Food With a Tropical Theme to Be Found Down at the Sunset Grille

Three days after slipping into bankruptcy in December, the Rib Trader’s lease in Dana Point was purchased and the site is being remodeled as the Sunset Grille & Bar. It is scheduled to open April 12.

New owner Steve Rosen has worked in restaurant management for 23 years, he said, most recently at the Almansor Court in Alhambra, a golf and banquet facility.

Rosen is planning a splashy decor for the Sunset Grille: an aquarium of painted wood fish in the entry and a 5 1/2-foot wooden car in the dining room with alligator surfers as passengers.

The menu is a mixed bag, held together loosely by a tropical theme. Appetizers include Cajun-style barbecue shrimp and New Zealand mussels. On the dinner menu are a fried chicken salad with jalapeno dressing, and grilled swordfish with papaya and mango salsa.

Lunch ($4.95 to $8.95) will be served Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner entrees will be $9.95 to $14.95, served Monday through Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m. Sundays will offer brunch only, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Sunset Grille seats 135 in the dining room and 70 in the bar.

34150 Pacific Coast Highway. (714) 661-5220.

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Nostrum Mare Bistro and Bar is offering a history lesson with its St. Patrick’s Day menu. The restaurant, in the Doubletree Hotel in Orange, reminds diners that Caesar once occupied Ireland, and has added a Mediterranean twist to its Irish feast.

The meal includes a Caesar salad and choice of entrees: corned beef and vegetables steamed in beer and served on fried potato cabbage, or a Moroccan-style Irish stew of lamb braised with prunes, garlic, honey, peppers and almonds, poured over fried couscous cake.

The menu is available for lunch or dinner today, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m. It’s $14.95 per person, excluding tax and tip.

100 The City Drive, (714) 634-4500.

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The St. Patrick’s Day celebration at Raffaello Ristorante will not see the restaurant breaking with its Italian fare. However, its five-course dinner will include many green items, restaurant representatives said, in honor of the day.

On the special menu is fettuccine verdi , pollo farcito (chicken breast stuffed with spinach, asparagus and goat cheese) and tiramisu St. Patrick (green cheese mousse with white chocolate and pistachio nuts). To finish, a glass of champagne.

Dinner seating begins at 5:30, with dancing from 6:30 on and a comedy hour at 8. $29.50 per person, not including tax or tip.

1998 N. Tustin Ave., Orange. (714) 283-8230.