Nobody mentioned VN food.  Try Thanh.
15315 Culver, at Irvine Center Dr.
http://www.thanhrestaurant.com

graphrix,
Beans!  No worry, I will get an answer for you direct from the owner.  I have been asking him for years to open his restaurant in the Market Place area.

"Can anyone recommend a good Mongolian BBQ place?"

I love Ghengis Kahn in Costa Mesa.  It’s on 17th near Santa Ana, sort of behind the IHOP.

Bummer to hear about Taco Mesa.  I haven’t been in years, but keep wanting to go, but haven’t yet.  Looking forward to the new Taco Rosa, though.

OCF - thanks for the VN rec.  We had been going to one on Barranca off of Culver (in with a Thai place and a Lampost Pizza), but don’t know enough about the cuisine to recommend it one way or another, although we like it.

For Indian, we like Swaad (http://www.swaadirvine.com/) off of Culver and Alton.

The only Scandanavian restaurant I can think of is the cafe at IKEA. 

I just had lunch at Taco Rosa in the Marketplace and it was very good. Really busy and they haven’t worked ot the service kinks yet. The had the original pinto beans there so I was happy. Must take siesta now.

For fast, cheap and delicious Carne Asada burritos, mahi tacos, and the like, try La Sirena Grill in Laguna Beach (Mermaid St, in the village behind Sorrento Grille).

Unbelievably good and cheap Chinese food at S.W. Bar-B-Q Seafood, 5406A Walnut Ave, Irvine.  Always crowded. 

...and for those of us who overindulge in the Irvine area Fine Dining scene….there’s a Jenny Craig on Culver and Walnut.  I’m exactly 14 days in and 10 lbs down!  WooHoo!!!  My counselor is Stephanie and I swear, between how incredibly awesome she is, and how surprisingly delicious the food is, I feel kinda like I’m at a swanky spa in my own house.

Me and Valerie Bertinelli, we could be twins.  I am in a race with her to see who can drop 30lbs the fastest.  I love JC!

Graphrix,

 We had the same experience at Taco Rosa!  We frequent the Taco Rosa in Newport and decided to give the new one a try.  The food still was excellent but the service definitely has some kinks to work out.  The wait was pretty long but we’d still go back.  We were all carded even though we’re all 30…the waiter looked at my husband’s license more intensely than any waiter I’ve ever seen - it was pretty funny.  He even called the manager over to get a second opinion!

I am so glad to learn that Taco Rosa is here locally; I am a big fan and Mexican food is not even my favorite.  I am going there for lunch today.
ohnelly, you must not be a native here in Irvine.  It’s a very conservative town.  Kids here are taught in elementary SMOKING and DRINKING are LIFE ABUSE! 
Food Food Food, great selections.  We all love good food here.  I think this make OC an attractive place to live.

If you guys are willing to go a little south,

Cosmos Italian Kitchen in Aliso Viejo is a good Italian place.  Most of their stuff is decent.  I LOVE their diavlo sauce.  Caution: It can be very spicy!

Link

Mario’s Cucina in San Juan Capistrano.  Good food in general.  I like their Swiss Chard ravioli.  The owner is very nice.  Apparently they make almost all of their pasta from scratch.

Link

If you’re willing to drive WAY down south, here’s a shameless plug for my friend’s family-owned sushi restaurant in Encinitas.  The Blue-Fin roll is highly recommended.

Blue Fin Sushi

257 El Camino REal Suite D&E

Encinitas, California 92024

There are 3 good places on Lido that are great for dates

The Cannery - a bit pricey but very good food. Upstairs is lively and downstairs is formal.  Make a reservation on weekend nights though because it is crowded.

Sabatinos - this is out of the way on Lido, kind of in the little neighborhood.  It has great Italian food and at night a guy sings on the patio.  It is very relaxing.  Try the sausage appetizer - sounds weird but it is excellent.  Google it to get directions because it is hard to find.

Bluewater Grill - This place is good for seafood.  The bar area is fun and casual.  The prices are good for seafood.

For a really nice dinner, try either Bungalow or Landmark on PCH in CDM.  Both have great food and high prices.  Both are also good if you just want to go for drinks.  I think Bungalow has free filet sliders on Monday or Tuesday during happy hour, but call and double check the day.  They are delicious!  Both are places that your wife will have an excuse to dress up for if she (or you) is into that.

In Irvine, I actually really like Il Fornaio even though it is a chain.  The food is good and the service is always great.  It is kind of in an office complex though, so that is a little strange.  You can park in the complex for free if you don’t like valet. 

Plums in Costa Mesa is great for breakfast, although it does get crowded.

Another good breakfast place is The Cottage on PCH in Laguna and right across the street is Las Brisas which has a good champagne brunch but not so great lunch and dinner. 

Try Mozambique in Laguna for something different.  The patio upstairs is a really cool atmosphere. They also have live music. 

For a sports bar, try Chronic Tacos in Triangle Square.  Guys like this place because the girls wear skimpy outfits and they have a ton of TVs and greasy mexican food.

Also, Rudy’s on the Peninsula can be a fun place to watch sports if you are into the 20-something crowd. 

Also, I am a huge fan of Taco Rosa in Newport too, try it if you haven’t.  It has great prices. 

I just went to Royal Khyber (sp?) in Costa Mesa across from SCP for Indian and really liked it, although it was pricey for Indian food.  Try the vegetarian Thali, even if you aren’t vegetarian.

Your wife will love the chocolate soufle at French 75 or Chat Noir.

i second eek’s comment about the mongolian place, mad wolf!  we go there for lunch all the time. a little hole in the wall, not the prettiest on the inside, but goooood food.  its about 8 bucks for all you can eat.  or you can get one big bowl for like 6 bucks.
yummm.

There’s another Mongolian BBQ place just south of Mad Wolf called Great Wall.  It’s on Harbor blvd just south of Harbor & Imperial HWY.  Great Wall Mongolian BBQ is a little cheaper and usually not as crowded. 

Found a store on Ebay selling discounted Entertainment Books for Orange County with lots of great deals for local restaurants.  We buy one of these every year and love the great deals.

www.stores.ebay.com/Discounted-Entertainment-Books

Random places in Irvine I like to go to:

*Gelato Amore at University Town Center

http://biggestmenu.com/rdr/CA/Irvine/Gelato-Amore-1591338/Vanilla-Gelato-Piccolo-sized-14199

*Pho Bac (Vietnamese noodles) at Barranca

http://biggestmenu.com/rdr/CA/Irvine/Pho-Bac-1591299/value-platter-31341

*Pasta Bravo at Barranca

http://biggestmenu.com/rdr/CA/Irvine/Pasta-Bravo-1-1590435/Chicken-Linguine-Pesto-22936

*Panera Bread at Barranca

http://biggestmenu.com/rdr/CA/Tustin/Panera-Bread-1593705/You-Pick-Two-36066

Kinda pricey, but standard. Hm… this looks like a boring selection  The IKEA restraunt food is good too, in Costa Mesa.

I love the Veggie Grill. Even meat-eaters gotta love the sweet potato fries! The restaurant has earned numerous accolades. The food tastes so good, you won’t even realize it’s good for you.

The best udon, soba, and somen place in Orange county is Fukada on Irvine Center Drive near the Spectrum next to the 24 Hours fitness.  They make their soba their each morning.  Make sure to come early because the place gets really packed.  Reasonably priced.

The Basilic on Bolboa Island is a very good French restaurant.

Also, you should try The Winery in Tustin Legacy, it opened a few weeks ago.  Good for their wine tastings and excellent food.

I like Felix (in the circle, city of Orange) for Cuban. 

Tulsa Rib for ribs.  I really like BBQ, but I can’t find a good BBQ place in OC that I’d recomend.  Tulsa’s ribs are well prepared and reasonably priced, but I’m looking for pork shoulder or brisket, so if anybody’s got a lead, please share.

NV - I’m a little partial to Lucille’s and Johnny Reb’s.  Reb’s is notably less expensive and less of a wait.

House of Shobu Shobu on Jeffrey and Walnut.

I’d put Tulsa Rib Company in front of both of Lucille’s and Johnny Reb’s in both quality and price.

I’m really into BBQ (I have my own smoker) so I might be pickier than many.

For Baby Backs.  Tulsa is a up there. I find that Johnny Rebs is a hit or miss. Sometimes they are fantastic. But every once in awhile the quality seems to drop off. Love the pork sandwich with the Sweet Potatoe fries.  But my favorite for pork ribs is Houstons in Irvine. They are a little on the sweet side but they just fall off the bone so easy. And they seem to be consistant in the quality. Went to Lucilles a couple times when it first opened. Thought it was good but nothing special. Guess its time to give them another try.  I also want to give another vote to Gabbie`s in the Orange Circle for Mexican. Its does not have a sign. But next door and the same side as the Army/Navy store. This has gotten to be one of our favorite lunch treats for customers at work. Have yet to be disappointed. Just be carefull of the Petron Margaritas. Not advisable during lunch.

If you’re into Japanese, check out Tomikawa in the Trabuco Grove center off the 5 at Jeffrey and Trabuco. They’ve got GREAT prices for lunch.

Fukada has great noodles, it’s more of basic noodles but their sauces and dashi’s could use some improvement.  The hole in the  wall places in Tokyo just have incredible soba that I haven’t really found an equivalent here.  Nonetheless, Fukada offers a crisp fresh noodle dishes, don’t expect heavily seasoned MSG’d up to the ears taste.  The soba with fresh mountain vegetables is what I usually get.

Tomikawa is hit and miss and unfortunately I feel it’s quality has gone way downhill over the past year.  Please don’t mention Taiko, I seriously don’t understand the popularity of that place.  It’s like a Tokyo Lobby for those who are familiar with the SGV.

+1 on veggie grill.  i couldnt bring myself to go there for yrs until one day i noticed someone eating the sweet potato fries.  the fries are AWESOME.  the crispy "chicken" sandwiches tastes better than any actual chicken sandwich i’ve ever had.

this place has become a once-a-wk visit at least since i discovered it.