Corona del Mar has an abundance of restaurants, and as expected the students of CdM have their top picks. Elena Jafari is a sophomore and her favorite local restaurant is “Panda Express because they have the best chow mein and shrimp.” The newest addition to the Panda Express menu is the Black Pepper Angus Steak. This meal consists of red bell peppers, onions, green beans, and mushrooms in a black pepper sauce, hence the name of the dish.

Carl’s Jr. is a very popular restaurant and Oliver Freire, a freshman, is a fan of the undeniably low prices that the fast food chain has to offer. He says that it is his favorite restaurant because it’s good considering how inexpensive it is. Carl’s Jr. was actually founded in the neighboring city of Anaheim.

Junior Aidan Jagger Tate’s favorite restaurant is HopDoddy Burger Bar. He says that it “has really great food and isn’t a very fancy restaurant, so you can go there and casually get a burger.” While burgers are known to be made of beef and sometimes chicken patties, HopDoddy went above and beyond with its selection of patties. They have six different kinds; bison, beef, tuna, chicken, black bean and corn, and even a vegan patty made entirely from plants.

Reestyn Boucher, a freshman, claims that one of her favorite restaurants is Avila’s El Ranchito. She states that her family always goes there on her dad’s birthday and appreciates their huge portions. The first El Ranchito opened in 1966 in Huntington Park, and today all thirteen locations are in California.

While the former restaurants are all terrific (and focused on savory foods), this next one takes the cake. Or rather, pancake. Sophomore Taylor Price shares that her favorite restaurant is “Stacks Pancake House because… I like pancakes.” There’s no arguing with that.