A trip around Mexico. Brunch all day. Lasso-looking churros. Mojito iced coffee.

The hot new restaurants in Orange County are drawing lots of attention for their craveable and photo-worthy food and drinks. Most have opened in recent months or days.

Here’s the round up:

(Check out our slide show for a closer look at these restaurants)

The Loop: Handcrafted Churros

Dipped or glazed churros? That’s the simple premise behind The Loop, a Westminster dessert shop that sells lasso-looking churros, floats, soft serve ice cream and milk teas. Creating whimsical hand-crafted churros dipped in toppings such as crushed Oreos or Fruity Pebbles is the brainchild of Jed Cartojano. The 32-year-old social media marketing guru represents a number of food brands in Orange County; he’s constantly researching the type of food photos that resonate with audiences.

Surprisingly, he discovered “churros historically have done well,” he said during a recent phone interview. He created Loop to test his theory.

Since opening in June, the lines have not slowed. The shop’s made -to-order Spanish-inspired churros are a runaway hit. Cartojano, who runs the popular social media site @DailyFoodFeed, said weekends and evenings are the busiest with lines often reaching 150 eager snackers. What do you do while you wait? Cartojano has cleverly placed a “self-serve selfie” picture station near the doorway to keep Instagram addicts occupied.

No doubt his social media prowess has helped drive business. His Instagram site, @dailyfoodfeed, has 335,000 followers. He and his two business partners are now scouting for Loop No. 2.

But is Cartojano putting the cart before the horse? Or, could this be the future of hospitality: building restaurants based on how Instagram-worthy the food is? Time will tell. 9729 Bolsa Ave, Westminster.

Snooze

What’s better than breakfast all day? How about brunch seven days a week? That’s the premise behind Snooze, a Denver-born slow food eatery dedicated to serving eclectic versions of brunch staples. Think chilaquiles eggs benedict and a flight of flapjacks. The beauty of the latter is you don’t have to fret when choosing your flavor stack. The “flight” comes with three pancake choices such as pineapple, peach and blueberry. Since opening this summer at The Market Place in Tustin, the wait times at Snooze have run up to two hours on weekends. But Snooze is open daily, so try rolling in before lunch midweek. Seating shouldn’t be a problem.

If you do put your name down, be sure to take advantage of the free specialty coffee Snooze provides while you wait for a table. 3032 El Camino Real, Tustin.

El Mercado Modern Cuisine

Danny Godinez, chef-owner of Anepalco Restaurants in Orange, finally opened his long-anticipated El Mercado Modern Cuisine in downtown Santa Ana.

Godinez calls the restaurant a “journey through Mexico” as the menu offers specialties from 17 of the country’s 31 states.

Godinez and his partners Fernando Franco and José Cerrudo thought they would open earlier this year. No doubt fans of Godinez will flock to the new concept.

Godinez has earned a loyal following for his French and Mexican influenced dishes. He promises a completely different approach at El Mercado. Diners will experience “comida del centro,” where meals are served in the center of the table for sharing, he said.

Dishes representing the various regions of Mexico will rotate regularly. Godinez also plans to create a regular “Santa Ana” dish. The rotating special is a tribute to the unique flavors in the city.

He will balance three Orange County restaurants, while developing a Mexican eatery in Pasadena.

At Anepalco’s, Godinez has tapped Jaritza González to help with the restaurant he founded in 2008. Gonzalez and Godinez collaborated on the start-up sandwich shop Ink Waffles at 4th Street Market. The shop closed earlier this year. At Mercado, Nate Overstreet is chef de cuisine. Overstreet operated Wheat & Sons, a nose-to-tail butcher and sandwich shop at the Anaheim Packing House. The food hall stand closed in early 2015.

El Mercado will be open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday with brunch starting Sunday. The restaurant will also have late-night lounge hours with a limited menu. 301 N. Spurgeon, Santa Ana.

Philz Coffee

Bay Area sensation Philz Coffee, known for its made-to-order coffee cocktails, is one of the few big-time food brands to land at luxe mall Pacific City. To date, most of the new restaurants have have been indie concepts. But Philz is well-regarded –having been dubbed one of the top “third wave” coffee concepts in the country.

Baristas at Philz are full service – they grind beans, brew and blend cream and sugar to a customer’s specification. Don’t miss: the cafe’s signature Iced Mint Mojito drink – coffee blended with a powerful mixture of cream, mint and sugar. 21016 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach.

Farmhouse at Roger’s Garden

The farm-to-table cafe, located on the grounds of Roger’s Garden has tried valiantly to keep its opening under wraps. But fans of Rich Mead are not prone to waiting.

They’ve been trekking to the al fresco dining spot for lunch and dinner ever since word spread of the bistro’s “soft opening” in late August. Demand is so high for a seat, the earliest availability for a table for two at lunch or dinner is early October, according to OpenTable.

Why the hype? Farmhouse represents a comeback for Mead, a farm-to-table pioneer in Orange County. Long before “farm to table” became a common phrase on menus, Mead was making weekly trips to the Santa Monica Farmers Market to collect produce for his two Newport Beach restaurants, Sage and Sage on the Coast. Both have since closed.

At Farmhouse, Mead is back to doing what he does best – preparing dishes made with locally sourced and seasonal ingredients. If you want a seat before October, try calling the restaurant. If you’re lucky, they might squeeze you in. 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar.

Contact the writer: nluna@ocregister.com