Have a Party . . . But Don’t Do Dishes

You’re planning a party. Suddenly, nothing seems simple. Your neighborhood just instituted planned parking, you don’t have enough chairs, and half the champagne glasses broke during the last big bash. And what ever happened to all those forks you used to have?

One solution: rent a restaurant. They’ve got the equipment, the staff does the worrying and you won’t have to clean up afterwards. You might even find yourself spending less than you expected to.

Almost any restaurant would be happy to help you host your party, but here are a few unusual spots you may not have considered. (Don’t forget to add tax and tip to the quoted prices.)

ROOMS AT THE TOP: The Pacific Crest Room on the Mountain Station of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, sits at an altitude of 8,516 feet. The room itself is not much to look at, but a breathtaking view of Mt. San Jacinto State Park peeks through the cloud-brushed windows. It makes a spectacular place to have a meeting, cocktail party or banquet. And it’s especially nice in winter, when Palm Springs’ balmy weather provides an ideal backdrop.

Here’s the deal: You have to take the tram to the top (group rate runs $9.95 per person) to get to the restaurant. Parties may be held only on weekdays and may be booked only during tram hours--10 a.m. until 9:45 p.m. in the winter (10:45 p.m. in the summer).

A group of 50 can rent the banquet room for a breakfast buffet or seated dinner, 75 or more for a dinner buffet. The price of a five-course dinner or the breakfast and dinner buffets run anywhere from $10.25 to $25. Cocktails are extra.

Pacific Crest Room, 1 Tramway Road, Palm Springs. (619) 325-1440. Contact: Linda Vivian. Seating: 50-200. Reserve 90 days ahead. Deposit: $500. Cost: $10.25-$25 per person, plus tram fare.

Another room with a spectacular view is California Place, the restaurant that looks like a flying saucer docked in the middle of the Los Angeles Airport. Built in 1961, it is perched six stories above the ground and has an observation deck directly above the restaurant.

Two-thirds of the restaurant offers a view of departing and arriving aircraft; it’s no wonder that going away gatherings are the big deal here. While there is no separate banquet room, groups of 25 or more can reserve their own roped-off section of the restaurant.

AT&T; hosted a going away party for its president here. After cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, a dinner for 50 included appetizer, salad, an entree of prime rib or broiled salmon and beverage. The cost for that dinner? $38 per person, plus the bar bill. California Place is also a fine spot to plan a layover luncheon or a breakfast meeting for out of town executives.

The California Place/Theme Building, The Los Angeles Airport, 201 World Way, Los Angeles. (213) 646-5471. Contact: Dick Kaltenbrun. Seating: Sitdowns up to 75, cocktail parties up to 150. Reserve 1 week ahead. No deposit required. Cost: $13-$40 per person.

SHEER LUXURY: The former headquarters of the Pacific Stock Exchange is now a downtown nightclub, complete with state-of-the-art sound and light systems. For private affairs, menus are tailored to suit each event.

On Dec. 14, for example, KROQ Radio will hold a dinner-dance at the club. About 200 employees and clients will enter through a high-ceilinged Art Deco lobby, climb the marble staircase, and walk to a horseshoe-shaped mezzanine overlooking the one-time trading floor (now a dance floor), for cocktails and dinner. The entrees will be beef Wellington and Cornish game hens with orange sauce. Dessert will consist of a gooey four-layer black and white chocolate fudge cake. Lights will flicker and music will roar. Two disc jockeys will be on hand to take advantage of the club’s special sound system. The evening will cost approximately $20,000.

Stock Exchange Restaurant & Night Club, 618 S. Spring St., Los Angeles. (213) 627-4467. Contact: Justine Slater. Seating: Up to 350 sitdown, 500 buffet. Reserve one month ahead. Deposit: 50% of estimated cost. Cost: $15 to $50, per person plus variable room rental.

HORSING AROUND: Calamigos Ranch knows how to put on a party. After all, some 150,000 people party there every year.

When the Aaron Spelling firm had its all-day staff picnic at the Calamigos Ranch, the Star C package (one of many entertainment packages available) was chosen. Designed for 350-700 picnickers, it promises a shaded lunch area adjacent to one of the lakes, plenty of giant oaks, a grassy play area plus a volleyball court and swimming pool. There was plenty to eat: For about $25-30 per person the revelers feasted on barbecued chicken and ribs, corn on the cob, chili, salad, potato salad, beer and wine, ice cream, popcorn, snow cones, soft drinks and hot dogs. Custom-built chuckwagons, checkered tablecloths and giant kettles added to the ranch atmosphere.

The 80-acre ranch is located on the crest of the mountains above Malibu. It’s available Monday through Friday for daytime functions; evening parties are held seven days a week. And if you want to prolong the party, conference facilities are available, with overnight accommodations.

Calamigos Ranch, 327 S. Latigo Canyon Road, Malibu. (818) 889-6280. Contact: Corinne Anderson. Seating: 20-5,000. Reserve one year ahead. Deposit: $500-$1,000. Cost: $15.95-$50 per person.

