March Is a Fine Time to Learn All About Wine

Which foods marry best with which wines, and vice versa? You’ll find numerous opportunities to learn--and enjoy--during March.

Nine restaurants and 20 California wineries will participate in “A Toast from the Heart” March 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel in Costa Mesa. This fifth annual food and wine tasting/auction will benefit the Volunteer Center of South/Central Orange County.

Chefs from Alfredo’s, Bistango, Gandhi, Gemmell’s, J.W.’s, the Sea Grill, John Pohl’s Bistro, Newport Mandarin, Old World Catering and the Hobbit will match cuisine to varietals from such wineries as Clos du Bois, Clos du Val, Far Niente, Rutherford Hills and Vichon. Tickets cost $35 and can be ordered by calling (714) 953-5757.

And that’s not all:

Larry Lee will present six different Buena Vista wines to complement dinner at Le Midi in Newport Beach on March 2. Six courses include salmon poached in Chardonnay and tournedos Perigourdine. A $65-per-person tab will cover food and wines, tax and tip. Reservations (with prepayment only) and information: (714) 675-4904.

At Monique French Restaurant in Laguna Beach on March 6, chef Jean-Luc Rossoni will prepare six courses (the entree: canard and filet d’agneau) and six wines from Mayacamas Vineyards will be poured. Cost: $70 per person, including tax and gratuity. Reservations: (714) 449-5359.

Chuck’s Steak House of Hawaii in Tustin will launch its first wine dinner, in collaboration with Chares Krug Winery, March 21. The five-course dinner will cost $29 per person, wines included (but excluding tax and gratuity). Reservations: (714) 832-6660.

And Chanteclair in Irvine uncorks three or four varietals from a different California winery, at $2 a glass, each Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. Featured wineries during March and April will include Robert Mondavi, Kendall-Jackson, Rutherford Hills, Callaway, Clos du Bois and Simi.

TURN BACK THE CALENDAR: To mark its 10th anniversary, The Cat & the Custard Cup in La Habra is bringing back its original menu--with original prices (except for liquor and desserts)--on March 6 and 7. Prime New York steak with fried onions, basted with hazelnut butter, for instance, will cost a mere $11.95.

CANO ON THE MOVE: Larry J. Cano, who resigned after 24 years as president of the El Torito restaurant chain last year, has bought Cano’s in Newport Beach, which he originally opened as part of the El Torito family in April, 1977. And, with Fred Le Franc, Cano has purchased the Studio Cafe in Corona del Mar from Hovik Abramian. At Cano’s, he has remodeled the bar; at the Studio, he foresees no radical changes, but does plan kitchen and menu “improvements.”

Meanwhile, Abramian, who will concentrate his efforts on his Balboa Studio Cafe, welcomes the slowdown in his “crazy” life style. (“I actually went skiing . . . .”)

MORE NEWS ABOUT Hans Prager, who owns the Ritz in Newport Center: He is opening the Yankee Tavern on the first of April at Bayside Drive and Coast Highway in Newport Beach because he thinks the Ritz has become a special-occasion place and that the Tavern will fill the need for “a casual dinner house,” offering such things as pan-fried pork chops with apple-jack country gravy and mashed potatoes, Yankee pot roast with buttered noodles, and rice custard pudding.

TABLE TALK: Tia Juana’s Long Bar and Mexican Cafe Deluxe in Old Town, Irvine, is now open for lunch. . . . Gianni in the Crystal Court will offer a series of four cooking classes with chef Giovani Gillenzoni, Wednesdays from 3 till 5 p.m. starting March 8. $30 per session covers the cost of the food. Call 5(714) 40-3365. . . . Antonello in South Coast Plaza Village has opened a new al fresco dining area and has added several new northern Italian specialties to its menu.

HELLO AND GOODBYE: Salvatore Troia, the Southern California Restaurant Writers’ chef of the year several years ago, formerly with Perino’s, the Cellar and J.W.’s, is now chef at Ben Brown’s in South Laguna. . . . Danny Kuo, partner with Michael Chang in Chinatown, Irvine, recently launched Danny K’s, specializing in Mandarin and Szechwan cuisine, on Coast Highway in Corona del Mar. It’s where Puffin’s used to be. . . . Mike Leach sold the Quiet Woman in Corona del Mar to his accountant, Keith Randall, and Sean and Lynne Campbell. The staff will remain, with Leach serving as consultant. . . . Bob and Karen Como bought Lakeshore Landing in Mission Viejo, renaming it Just Like Perry’s, specializing in fresh fish. . . . The Jolly Knight in Garden Grove is closed and, according to a recorded message, re-locating. . . . Pete Gallanis purchased Griswold’s in La Habra, and is launching his second Cameron’s Seafood there (the first is in Pasadena).