Il Fornaio to Serve Express but Flashy Dining Near Theaters

A new Il Fornaio, this one called Il Fornaio Cucina Expressa, will open June 23 at 650 Anton Blvd. in Costa Mesa, between the Westin South Coast Plaza and the South Coast Plaza Office tower. Like its sister restaurant and retail bakery in Irvine, the Costa Mesa location will have some flashy architectural appointments, including 29-foot ceilings and walls of travertine enclosing an Italian marketplace. But at Expressa, dining will be cafeteria-style (albeit an upscale cafeteria, with a marble counter and hosts who will take your tray to a table). Breakfast offerings will include award-winning Il Fornaio breads, pastries and coffee specialties, as well as pancakes, French toast and such. Lunch and dinner will highlight roast chicken, meats from the wood-fired rotisserie, and pastas. Prices: from $2.95 for salad or soup to $12.95 for lamb, veal or duck from the rotisserie. There will be stand-up bars for a quick bite, plus seating for 64 inside, 46 outside. To serve patrons of the performing arts and movies, the Expressa will stay open until 11 p.m. Sunday through Friday and till midnight on Saturday. It will open at 7 a.m. Monday through Friday and at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

A Kendall-Jackson wine dinner at Gustaf Anders on Wednesday will begin with salmon and shrimp cakes at the bar, followed by five sit-down courses and culminating with a lemon tarte with fresh berries. Wines will include K-J’s 1990 Proprietor’s Grand Reserve Chardonnay, l988 Du Pratt Zinfandel, and, with dessert, 1989 Grand Finale. The following week, a Rodney Strong wine dinner on May 26 will feature filet of beef with Stilton sauce served with two Cabernets: the 1987 Alexanders Crown and 1987 Reserve. Both dinners begin at 7 p.m. and cost $59 per person, plus tax and gratuity. The location: South Coast Plaza Village. Reservations: (714) 668-1737.

Wines from Caymus Vineyards will be featured with a five-course dinner at Trees Restaurant in Corona del Mar on Monday. Crispy black bean cake with smoked duck breast, salsa and sour cream will complement a 1989 Zinfandel. And poached salmon filet with steamed red onions and roast sirloin of Angus beef with wild mushrooms will pair with Caymus’ Pinot Noir and 1987 Special Select Cabernet Sauvignon (rated 98 by Wine Spectator). The dinner is $50, with aperitifs served at 7 p.m., dinner at 7:30. Trees is at 440 Heliotrope Ave. Reservations: (714) 673-0910.

Guy Sockrider will serve a five-course dinner that complements the wines of Arciero Winery at Monique on Monday, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Menu standouts: soft-shell crab (a Sockrider specialty) with Charon sauce, salmon with fresh sorrel, and filet of beef with shallot and wild thyme sauce. It’s $65 per person, exclusive of tax and tip. Monique is located at 31727 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. (714) 499-5359.

Cafe El Cholo in La Habra recently introduced several dishes: a vegetarian enchilada ($7.95) containing five julienned vegetables and served with corn and tomato cream sauce and beans and rice; a chile relleno stuffed with grilled chicken, cheese, cilantro and corn ($9.95), and for dessert, a fruit taco that mingles fresh raspberries, pineapple, papaya, strawberries, kiwi and mangoes in a chocolate almond shell, served with banana whipped cream and mango-raspberry sauce ($4.25). The restaurant is open Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday till 10 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. It’s at 840 E. Whittier Blvd. (714) 525-1320.

Robin Patterson, the first chef at Ellis Island in Newport Beach, has departed. In her place is Wilfred Wilson, who has worked in owner Lucy Luhan’s other restaurants--What’s Cooking in Newport Beach and Luciana’s in Dana Point. Although the menu has not changed, Wilson is placing more emphasis on Italian fare by offering three or four specialties daily.

The original Wahoo’s Fish Tacos on Placentia Avenue in Costa Mesa has long been a hit with the young beach crowd. Likewise the second one in Laguna Beach. But the third Wahoo’s, which opened a few weeks ago at Baker and Bristol streets in Costa Mesa, reportedly appeals to a white-collar clientele. Unlike its predecessors in the location (Gemmell’s and Chez Moi), this is a casual restaurant. And the menu’s the same as those at the other locations--a combination of Mexican and Caribbean cuisines and starring those immense grilled fish burritos; also chicken, beef and pork, and all served with black beans and rice. Prices range from $2.85 to $5.75. It’s open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, till 9 p.m. on Sunday. The address for the newest Wahoo’s is 3000 Bristol St. (714) 435-0130.

Karel Vidlak, the Southern California Restaurant Writers’ maitre d’ of the year for 1989, whom many from Orange County met at the Wine Cellar in the Hyatt Newporter, is now maitre d’ of the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage.

Traditional, family-style Italian dinners are now available every Sunday evening at Prego. All foods are served on platters for the entire table to share, so everyone can taste a variety of dishes, says Franco Vessia, general manager of Prego. Though the menu changes weekly, each four-course family dinner begins with a selection of appetizers to sample. Next come three different pastas, at least three different entrees with side dishes, and finally, several desserts. A recent menu included fresh mozzarella and cured ham; pasta shells with artichoke hearts, cream and Parmesan; potato gnocchi with fontina cheese; free-range chicken from the rotisserie, and grilled, large freshwater prawns. These dinners, served Sundays from 5 to 10 p.m., are $22.50 per person. Reservations: (714) 553-1333. 18420 Von Karman Ave., Irvine.

The new Crab Cooker in Tustin, with a menu of fresh seafood identical to that of the original Crab Cooker in Newport Beach, opens daily at 10 a.m. for takeouts. The restaurant serves in its dining room from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, till 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The Tustin eatery is in the Enderle Center at 17260 E. 17th St., just off the Costa Mesa Freeway. (714) 573-1077.