DINING : Christmas Menus Make Eating Out Inviting : Restaurateurs offer plenty of dishes to tempt you away from your own kitchen and free you up to enjoy a cooking-free holiday.

So you’ve had it up to here with culinary servitude. This is the year you finally heed Harry Truman’s advice and free yourself from holiday cooking chores.

Go ahead, take time to join that pinochle game with the in-laws. Sink into the cushy recliner and take your crack at the eggnog and Aunt Bertha’s fruitcake.

If you’re thinking of eating out this holiday season, we’ve done some of the legwork to help you decide what to eat and where.

Figuring your Thanksgiving dining plans have long been solidified, we came up with a list of just some of the Ventura County restaurants serving Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals.

The selection process was about as scientific as channel surfing between football games and as arbitrary as choosing which log to toss into the fireplace.

But what follows are several alternatives to plunging your arms into another turkey cavity. The list runs the gamut from sumptuous traditional feasts to a variety of ethnic cuisines.

Note: Some of the restaurants contacted have not decided on their Christmas holiday menus just yet, but were able to provide a pretty good idea of what you can expect.

The Greek at the Harbor, 1583 Spinnaker Drive, Suite 101, Ventura; 650-5350:

Open Christmas Eve (5 to 10 p.m.) and Christmas Day (noon to 8 p.m.). Choose from the regular menu or the holiday dinner, which includes a few options: choice of stuffed turkey breast, rack of lamb or spiral ham. The holiday dinner will include appetizers, salad and dessert choices. Cost: $17.95 for adults, $8.95 for children. There will also be traditional Greek dancing and belly dancing.

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Ojai Valley Inn, Country Club Drive, Ojai; 646-5511:

Open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (see hours below). On Christmas Eve in the Vista dining room, the inn will offer a la carte “Classic Christmas dinner” items such as duckling, roasted turkey, standing rib roast and pecan pie. Dinner is from 6 to 9:30 p.m. and there will be piano entertainment. For Christmas Eve in the Topa Ballroom, there will be a single 6 p.m. seating for a special five-course meal with wine, champagne, storytelling and carolers. The package is $50 per adult, $20 for children under 12.

Christmas Day in the Vista dining room includes the regular buffet service until 10:30 a.m. Next up, the Christmas buffet, which will be served from noon to 4 p.m., and includes a carving station with ham, turkey and beef, plus seafood, pastas and more; $26 adults, $12 children under 12. Christmas dinner from 6 to 9 p.m. includes the regular menu service and Christmas specials.

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Wheeler Hot Springs restaurant, 16825 Maricopa Highway, above Ojai; 646-8131:

Open Christmas Eve (5 to 9:30 p.m.), Wheeler will offer its regular menu as well as a special prix fixe holiday menu. This will include tossed salad of mixed baby greens; choice of appetizer, gratin of oysters or duck foie gras; Christmas lime sorbet; choice of entree--roasted partridge porcini or panache of the sea (Maine lobster, scallops, sea bass and salmon served with lobster and saffron sauces); and dessert, brandy croque-en-bouche. Prix fixe dinner: $45 per person. The ever-intriguing jazz pianist Milcho Leviev will perform during dinner hours.

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Pastabilities, 4910 Verdugo Way, Camarillo; 383-3388:

Open Christmas Eve (4 to 9 p.m.), the Italian eatery plans to have a special dinner menu for Christmas Eve diners. However, the restaurant, which specializes in, you guessed it, pasta, said it was too early to tell what that menu might include.

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The Gallery Restaurant at the Doubletree Hotel, 2055 E. Harbor Blvd., Ventura; 643-6000:

Christmas Day champagne brunch (12 to 6 p.m.) will be served buffet-style with salads, appetizers, seafood, fruits, plus roasted turkey, roast beef, vegetables and desserts; $20.95, $17.95 senior citizens, $8.95 ages 5 to 12, under 5 free. And don’t miss the huge gingerbread house in the hotel lobby.

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Mario’s Bistro, 2121 Rose Ave., Oxnard; 983-1323:

Open Christmas Eve (11 to 9 p.m.) and Christmas Day (11 a.m. to about 8 p.m.). Chef Neal Rosenthal hasn’t sent his holiday menu to the printer--so to speak--but you can expect some “traditional and non-traditional Christmas fare,” he said. Besides the regular menu options, Rosenthal is planning a few specials. The likely candidates include game bird, pork chops and cod cakes with crepes (a Southern Italian dish). “We’re going to have some fun with it,” Rosenthal said.

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Victoria Restaurant & Pub, 1413-F S. Victoria Ave., Ventura; 650-0060:

Open Christmas Eve (5 to 9:30 p.m.) and Christmas Day (noon to 6 p.m.).

A Christmas Day banquet for parties of six to 60 will be held from noon to about 5 p.m. The first course will include choices of soups and salads. There are four entree choices: roast leg of Shropshire pork with traditional stuffing, roast potatoes, fresh vegetables and apple sauce; Norfolk roast turkey with traditional stuffing, roast potatoes and fresh vegetables; vegetable lasagna; fresh charbroiled fish of day served with rice and fresh vegetables. Dessert choices: carrot cake, chocolate fudge cake, English sherry trifle or fruit crumble. Champagne, coffee and English party favors are included with the meal. Cost: adults $19.95, children 12 and under $9.95.

A similar offering for the Christmas menu will be served both days for $14.95 per person.

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Ristorante Fabrizio, 3731 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Westlake Village; 496-9033:

Open Christmas Eve (5 to 10 p.m.). Fabrizio Marangoni has penned a rough draft menu for his annual Christmas Eve dinner specials, though nothing is written in concrete. “Christmas Eve is my second most important night of the year,” Marangoni said. “It must be special, so we choose the items people like the best.” You’ll have a choice of several entrees, plus salads, appetizers and soups. Everything will be served a la carte. Included: filet mignon Monte Carlo (charbroiled and topped with shiitake , champagne and other mushrooms) and served with prawns; rack of lamb with fresh herbs; pork tenderloin prepared with a peppercorn and Chianti sauce; a veal preparation--Marangoni said he hasn’t decided on the recipe. Seafood options will include Norwegian salmon in a champagne sauce, ahi tuna in a Cabernet mushroom sauce; and a bouillabaisse-style seafood combo called “Mamma Mia.” Special entrees will be priced, Marangoni said, in the neighborhood of $18.95 to $22.95.

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Guadalajara, 2891 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks; 497-0070:

Open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (11 a.m. to 11 p.m.) Specializing in seafood, this Mexican restaurant will serve from its regular menu and spice things up a bit with a few holiday specials--including seafood platters. Price range: $5 to $13.

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Ciao Restaurant, 1627 Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley; 522-1049:

Open Christmas Eve (5 to 10 p.m.), Ciao’s Italian and French cuisine chef will prepare a few special entrees that do not appear on the regular menu. Those will include: rack of lamb, filet of venison (sauteed and finished with porcini mushrooms and topped with goose liver pate); roasted quail (stuffed with veal and finished with fresh peppercorn and cognac creme sauce). Specials, served a la carte, will range from $25 to $30.

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Westlake Village Inn Restaurant, 32001 Agoura Road, Westlake Village; 495-6451:

Open Christmas Eve (4 to 10 p.m) and Christmas Day (10 a.m. to 8 p.m.). On the 24th you can order a la carte from the regular menu or choose from several Christmas Eve specials. Christmas Day will feature an “extravagant” buffet, including roast turkey, honey-baked ham, roast beef, Cornish game hen, Oriental stir fry, poached salmon, full breakfast station and more. Cost: $21.95 adults, $19.95 senior citizens, $10.95 children.

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Westlake Hyatt, 880 S. Westlake Blvd, Westlake Village; 497-9991:

Open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (noon to 8 p.m.).

Regular menu service will be available for the 24th. Christmas Day dinner will feature a buffet-style spread with roasted free range turkey, prime rib, honey-mustard glazed ham, sauteed snapper, salads, seafood appetizers and more. Estimated cost: $25 adults, $10 children.