Special Dinners and Festivities Will Storm the Bastille Day

Liberty, fraternity . . . and gastronomy will be the focus as several of Orange County’s French restaurants celebrate Bastille Day. The actual holiday isn’t until Tuesday, but Chanteclair will get an early start on Friday with a benefit for Childhelp USA, an organization dedicated to the research, treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect. Funds raised will be specifically earmarked for the Village of Childhelp USA in Beaumont. The celebration begins at 4 p.m. and ends at midnight. Tickets are $30 per person in advance, which includes chef Byron Gemmell’s cuisine (trout stuffed with spinach, capon with morrel-Madeira sauce, pork tenderloin with apricot sauce), entertainment and two tickets valid for wine, champagne, beer or Vittel water. Admission at the door is $35. The address: 18912 MacArthur Blvd., Irvine. Tickets may be purchased by calling (714) 752-8001.

Pascal in Newport Beach will present Bastille Day dinners on Friday and Saturday. Chef/owner Pascal Olhats will prepare his traditional five-course Lyonnaise dinner, with entrees of cassoulet or coq au vin. An accordionist will add to the joie de vivre, and the cost of $45 per person includes wine. There will be two seatings each evening, 6 and 8:30 p.m., at 1000 N. Bristol St. Reservations: (714) 752-0107.

Le Meridien Hotel in Newport Beach will center its Bastille Day festivities on the third floor outdoor pool deck from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Regional French hors d’oeuvres and wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux and Champagne will be available for script priced at $2 each. In addition, the hotel’s Trianon Piano Bar will celebrate Bastille Day through July 18 with servers in French costumes, the newly introduced champagnes of Dom Ruinart and popular regional wines, priced by the glass or bottle. French finger foods will accompany the wines daily from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. The address: 4500 MacArthur Blvd. (714) 476-2001.

La Ferme will unwrap a two-hour cabaret show on Tuesday, with cancan dancers, a French singer and pianist, mime and more. It unfolds while guests nibble their way through five courses, beginning with tomato orange soup and offering an entree choice of fresh salmon poached in white wine with dill butter sauce or beef filet with Madeira wine sauce. Two seatings: 5:30 or 7:45 p.m. The cost is $35 per person. The address: 28451 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo. (714) 364-6664.

Live reggae will set the tempo Saturday for Summer Splash, a seasonal celebration at the Garden Bistro on the second level of Crystal Court. Entertainment is scheduled from 3 to 7 p.m., with swimsuit modeling at intermission. Wine by the glass, beer and tropical drinks will be available, as well as such appetizers as chicken tempura, whole wheat quesadilla, and rotelli with sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms ($3.95 to $6.50). There is a $1.50 cover charge for those who don’t wish to dine. Information: (714) 546-6004. The address: 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa.

Learn how to select and prepare the freshest, finest (and safest) seafood at a seafood quality seminar and dinner Saturday at the Robert Mondavi Wine & Food Center and John Dominis restaurant. The event begins with a 3 p.m. seminar at the Mondavi Center (1570 Scenic Ave., Costa Mesa), where house chef Rosanne Ruiz will demonstrate and guests will sample fresh fish, shellfish and Robert Mondavi wines. At 6 p.m. the action moves to John Dominis (2901 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach) for a four-course dinner prepared by chef Robert Reash Jr., with Mondavi wines. The total cost: $85. Information: (714) 979-4510.

Activities continue at the Mondavi Center on Sunday with the first of a series of summer concerts on the lawn to benefit the American Cancer Society. Charles (Doc) Rutherford and the Pacific Jazz Orchestra will play contemporary jazz favorites, and a tasting of Robert Mondavi wines and a picnic are included in the ticket price of $35 (all proceeds go to the charity). Lawn seating begins at 4 p.m. and the concert is from 5 to 7 p.m. You may also buy tickets for all three concerts of the series for $100. Other dates and artists: Poncho Sanchez, Latin jazz, Aug. 2; Bernie Pearls Blues Band and Harmonica Fats, Aug. 23. The address: 1570 Scenic Ave., Costa Mesa. Information: (714) 979-4510.

On Tuesday the Rusty Pelican restaurants take the wraps off their newest venture, the Sand Dancer Grill, at the former Ancient Mariner waterfront site in Newport Beach. Completely remodeled in a Santa Fe motif, the restaurant will feature eight a la carte dinner offerings, ranging from steak, lamb and rotisserie chicken to fresh fish and wood-fired pizzas. Prices: $8.95 to $13.95. Lunch will include sandwiches, meats, salads and pizzas, priced from $4.95 to $8.95. The Grill will be open Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. The address: 2607 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach. (714) 646-0202.