Gifts for Lovers of Chocolate,and Teddy Bears; Cannery Update
Let me tantalize you by beginning with this: the Christmas d & #233;cor at La Vie en Rose in Brea is absolutely breathtaking. A 16-foot Oregon tree greets you in the lobby, and from the roaring fireplace to the lavishly decorated dining rooms, the restaurant is charismatic, emanating the feeling of what the holiday is really about. There are, incidentally, several interesting holiday menus at very reasonable prices to choose from, and there are a few dates when some space is still available for holiday gatherings. We are having our family holiday dinners here this year. Call immediately for either your party booking or just dine with someone dear to you for a special few hours amid this wonderful nostalgia.
Grin and Bear It
If you are shopping in Laguna Beach and still looking for interesting holiday gifts, there’s a cute little shop called La Rue du Chocolat in that charming pedestrian walkway called Peppertree Lane. There are lots of interesting sweets, including the famous line of Hammond candies from Denver (they are featured in the December Gourmet magazine) and old-fashioned classic candies dripping nostalgia. They make their own chocolate turtles and melt-aways with those soft, silky centers. Joseph Schmidt gift boxes and individual truffles from San Francisco make a beautiful gift statement.
However, there is no mistaking the pi & #269;ce de r & #233;sistance here for me. It’s the whole collection of fluffy little teddy bears, each in costume and each holding a box with an acclaimed Boca Bon chocolate (from Boca Raton, La.). My heart melts over the little bear with the chef’s coat and the one with its fur coat. Feel free to give these gems to adults to whom you wish to convey a very heartfelt kind of love.
And here’s a bonus: it’s just behind that nifty dining spot called Partners Bistro.
Cannery Update
It is difficult keeping up with busy restaurateurs like Ron Salisbury, owner of several acclaimed restaurants and about to launch yet another. But, occasionally I catch him for new insights on his segment of the dining industry. That was the case this week when I found out what he plans to do with the old Cannery restaurant in Newport Beach, which Bill Hamilton closed earlier this year after a very long run. Ron will be reopening it in mid-spring, keeping the name. His operating partner will be Steve Herbert, who was formerly in the same capacity with Gladstone’s.
Hatch Design Group, responsible for some of our most enticing restaurant designs, is in charge of the refurbishing and new elements of d & #233;cor. A visible kitchen will feature a huge steam-jacketed kettle where the raw shellfish will be cooked to order. There will be a raw seafood bar. John Wayne’s favorite table in the front corner of the restaurant will remain, as will the open-beamed, wood-intensive interior, but with stylish embellishments. An extended deck from the downstairs dining room and an indoor-outdoor upstairs deck overlooking the channel will be added.
Seafoods of the Pacific will be featured, allowing the best from Seattle, Alaskan and Hawaiian waters. There will also be meat entrees such as an extra-thick pork chop. I am anticipating this restaurant since I go way back as a dining customer of the El Cholos in LA and OC, the Original Sonora Caf & #233;, and the wonderful old English manor house called The Cat and the Custard Cup in La Habra. As the opening draws near, I will fill you in completely.
Food for Thought
And, finally, here are some thoughts I would like to share on restaurant manners that are worth thinking about whenever dining out. We should all be aware that most restaurants cannot survive without turning the tables at least once an evening.
It is often the case in restaurants that someone makes a reservation at the beginning of the dinner hour for a meal that should take no more than a couple of hours to complete. The restaurateur will rebook that table for someone else later in the evening. However, have you considered what happens when the first party decides to have a round or two of drinks at the table before their meal, then drags out the dining itself for far more than two hours? What if they then linger longer over coffee and decide on after-dinner drinks and are still not ready for the bill?
Here’s what happens: The customer who made a later reservation arrives and the restaurateur has no table for them because the table they would have used is still being occupied by the languishing party. The customer has to wait and the restaurateur is nervous at having to inconvenience them. Finally, a table becomes available at some other spot in the dining room, and hopefully the customer is not too upset over the wait he’s had.
Now, we know that waiters are each assigned only a few tables and that tips are part of their livelihood. But, do we realize that the waiter with the lingering customers has been cheated out of part of his livelihood because that table has not been turned and thus his tips have been less for the evening? We, however, have not been cheated out of his continued service throughout the evening.
I think this makes a case for all of us, me included. If we want to make a long evening of it, we can have those first drinks and perhaps even appetizers in the lounge. Just arrive early enough before your dinner reservation to do that. Then, we all want to have an enjoyable time and not feel rushed, but if we want to linger on and on, how about going to the lounge for that after-dinner round and the continued conversation? Having thought a lot about this lately, I assure you that I am being much more cognizant of the time I occupy a dining room table. And, when you have an attractive place besides the dining room to preface and finish your evening, why not take that option? Okay, I’m done preaching. But, have you been listening?
