‘Passport’ Food Fair Aims to Raise Awareness, Money

More than 80 different restaurants and wineries will offer tastes of their finest tonight at the Passport to End Hunger 1991 Food Fair and Wine Tasting from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Crystal Court. The annual event raises awareness and funds for the Food Distribution Center serving Orange County. The FDC, Orange County’s largest nonprofit food bank, provides more than 160,000 meals each month through distribution to more than 200 charitable organizations. Tickets will be available at the door for a tax-deductible donation of $30 per person. Participating restaurants include Bistro 201, Brandon’s at the Beverly Heritage Hotel, Ghandi Indian Cuisine, Gustaf Anders, Matteo’s, Piret’s Bistro, Scotts Seafood Grill & Bar, the Village Farmer, and the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel. A few of the wineries: Callaway, Clos Du Bois, Culbertson, Geyser Peak, Robert Mondavi, Rutherford Hill and Thomas Yeager.

A recent ad in The Times business section for an Il Fornaio cafe at South Coast Plaza’s new Plaza Tower might have confused some people. It has been reported that David Wilhelm, owner of five Orange County eateries, plans to create a restaurant in that building, and Il Fornaio is expected to open next month in the Lakeside Towers opposite the Irvine Marriott. Word is that Wilhelm is still on for a full-service restaurant in the Plaza Tower, whereas the Il Fornaio in the same building will be a spot for coffee and fresh baked goods. The full-scale Il Fornaio restaurant in the Lakeside Towers, like the Il Fornaio branches in the San Francisco Bay Area, will be a combination cafe, bar, bakery, pastry shop, pizzeria and roticceria.

Fresh! Cafe in Laguna Beach will present the first in a Dinner at the Cafe series Saturday at 7 p.m. The menu for the four-course meal includes an appetizer, ravioli of smoked chicken with fresh herbs; a choice of main courses: breast of sauteed duckling with raspberry hoisin sauce, grilled veal chop with five-mushroom sauce or grilled Hawaiian ahi with citrus buerre blanc. It’s $40 per person, wines included (you make your entree and dessert selections when you make your reservation). Fresh! Cafe is owned by Peter and Jacqueline Franklin. He is the former sous chef at Magalena’s in Bellflower and Amis in Long Beach. The restaurant, at 540 S. Coast Highway, is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday; (714) 497-1040.

This coming Tuesday looks to be a big wining and dining night. That’s the day the reopened Pascal in Newport Beach launches its fall season with a 1988 Bordeaux dinner featuring seven different Bordeaux wines served with foods of the southwest region of France. The appetizer will be foie gras with profiteroles, and the entree, duck filet with truffles and chanterelles. Other courses will include Roquefort terrine and fresh date tart with Armagnac cream. Cost is $75 including tax and tip. The evening begins with a champagne reception at 7 p.m. Reservations: (714) 752-0107. The restaurant is at 1000 Bristol St.

At Trees restaurant in Corona del Mar Tuesday, Pouilly Fuisse and Beaujolais from Georges DuBouef will be tasted along with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Bethel Heights Vineyards of Oregon. To complement the wines, chef-owner Russell Armstrong plans a five-course dinner that will include a “parfait” of Alaskan halibut, jumbo sea scallops and tiny bay shrimp with Chardonnay chive sauce; bourbon and pepper smoked beef carpaccio with shaved reggiano cheese; and roast breast of Barbarie duck with cherry liqueur sauce. Cost of the event, which begins at 7 p.m., is $50 per person. Reservations: (714) 673-0910. The restaurant is at 440 Heliotrope Ave., behind the Port theater.

Gustaf Anders in the South Coast Plaza Village, Santa Ana, has chosen Tuesday to present a Sterling Winery Dinner with winemaker Larry Lee. Appetizers will be served at the bar beginning at 7 p.m. The five dinner courses will include baked sea bass with herbs and a mussel Chardonnay sauce, pasta shells au gratin with wild mushrooms and radicchio, and beef with dried fruit, presented on polenta. Cost, including wines, is $55 per person, tax and tip not included. Reservations: (714) 668-1737.

Rhythms from Rio de Janiero will pulse at a Brazilian dinner show and dance Oct. 26 at Le Meridien Hotel, Newport Beach, beginning at 7 p.m. Dinner in Cafe Fleuri will be a la carte with Brazilian specialties such as feijoada (black beans with beef, Portuguese sausage, smoked pork tenderloin, rice and orange), and baked avocado and shrimp added to the regular menu. Kurt Rasmussen and his nine-piece band will play bossa and samba dance music and percussion after dinner. There will also be a revue by carnival-style dancers. There will be no cover charge, but a two-drink minimum will apply to those attending the entertainment portion only. Reser vations: (714) 476-2001. The hotel is at 4500 MacArthur Blvd.

Fair Share 502, a nonprofit organization that gives financial assistance to the homeless in Orange County, will be the host of a wine tasting and auction of wines of notable vintages at the Ritz restaurant on Oct. 27. The Ritz and Five Feet Too are co-sponsors for the event, and Hi-Time Cellars of Costa Mesa will assist in the donations of wines for the auction. Among the 20 wineries that will set up stations in the restaurant are Gloria Ferrer, Chalone Wine Group, Kendall-Jackson, Jordan, Raymond, and Sonoma-Courtrer. Five Feet Two owner-chef Michael Kang and Hans Prager of the Ritz will provide hors d’oeuvres. Admission is $25 per person. For reservations and information, call Nancy at (714) 720-0936. The Ritz is at 880 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.

For most of us, the focal point of the traditional clambake is actually lobster rather than clams, but you’ll find both at the Friday clambakes at Cafe Fleuri from 5 to 9 p.m. The buffet service will also include many other seafood dishes such as oysters on the half shell, ceviche, sashimi, steamed prawns and mussels. Clam chowder, corn on the cob, baked potato and an salads and desserts round out the selections. And, if you must, you can get prime roast beef or steamship of beef as an alternative main dish. Cost is $22.50 per person plus tax and tip. Reservations are recommended: (714) 476-2001.

Oktoberfest comes to Monique’s on Oct. 28 in the form of braised sauerkraut, bratwurst and roast potato, and sauerbraten with spatzle, red cabbage and apples. Executive chef Guy Sockrider will create the special four-course dinner, which will include beer and wine and culminate with Berliner pfannkuchen (a raspberry jellyroll fritter with vanilla ice cream). Cost is $25 per person plus tax and tip. The evening will begins with a champagne reception at 6:30. Reservations: (714) 499-5359. The restaurant is at 31727 Coast Highway, Laguna Beach.

El Torito Grill in the South Coast Plaza area now offers “The Grill to Go”--a menu of dishes that can be picked up. It also has a fax machine to receive orders. The menu includes appetizers such as chili relleno and prawns diabla and other Mexican and Southwestern entrees. Prices range from $3 for an appetizer to $7.95 for an entree. The fax number is (714) 662-2350, and the main phone number is (714) 662-2672. The restaurant is at 633 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa.