CORONA CORNERS : A Stretch of Coast Highway Seduces With Its Small-Town Charm
The stretch of Coast Highway in Corona del Mar between Dahlia and Iris streets is chockablock with unusual restaurants, shops and diversions. I like to get lost there on a Monday, when there is free admission to the Sherman Gardens and the weekend crowd has departed.
Noon to 1: Corona del Mar is small-town charm personified, not exactly the place one would expect to bump into such an exotic, sophisticated Indian restaurant as Mayur. The owner, Anju Kapoor, is Orange County’s own Mother India. Her elegant restaurant is named for the peacock and is a relaxing room done in soft pastels and gilt-edged mirrors.
Sample Kapoor’s heavenly mint lassi , a refreshing yogurt drink, then progress to a series of homey dishes such as chicken baked in the restaurant’s clay oven and lamb seared in the karahi, a metal pan from north India. Those with adventurous palates should ask for condiments such as hot pickle and various chutneys to spice up the proceedings. Lunch specials are $4.50 to $6.99.
1 to 1:45: Relax after lunch at Sherman Library and Gardens, a two-acre botanical garden featuring well-kept lawns, brick walkways, an ultramodern conservatory and a lovely pond stocked with koi, Japanese carp. This is a place for reflection and calm, where the roar of traffic on Coast Highway is kept at a spiritual distance, at least.
It’s patterned after an English discovery garden. The idea is to go from one area to the next, drinking in the bucolic textures in sequence. You’ll find such things as olive trees, marigolds, ferns, lush tropical palms, succulents, cacti and poinsettias.
The library is a research room specializing in the Southwest, with limited public access. As this is not a circulating library, books cannot be loaned. Shoppers and strollers will find a wide assortment of gifts and botanical books in the Garden Shop, plus a delightful tea garden open weekends and Mondays.
1:45 to 2:15 p.m.: Videophiles and anyone interested in high-tech entertainment will want to stop by Pacific Coast Audio-Video, where the latest gadgets are on display.
Manager Joel Schecter can show you anything from a $600 TV to a totally integrated home theater that will lighten your wallet a mere $27,000. The industry is turning toward home theater, Schecter says, which is why owner Dave Working has just opened a “home concept store” annexed to the main store and featuring THX sound. These people want to sell you the cabinets and even the bathroom fixtures to match your speakers and fetishes. “We’re not just trying to move boxes,” Schecter says.
2:15 to 2:45 p.m. Everyone has seen a Chuck Jones cartoon one time or another, from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” to “The Return of Duck Dodgers in the 24th Century.” Jones was Warner’s foremost director and animator during the studio’s heyday, the man who brought such characters as Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny to Technicolor life.
At the Chuck Jones Showroom, original production cels are on display and for sale, with full-sized portraits from $200 to $1600. Even if you don’t buy, it’s great fun to look. Mel Blanc’s unforgettable voice-overs will come back to you as you do. Bdea, bdea, that’s all folks.
2:45 to 3 p.m. Before returning to the real world, stop for a strong cup of joe at Starbuck’s Coffee, an outpost of the Seattle-based chain where fresh-roasted whole-bean coffees are sold in bulk. Here it is possible to have caffe misto, American coffee with cappuccino-style steamed milk, learn how beans are roasted (from a free newsletter called Inside Scoop) and buy assorted coffee paraphernalia, from filter pots to mugs. Specialty coffees are priced from 75 cents to $2.50. Even if you are not a coffee drinker, poke your head in the door for a heady whiff. The cherry pie you’ll have to bring yourself.
CORONA DEL MAR
Mayur Cuisine of India, 2931 E. Coast Highway. (714) 675-6622. Lunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, dinner 5 to 10 p.m. daily. All major cards accepted.
Sherman Library and Gardens. 2647 E. Coast Highway. (714) 673-2261. Open daily, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission $2 except Mondays, when it is free.
Pacific Coast Audio-Video, 2816 E. Coast Highway, (714) 640-5093. Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday noon to 5 p.m.
The Chuck Jones Showroom, 2900 E. Coast Highway. (714) 759-1232. Saturday through Tuesday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Starbuck’s Coffee Co. 2801 E. Coast Highway, (714) 675-4416. Monday through Saturday 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Parking: Free, limited-time parking can be found along PCH and sidestreets.
