Soul Kitchen Jazzes Up Main Street

The Soul Kitchen, a quiet, jazzy alternative to the rock of Huntington Beach’s Main Street, opened recently at the site of the former Surf Taco.

The owner is Scott Cochran, whose Java Jungle just two blocks away has become one of the area’s most popular coffeehouses.

Cochran has hired Steve Hazelton as head chef at the Soul Kitchen. The two met during a brief and aborted stint Cochran did at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Hazelton, who graduated, participated in the opening of the now-defunct Rex, Newport Beach.

The Soul Kitchen (no relation to a defunct Santa Ana dance club of the same name) offers a seafood/ribs/Cajun menu at about $5.50 for lunch entrees and $8.50 for dinner. The specialty of the house is a jambalaya with shrimp, fish, lobster, chicken and sausage over rice ($11.95).

Cochran is trying to accomplish a European atmosphere, he said, with late hours and soft, low music (prerecorded only) so diners can converse. The Soul Kitchen is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and till midnight Friday through Sunday.

200 Main St. (714) 374-2294.

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A fund-raiser for the Laguna Art Museum on Saturday plans to provide attendees with a “Passport to Wine Country” during a sit-down dinner that includes cuisine from the world’s leading wine regions.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. at the Pacific Club. Tickets are $100 each. Part of the proceeds will underwrite future museum exhibits.

Northern California’s wine country is represented at dinner with an appetizer of corn cakes with shrimp and avocado relish. Spain’s contribution is an entree of grilled lamb chops with ratatouille and potato.

Several trips will be auctioned, including a two-night stay in a historic house in Napa Valley.

For information, call the museum at (714) 494-8971.

4110 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach.