$

After a long day at Disneyland, treat your out-of-town guest to Belisle’s. The truck stop-style restaurant in Garden Grove trades on giant platters (once you see the serving sizes, you may want to share a dish), eye-popping pastries and true grit Americana like grits, mush, and corn bread. Good morning, y’all.

* Faraday’s Grill and Spirits, 13102 Newport Ave., Tustin . (714) 730-3442. Open Sundays through Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays to 11 p.m. $ Faraday’s is a family restaurant with cheerful service, juicy burgers and some mighty devoted fans. Why else would anyone wait half an hour for institutional food on a Tuesday evening? Everybody goes ape over onion strings -- mountains of flour-dredged onions deep fried until crispy -- and the sappy sweet barbecue that kids favor so shamelessly. Breakfast is actually quite credible here, with fluffy pancakes, homemade muffins, and squeezed-to-order OJ. Portions are predictably generous and prices are modest.

* Pinnacle Peak, 9100 Trask Ave., Garden Grove. (714) 892-7311. Open Mondays through Fridays from 5 to 9:30 p.m. ; weekends to 10 p.m. $$

* Crazy Horse Steak House, 1580 Brookhollow Drive, Santa Ana. (714) 549-1512. Open Sundays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays 5 to 11 p.m. $$

While everyone else is busy disavowing addiction to good steak, sneak off to one of these places. Leave the tie at home when you visit Pinnacle Peak; someone will sneak up on you and cut it off. Honest. The restaurant’s trail boss steak, cooked over an open flame, is a char-broiled monster, a great value at $9.95. The Crazy Horse is a bit longer on atmosphere but, apart from the high-grade beef, it’s run-of-the-mill. Many of the side dishes have been frozen, and the whole place has a packaged feel about it.

* Rutabegorz, 211 N. Pomona Ave., Fullerton. (714) 738-9339 and at 158 W. Main St., Tustin. ( 714 ) 731-9807. Both open seven days, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. $

* The Greenery Natural Kitchen, 119 E. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton. (714) 870-0981 and at 323 S. Magnolia St., Anaheim. (714 ) 761-8103. Both open Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. ; Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. $

Rutabegorz in Fullerton looks as if it belongs on a college campus; the food served there does, too. Best avoid the frozen poultry casseroles in favor of the meatless dishes like stuffed squash or veggie lasagna. Desserts like carrot cake and apple pie are reminiscent of a church bake sale. The Greenery is a modest, unadorned storefront restaurant with homey, health-conscious fare. Best dishes are the lentil burrito with guacamole and the unburger, made from ground nuts and brown rice. Both restaurants are inexpensive with few dishes over $5.

CHINESE

* Emperor’s Fortune, 3820 Plaza Drive, Santa Ana. (714) 850-9008. Open Mondays through Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturdays to 11 p.m. $$$

Emperor’s Fortune is the latest incarnation in haute Chinese, a Hong Kong-elegant dining room designed with obvious expense. Everything is well-crafted, even if the taste spectrum tends to be on the bland side, and there is considerable imagination in the presentations. Peking duck, with an amazingly crispy skin, is the big hitter, and you will want to try such dishes as shrimp go nuts, mussels in garlic sauce and any of the wonderful desserts (from Grand Finale). Expect to have your wallet lightened considerably.

* Orange Blossom, 3804 E. Chapman Ave., Orange. (714) 633-1888. Open daily from 4:30 p.m. $$

* Beijing, 2940 E. Chapman Ave., Orange. (714) 744-2491. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. $$

Orange Blossom and Beijing are two radically different Chinese restaurants within scant blocks of one another on Chapman Avenue in Orange. Orange Blossom is a dinner house that faces West in spirit, Beijing is primarily a lunch place with an Eastern bent. Orange Blossom has innovative dishes like butterfly eggplant with a cream cheese filling, and minced pigeon in lettuce cups. Beijing has terrific Mandarin chicken in a vinegary sauce, and twice cooked pork, a fiery Szechuan specialty that has been boiled, then pan fried with vegetables. Both restaurants are winners.

* 3-6-9 Shanghai, 613 N. Euclid St., Anaheim. (714) 635-8369. Open daily except Sundays from 11:30 a.m.; Mondays through Thursdays to 9:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays to 10 p.m. $

One of the best small Chinese restaurants in the heavily ethnic San Gabriel Valley, 3-6-9 Shanghai has opened this storefront sister in an Anaheim shopping mall, bringing nearly all of its popular dishes. Handmade breads and savory dumpling preparations excel here along with such exotic cold appetizers as tea-smoked chicken and braised baby bamboo. The restaurant is cheap and basic; tell them to tread lightly on the MSG. The steamed pork with rice is a revelation.

CONTINENTAL

* Gustaf Anders, South Coast Plaza Village, 3810 S. Plaza Drive, Santa Ana. (714) 668-1737. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to midnight. $$$

Now that Gustav Anders has had time to settle in, it has established itself firmly as one of the area’s most distinctive restaurants. Maitre d’ Bill Magnuson is an able, solicitous host, and service here is nearly perfect. Ulf Strandberg, a classically trained chef from Sweden who dabbles in many genres, has ironed out the inconsistencies that plagued his kitchen when the restaurant first opened. The wild rice pancake, sugar and salt-cured salmon, minced-parsley salad and wonderful house breads all merit a wide detour.

* JW’s, Anaheim Marriott Hotel, 700 W. Convention Way, Anaheim. (714) 750-0900. Open Mondays through Saturdays from 6 to 9 p.m. $$$$

JW’s is one of those staunchly old-school special occasion restaurants, but the food is somewhat innovative and of surprisingly high quality. Appetizers show a certain daring, like home-grown foie gras served on a potato galette in a Madeira sauce, or escargot ravioli with wild mushrooms. Main dishes show enthusiasm as well, and the sauces accompanying them are generally big hits. Roast boar comes drenched with a simple sauce of sage, juniper and honey and has a robust spiciness. Venison comes in a sauce based on red wine vinegar. Prices are definitely on the high end; service, attentive and manicured. It is fail-safe the way only a good hotel restaurant can be.

ENGLISH

* McCharles House, 335 S. C St., Tustin. (714) 731-4063. Open Mondays through Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for lunch; 2 to 5 p.m. for tea; Thursdays through Saturdays from 5:30 to 9 p.m. for dinner. $$

If you have never experienced a proper English tea, then now’s your chance at this converted Victorian house, built circa 1885 in Tustin’s Old Town. You’ll even get heart-shaped scones. Audrey Heredia and her daughter, Vivian, fuss over this dining and tearoom, a spinster’s fantasy of wooden tables, tasseled lamps and enough doilies to make Gladys Cooper an overcoat.

FRENCH

* Pascal, Plaza Newport, 1000 Bristol St., Newport Beach. (714) 752-0107. Open Mondays through Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Mondays through Thursdays from 6 to 9:30 p.m.; weekends to 10 p.m. Closed Sundays. No Saturday lunch. $$$

Pascal is the latest, brightest and most engaging of the small area restaurants serving unadulterated French cuisine. You don’t have to worry about being terrorized by the waiters or cream-sauced to death in this charming country cottage. The chef, Pascal Olhats, has solid experience and uses nothing artificial in his kitchen. Don’t miss a delightful Provencal fish soup appetizer or a lamb salad, redolent of sweet basil. An entree of sea bass, coated with thyme and served in a tomato coulis, is worth the trip. Desserts are light and guiltless.

* The Wine Cellar, Hyatt Newporter, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach. (714) 644-1700. Open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 6 to 10 p.m. $$$

The Wine Cellar is Orange County’s newest temple of haute cuisine. Menus are rotated every week and consist of five courses, designed by Jean Banchet of Le Francais in Wheeling, Ill., one of the most famous chefs in the world today. Menu VI--which begins with a cold pheasant pate with green chartreuse, continues with a stuffed filet of sole in a champagne sauce, and features grilled squab with green cabbage and natural juices--is one of six prie fixe menus presented by executive chef Ted Gray, and it is a knockout. You won’t find better French cuisine anywhere in the state.

