Honors for Four Seasons

The Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach has become the only hotel-and-restaurant west of the Mississippi to win twin five-diamond ratings from the American Automobile Assn. With the publication of AAA’s 1994 guide, the Four Seasons has been given top honors for the second year in a row, and its restaurant, The Pavilion, is on the five-diamond list for the first time.

The Pavilion serves a California-style Mediterranean cuisine and changes its menu seasonally. A three-course meal runs about $29.50.

690 Newport Center Drive. (714) 759-0808.

*

The Wolfgang Puck Cafe is open at South Coast Plaza, next to Bullock’s on the second floor of the mall. The cafe is serving entrees for under $10, from Puck’s famed pizzas to salads, pastas and rotisserie chicken dishes.

The casual restaurant is quite a change from Puck’s Spago in West Hollywood, known for its haute cuisine and haute prices--not to mention its hot celebrity clientele.

The cafe seats 140 and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (except Sunday, when closing time is 9 p.m.).

3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa. (714) 546-9653.

*

Morgan Green, a graduate of the Laguna School of Art and Design, will exhibit her paintings at Pero’s restaurant beginning Monday.

For the opening, the restaurant will serve complimentary wine, champagne and appetizers from 6 to 8 p.m. The artist will attend. Pero’s opens for dinner at 8.

Sea Cliff Village, 2221 North Main St., Huntington Beach. (714) 960-7764.

*

Gandhi Indian Cuisine will host a winemaker dinner on Tuesday, featuring the wines of Sterling vineyard in Napa Valley and such dishes as tandoori fish tikka , vegetable samosa , shrimp bhoona , lamb pasanda and mushroom bhajee .

A reception begins at 6:30 p.m.; $34.95 per person, plus tax and tip.

1621D Sunflower Ave., South Coast Plaza Village, Santa Ana. (714) 556-7273.