Italian Menu Finds Favor at Roxbury

Roxbury has hired a new executive chef and has changed its dinner menu from California eclectic--as originally designed by David Wilhelm--to Italian/Mediterranean.

The chef is Thomas Tran, who has worked as a sous-chef for Wilhelm. Tran was the opening chef at Kachina in Laguna Beach and at other locations of West Coast Restaurant Ventures. Roxbury is owned by Sunset Events.

Entree prices on the new menu run about $8.50 to $16, or $1 to $2 less per dish. Some items include breast of chicken stuffed with herbs and ricotta, angel hair with asparagus and tomatoes, and calzone of goat cheese and roasted eggplant.

2 Hutton Center Drive, Santa Ana. (714) 662-0880.

Six courses and six vineyards will be part of a gourmet dinner arranged by the Orange County chapter of the American Institute of Wine & Food and the Golden Truffle restaurant. The dinner, which begins at 7 tomorrow night at the restaurant, is $85 for chapter members and $95 for non-members.

Dishes include smoked ostrich (with a sparkling wine), octopus minestrone, sweetbread salad with white truffle vinaigrette, and oxtail with black truffles.

For information and reservations, call Suzanne Hough, (714) 955-4542.

1767 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa. (714) 645-9858.

The Bombay Duck restaurant in Laguna Beach will be host of a five-course dinner on Monday featuring Australian wines from Rosemont Estate and contemporary Indian cuisine. Dinner begins at 8 p.m. and is $40 per person, tax and tip included.

Reservations are requested.

231 Ocean Ave. (714) 497-7307.

Avila’s El Ranchito restaurant has opened a new location, at Beach Boulevard and Adams Avenue in Huntington Beach. It’s the former site of the Crazy Burro.

Avila’s offers prices of about $6 to $10 per entree. In a departure from many Mexican restaurants, this one has added a light menu: pollo asado (charbroiled chicken in salsa) and frijoles frescos (freshly made beans that are not refried).

Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

8082 Adams Ave. (714) 960-8226.

John Dominis restaurant is hosting a five-course contemporary Scandinavian dinner Saturday, beginning at 7. The meal will be prepared by the restaurant’s chef Lasse Sorensen, who was born in and trained in Denmark, and visiting Danish chef Maria Bolin. The cost is $60, with tax and tip included.

On the menu are cabillaud (white fish) with bacon, fried parsley and snow pea sauce; oven-roasted pearl chicken with fresh herb sauce; and apple trifle with raspberries, chantilly and chocolate. A different wine is served with each course.

2901 West Coast Highway, Newport Beach. (714) 650-5112.