When Elizabeth Taylor introduced her Passion for Men it was at the 72-acre Los Angeles Equestrienne Center, which has more than 50 miles of horse trails in Griffith Park and a wide range of party facilities. Cocktails were served in Cafe Polo, a short exhibition polo match was played in the Equidome (the 150-by-350-foot indoor polo arena), followed by a buffet for 300.

Hunt Field, with a sprinkling of old oak trees, makes a perfect wedding spot. Cricket Field’s softball, badminton and horseback-riding facilities make an ideal setting for company picnics.

But you don’t have to limit yourself to traditional country entertainment. Last year Camel cigarettes came here to celebrate their 75th birthday. The theme? Moroccan of course, complete with tents, camel races and dancing to the Les Brown orchestra.

Los Angeles Equestrienne Center, 480 Riverside Drive, Burbank. (818) 840-9063. Contact: Joey Griffin. Seating: 12 to 5,000. Reserve 2 to 3 months ahead. Deposit: 25% of estimated charges, balance due 7 business days prior to event. Cost: BBQs from $15 per person, sitdowns from $24 per person.

OPEN SPACES: Looking for outdoor charm? Consider the country-French facility at Tivoli Terrace where the annual Laguna Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters is held.

This is a pretty place. Outdoors there are two garden-like terraces with twinkling lights, an antique gazebo and plenty of fresh greenery and bougainvillea. A small indoor section seats up to 50.

It’s such a popular spot for weddings--performed in the chapel on the hillside--that the restaurant offers a complete wedding package for $40 per guest. It includes the ceremony, flowers, pianist, wedding coordinator services, reception (the linens, table, centerpieces), cake and menu. The bar bill is extra. (Due to heavy festival crowds during July and August, the restaurant is not available for weddings in the summer.)

For a less elaborate party-- luncheons, anniversary parties, and so forth-- prices run about $20 per person.

Tivoli Terrace, 650 Laguna Canyon Rd., Laguna Beach. (714) 494-9650. Contact: June Neptune. Seating: 2 to 300. Reserve 6 months to 1 year ahead. Deposit: $250 booking fee for less than 100 people, $500 for more than 100. Cost: $20-$40 per person.

“We’ve had weddings, retirement parties, quinceneras , even ordination parties,” says banquet coordinator Cathy Riboli of the San Antonio Winery. In fact, with four party rooms and a patio, the Winery has celebrations scheduled every day.

Last June, 250 people came to the winery to celebrate a priest’s ordination. The place was filled with fresh flowers and a buffet luncheon was set up with a couple of bottles of wine on every table. The meal consisted of antipasto, assorted canapes, a couple of entrees and salads. The party lasted from noon until 9:30 p.m. Riboli estimates that such a party would cost about $17 per person.

San Antonio Winery, 737 Lamar Street, Los Angeles. (213) 223-1401. Contact: Cathy Riboli. Seating: 15-250. Reserve 24 hours ahead. No deposit required. Cost: $10-$25 per person.

NOSTALGIA: Like things the way they used to be? Located at the isolated Castaic junction, Blue Moon Restaurant has the air of an ancient roadhouse. But when you walk through the door it looks more like Rick’s Cafe. Several banquet rooms are available, and if you’d prefer to be outdoors, there is a patio.

It was there that Lockheed executives entertained the Navy last June at a party for 300. The affair included an open bar, an oyster bar, canapes, baby vegetable crudites, ribs and lots of fresh fruit with chocolate fondue. Manager Chuck Blanchard says that Lockheed wasn’t concerned with cost, and the party ran between $6,000 and $7,000.

Blue Moon Restaurant, 28743 The Old Road, Valencia. (805) 257-1300. Contact: Chuck Rogers or Chuck Blanchard. Seating: 15-300. Reserve 5 months ahead. Deposit: $200. Cost: $11.95 and up per person.

INTIMATE AFFAIR: At Chianti Cucina the marble-tiled pastry room does double-duty. By day it’s where all the desserts for Chianti are made; by night it’s a bright and clamorous party room where fast-trackers sit happily amidst the rolling pins.

Birthday parties, rehearsal dinners and anniversary parties are the biggest business here. To book the room for the whole evening a $1,100 minimum guarantee is required. A four-course prix-fixe feast for $35 per person might include an appetizer; angel hair pasta with tomatoes, basil and garlic; a chicken, veal or fish entree; coffee and a dessert made that day in the very room you’d be sitting in.

Chianti Cucina, 7381 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles. (213) 653-8333. Contact: Rodolfo Costella. Seating: 15-25. Reserve at least a week ahead. Deposit: $100. Cost: $35 and up per person.

ARTFUL EATING: When Beatrice Wood showed her bawdy ceramic figures at the Garth Clark gallery last year, a private pre-opening party for the 95-year-old ceramist was held at 170 Cafe.

It was the perfect spot. Hidden away amidst some of Los Angeles’ most interesting art galleries, the clean, white minimalist Cafe has a changing array of up-to-the-minute art. Once open to the public, the Cafe, which holds 50 people, is now open only for private parties.

170 Cafe, 170 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 939-0170. Contact: Cheryl Barnett.Seating: For sitdowns 10-30, for buffets up to 50. Reserve 1-2 months ahead. Deposit: 50% of estimated cost. Cost: $25 per person and up.