Cafe Stirs Up Taste of Russia

Russian cuisine is the focus of a special menu to be served Saturday at Cafe Fleuri in Hotel Le Meridien, Newport Beach.

The four-course menu starts with a vodka aperitif and an appetizer of caviar, smoked fish, oysters and blinis. Coulibiac, a puff pastry of salmon with lobster sauce, and sauteed beef tenderloin a la stroganoff will be followed by a tsarine of pineapple ice cream and strawberries marinated in kummel, a Russian liqueur. Wines will be selected by the chef.

The price is $75 a person, including tax, tip and wine, and dinner begins at 7 p.m.

Diners will be entertained by Na Zdoroviye, a troupe that performs dances whose origins range from the Russian ballroom to Armenia, the Ukraine and the Gypsies. The dancers are scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m.

4500 MacArthur Blvd. (714) 476-2001, Ext. 2194.

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Gustaf Anders will host Scottish vocalist Kathleen Ciancio on Tuesday evening, beginning at 6:30. Ciancio performs with the Les Czimber Trio.

For diners who want to linger and listen, the restaurant will offer a dessert buffet for $10 a person.

1651 Sunflower Ave., South Coast Plaza Village, Santa Ana. (714) 668-1737.

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A new Black Angus restaurant opened this week at the Tustin Market Place. The restaurant chain, owned by Stuart Anderson’s in Newport Beach, is noted for its casual Western atmosphere, steaks and prime rib.

The Tustin location will be open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

3030 El Camino Real. (714) 573-4888.

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Two local restaurants have recently received phony dry cleaning bills, and they are warning others to watch out. Thee White House in Anaheim and La Vie en Rose in Brea were billed for payment to remove a spot from a silk jacket.

“I want to let everyone know” to be careful of these hoaxes, said Bruno Serato, owner of Thee White House.

About one year ago, many local restaurants received similar phony bills--including J.W.’s, Bistango and the Cellar. The bills are so small that restaurateurs often pay them without double-checking.

This time, however, the maitre d’ at La Vie en Rose detected the problem because he remembered that he had not served rack of lamb on the night in question, which was the meal the phony diner claimed to have eaten.