Fare Includes Hearts and Flowers for Valentine’s Day

Restaurants love lovers, who make Feb. 14 one of their biggest days of the year. Here are a few of many options for a romantic evening.

A strolling violinist will set the mood at Carmelo’s in Corona del Mar. And hearts and flowers will provide the visual motif for such fare as scampi agli a innamorati (huge prawns on a heart-shaped bed of tomato, with al dente leeks cut in the shape of an arrow) and spine di rosa (salmon souffle, scallops and spinach formed into a heart-shaped bouquet of roses). Roses will be presented to the ladies. Reservations: (714) 675-1924.

Each lady will receive a Hawaiian orchid at the Royal Thai restaurants in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach on Valentine’s Day. Menu choices vary from tom kae kai (spicy soup with coconut milk, chicken, cabbage and laos roots) to curried lobster tail. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations in Newport: (714) 645-THAI; in Laguna, (714) 494-THAI.

To add to the romantic ambience of an English cottage at Five Crowns in Corona del Mar, the popular carolers from Christmastime will don formal attire to serenade with songs of love. And chef Dennis will sculpt such dishes as veal Oscar in valentine shapes. Call (714) 760-0331.

Gandhi in South Coast Village, Santa Ana, caters to sweethearts with a champagne buffet of Indian delicacies from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ($12.50 for adults, $10 for children under the age of 10). A festive Valentine’s Day dinner, 5:30 to 10 p.m., is $25 per person, with special vegetarian dinners available at $18.95 per person. Reservations: (714) 556-7273.

Almost next door in South Coast Village, at the new Emperor’s Fortune, owner William Liu presents a special menu for two, beginning with a glass of champagne and featuring such entree choices as salmon stir-fried in black bean sauce, and Hong Kong-style filet mignon ($55 for two, tax and tip not included). The regular menu will also be available. (714) 850-9008.

A souvenir photo will help you remember valentine evening at Las Brisas in Laguna ((714) 497-5434); Chanteclair ((714) 752-8001), Players ((714) 553-8181) or Remick’s ((714) 553-1305) in Irvine, or the El Torito Grills in Newport Beach ((714-640-2875) and Costa Mesa ((714) 662-2672).

Tony Hermann at the Bouzy Rouge in Newport Beach will present his annual valentine’s “aphrodisiac” menu: Oysters, wild mushrooms and game birds. (714) 673-3440.

McCormick and Schmick in Irvine, which normally offers an a la carte menu, will prepare special sweetheart dinners complete with soup or salad and such entrees as salmon, crab and rib-eye steak with honey-walnut butter. And dinner will include free admission to Mick’s nightclub upstairs. (714) 756-0505.

It’s Valentine’s Month at Le Meridien in Newport Beach: “For people who want more than just a day,” the hotel is offering a valentine weekend any time during February. The package (which is also available Valentine’s Day itself, a Wednesday this year) includes a candlelight dinner for two at Cafe Fleuri, a dozen long-stem roses and a room with king-size bed plus petite Laurent Perrier champagne and liqueurs. And you can stay till 8 Sunday night ($227 per couple per night). (714) 476-2001.

Ron’s in Laguna also thinks the celebration shouldn’t be limited to one day. So on Valentine’s Day the restaurant will offer the first of its “evenings for lovers,” to be repeated the first Thursday of every month. Each lady will receive a signature Sonya rose, exactly like the peach rose spotlighted on each table. The restaurant also will give a complimentary bottle of champagne, and the opportunity to request your favorite love song by the house singer, Charly. (714) 497-4871.

Ron’s, which has been under new ownership for several months, has reopened after a two-week hiatus for refurbishing. The restaurant/supper club is introducing a Sunday “Cabaret Showcase” featuring up-and-coming local performers. The weekly entertainment consists of Charly on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and the Paula Prince Quartet Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant, which serves California/Continental cuisine, will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays during the winter.

HELLO: Ralph Muncaster and Wayne Mascotti have taken the wraps off RW’s Crab Hideout, on the west side of John Wayne Airport, the former site of McCormick’s Landing. Crabs--half a dozen varieties--are flown in live and are kept swimming in seven tanks. There’s also live lobster, plus clams, oysters and scallops living in marine environments systems--a first, Muncaster says, in Orange County. Still more: a dozen fresh fish, often including some of the less common Hawaiian varieties. Muncaster is the idea/marketing man; Mascotti the restaurateur (he was VP in charge of operations for 22 restaurants in the Rusty Pelican chain). A major investor is Jynon Kogyo of Japan, who sees RW’s as a prototype for expansion in this country and abroad. This casual restaurant prices the crab in the $13 to $19 range and serves dinner nightly, lunch on weekdays. (714) 0662-2722.

The new Yaohan Supermarket on Paularino Avenue in Costa Mesa is not only a Japanese market but a source of prepared Japanese food, to eat there or to take home. You can choose from sushi, tempura, pickled vegetables, soups and bento boxes (lunch trays) daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., though the sushi bar closes from 3 to 4. Information: (714) 557-6699.

Orange County’s first brew pub, the Heritage Brewing Company, recently began serving suds and “pub grub” in Dana Point. Through the glass behind the 46-foot copper-top bar you can see John Stoner and Mark Mericle’s fully operational brewery in action, producing four different beers at a time; a new one is introduced every two weeks. The food, prepared from scratch by chef Robert Maley, includes turkey pot pies and thresher shark bites, both $4.95. The informal Brewing Co. opens daily at 11:30 a.m. and serves until midnight on weeknights, 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. (714) 240-2060.

Timothy Plumb, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, has, with his wife, Patricia, purchased Mon Chateau in El Toro, where they’ll continue the fine Belgian and French cuisine (including the rabbit with prune, and classic frog legs). (714) 831-3810.

Charlie Chang of the New Shanghai now has a second Laguna Niguel restaurant, called tix, with Bill and Carol Beckett and Jeff Wang. Located at Crown Valley Parkway and Greenfield Drive, it emphasizes Cantonese and Szechwan cuisine, all cooked to order from a seven-wok line in an exhibition kitchen. It’s open daily for lunch and dinner. (714) 831-7849.