INDIAN

* Far Pavilions, 1520 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach. (714) 548-7167. Open seven days from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 5 to 10:30 p.m. $$$

Elegant, beachfront Indian dining. Far Pavilions has a surfeit of specialties hard to find in other local restaurants: minced chicken balls in a spicy tomato puree, bhindi masala (curried okra) and bihari kabab, a saucy chicken dish from north central India. Some flavors run together here, but you can avoid that problem by sandwiching dishes in the fine tandoori breads from the restaurant’s clay oven. Meats from the same oven are so good they should be eaten bareheaded, kneeling.

ITALIAN

* Amici, 3220 Park Center Drive, Coast Mesa. (714) 850-9399. Open Mondays through Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. , Mondays through Thursdays from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. $$

Massimo Navaretta is alive and well at Amici, making even more of an impression than he did at Scampi, his previous success. This is a serious new restaurant that is small and intimate, all deco lines and salmon-colored sconces, and what comes out of the kitchen is equally stylish. Special antipasti like potato souffle with porcini and lightly fried zucchini blossoms are pure magic; wonderful scampi are flown in from Europe and are fabulous eaten from the shell. Great pastas, excellent imported wines.

* Baci, 18748 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach. (714) 965-1194. Open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 5:30 to 10 p.m. and Sundays 4 to 9 p.m. $$

Baci is just a storefront restaurant with modest decor, but young New Yorker Angelo Parisi gives his food a rough sophistication; nearly all his dishes are touched with originality. All of Italy finds its way onto Parisi’s small menu. Complimentary appetizers might be a superbly light chicken minestrone or some cold garlic-infused broccoli. Dishes such as fettuccine agnello , flat noodles with stewed lamb, and linguine tuttomare , with scungilli and shrimp, sustain the enthusiasm. The best dessert is panna cotta , the poor man’s creme brulee .

* Caffe Piemonte, 1835 E. Chapman Ave., Orange. (714) 532-3296. Open 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 hot spot. Start any meal here with the wonderful, sumptuous antipasto and then move to one of chef Luigi Ravetto’s hand-extruded homemade pastas. One stand-out, the routelle , is chewy 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 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays to 11 p.m.; Sundays to 9 p.m. $$

With the ‘80s came the designer pizza, and it looks as if the phenomenon 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.

* Sapori, 1080 Bayside Drive, Newport Beach. (714) 644-4220. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 5 to 10 p.m.; Fridays from 5 to 11 p.m.; Saturdays from 5 to 11 p.m. $$

Sapori is a modish, elegant neighborhood trattoria where the cooking is serious. Chefs Adriano and Franco Maniacci hail from Palermo, Sicily, but play no favorites with regard to the many regions of Italan cuisine. Bruschetta di pane Saracena , triangles of roasted wheat bread with a garlic puree, are delightful, and many pastas come blanketed in savory sauces. Suprema di rombo, turbot in a leek and watercress sauce, pays homage to nouvelle. Veal Milanese is the best you’ll find anywhere.

JAPANESE

* Horikawa, South Coast Village, 3800 S. Plaza Drive, Santa Ana. (714) 557-2531. Open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11:30 a.m to 2 p.m.; Tuesdays through Thursdays from 6 to 10 p.m.; Fridays from 6 to 10:30 p.m.; Saturdays from 5:30 to 11 p.m.; Sundays from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. $$$

At Horikawa the simplest food tends to be the best: beef tataki (an appetizer of sizzling filet mignon) is delightful, and broiled salmon is good. But tempura, the batter-fried shrimp and vegetable dishes, are leaden and overcooked, and various combination plates are insipid and expensive to boot. Your best bet is the upstairs teppan room, where knife-juggling chefs sear delicacies over a metal grill. The restaurant is expensive; better hope the company account covers this one.

* Kotobuki, 24356 Avenida de la Carlota, Laguna Hills. (714) 587-0290. Open Mondays through Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. $$

Totally awesome. That’s how Hiro Watanabe, sushi-maker extraordinaire, describes most of his creations at Kotobuki, his pint-size, big-hearted new Japanese restaurant. Hiro-san’s food has a quirky appeal--from Philadelphia roll (crab, avocado and cream cheese) to the more authentic preparations such as uni (sea urchin) and hamachi (yellowtail). Put yourself in the chef’s hands and let him do his thing. He probably will anyway.

KOREAN

* Sun Hai, 8942 Garden Grove Blvd., Garden Grove. (714) 534-9670. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. $

This tiny hole-in-the-mini-mall, in a quiet Korean neighborhood in Garden Grove, serves some of the best Chinese dumplings you will ever taste, at laughably low prices. Best are pan-fried dumplings, eight to an order, perfectly browned, crunchy and toothsome, eaten with rice vinegar and Korean chili paste. Also wonderful is the restaurant’s spicy fried chicken, a sumptously blended dish of red and green chilis, green onions and little bits of batter-fried chicken that have been rolled in pepper salt. Nobody here speaks very good English, but the smiles generated by the food are more than you will need to communicate.

MEXICAN

* Salud, 17041 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach. (714) 842-1194. Open Mondays through Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Saturdays from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Sundays from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. $$

Salud, a new high-concept Mexican restaurant from Larry Cano, has an outlandish design that looks like a set Roger Corman might have used for a movie on Aztec discomania. All the trendy Mexican buttons are pushed: hand-shaken margaritas, ‘80s chilis, blue corn. Avoid the usual Meximush and head for the soups, grilled meats and desserts. Pozole verde is hominy and shredded chicken in broth, and it’s great. So is Ibarra chocolate bread pudding, little cubes of fudge-soaked bread in a tequila orange cream sauce. Prices are reasonable.

MOROCCAN

* Almagreb, Saddleback Plaza, 23700 El Toro Road, El Toro. (714) 859-9393. Open for dinner only, Tuesdays through Sundays from 6 to 10p.m. $$

Almagreb is one of the most dramatic Moroccan dining areas anywhere. Meals are taken in the traditional style, with no utensils, and are finger-licking good. Among the better offerings are b’stilla (a sugar-dusted chicken pie), and couscous (cracked semolina wheat in a savory vegetable stew). Entertainment is provided by belly dancer extraordinaire, Tanya.

SEAFOOD

* Parker’s Seafood Grill, 309 Palm St., Newport Beach. (714) 673-3741. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. $$

Parker’s Seafood Grill had its maiden voyage recently and already is afloat on a steady course. It is a tried-and-true formula with an elegant twist: fresh fish, an ocean view and the added appeal of an open kitchen and mesquite. The eclectic menu features a wide variety of fresh seafoods which changes daily, and there is a chewy, yeasty house bread stick to compliment them. Desserts are sensational, all made on the premises, highlighted by pies; a smooth, creamy key lime, and a wonderful Toll House.

* Scott’s Seafood Grill, 3300 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. (714) 979-2400. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Closes at 10 p.m. on Sundays. $$$

Scott’s started life with a bang in 1976, but the city was San Francisco. That was then, this is now. Today, in a stunning new Costa Mesa location, the romance wears a bit thin. Good oysters, rich clam chowder and a good wine list make for pleasant beginnings, but the fresh mesquite-grilled fish is often devoid of flavor, as one would expect in such a high-volume operation. Save room for the homemade desserts and the good espresso.

THEME DINNERS

* Hornblower Yacht Cruises, P.O. Box 1779, Newport Beach. Call (714) 548-8700 for further information. $$$

Hornblower offers weekend dinner cruises in exotic Newport Harbor as an acceptable alternative to shore-bound dining drudgery, and brings if off with style. Chef Todd Mosher, a young Bay Area talent, keeps the menu simple and satisfying, limiting the options to three exquisitely prepared specialties. Accoutrements, such as an excellent trendy salad of oak leaf and chicory, and real San Francisco sourdough, reflect solid taste and good judgment. There is a dance band available for those who get antsy offshore. Also Sunday brunch.