Shane Opens in Roundabout Way
Barbacoa on Pacific Coast Highway, which was closed in January and sold to a Kauai-based restaurateur, will reopen next month as Shane at Newport Beach--but without the restaurateur.
Jean-Marie Josselin had planned a Pacific Rim Cafe for the site. But he discovered that he didn’t have time to run it along with his two restaurants on the islands, according to Robert Fidler.
Fidler is the new operations director for Shane at Newport Beach, and he is the founder of Nicky Blair’s in Beverly Hills and Shane Hidden on the Glen in Bel Air. He plans to open the Newport location in partnership with Barbacoa owner West Coast Restaurant Ventures.
The Newport Beach location will open Oct. 16 and will feature an American bar and grill, with a menu developed by Michael Kurland, a Wolfgang Puck protegee.
3333 West Coast Highway.
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Matteo’s Italian Restaurant, a Corona del Mar landmark, has closed its doors after 23 years in business.
John Wayne used to play backgammon there with friends on Wednesday nights, said owner Wanda Jordan, and Henry Kissinger occasionally stopped in on his way to San Clemente to visit Richard Nixon. Wayne owned a restaurant on the same site years earlier called the Talk of the Town.
In a sadly familiar refrain, Jordan said business at the restaurant had slowed since the economy turned sour. She dismantled the place over Labor Day weekend.
Her former husband, Matthew Jordan, runs Matteo’s Italian Restaurant in Westwood.
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A singles club that organizes dinners for six--three men and three women--has opened for business in Huntington Beach.
Table for Six International, which began in New Zealand in 1989, has successfully competed against traditional matchmaking companies there, said president Reg Smart. “It’s just much more relaxed,” Smart said, “more casual.”
The club has collected about 150 members here since early July, Smart said. They pay $150 for a year’s membership, plus $15 for each dinner arranged, plus the cost of dinner.
Restaurants that are hosting upcoming Table for Six dinners are Niccole’s and Catch of the Day, both in Huntington Beach, and Royal Khyber in Newport Beach.
For information, call 1-800-TABLE-4-6.
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Ever dream of naming a sumo wrestler? Well, now’s your chance.
Dohyo, a Japanese/Thai/Polynesian restaurant that opened recently near Disneyland, is seeking a name for the 15-foot, hand-carved wooden sumo wrestler that stands in its entry way. A dohyo is a sumo wrestling ring.
The prize for the winning name is lunch or dinner for four at the restaurant.
Entries must be received by Oct. 1. Mail to: Sumo Wrestler, c/o Frank Groff Public Relations, 249 East Ocean Blvd., Suite 1010, Long Beach, Calif. 90802.
Dohyo is located at 3500 West Orangewood Ave., Anaheim. (714) 634-1305.
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John Dominis will hold a winemaker dinner on Wednesday, featuring wines by the Justin Winery of Paso Robles in California’s Central Coast region. Winery representative Justin Baldwin plans to attend and comment on the food and wine pairings.
The five-course dinner, which begins with a reception at 7, is $60 per person with tax and tip included.
The menu includes stuffed Norwegian salmon with wild rice, mushrooms and a caviar beurre blanc butter sauce, paired with Justin Cabernet Sauvignon 1990. For dessert, there is a sabayon Napoleon with coconut sorbet and Justin Cabernet Port 1992.
2901 West Coast Highway, Newport Beach. (714) 650-5112.
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