There’s a new gourmet restaurant in town,...

There’s a new gourmet restaurant in town, thanks to the students in the Oxnard College Hotel and Restaurant Management Program.

Each Tuesday night through the end of the fall semester, they will prepare meals for the public in the school dining room. The entree menu includes filet mignon, marinated swordfish, herb chicken, and pasticcio. Prices range from $5.95-$10.95 for full meals.

Then on Thursdays, the dining room becomes an Italian Bistro, with scampi, chicken breast Diane, veal scaloppine, and a vegetarian dish among the entrees available. “We make our own pasta, pizza doughs and breads, fresh every week,” said Nancy Schumacher, a third-semester student. The veal is the most expensive item, at $6.75, with a seven-inch pizza priced at $3.

Dinners are served from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Call 986-5869 for reservations. Lunches are from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; no reservations needed.

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Congratulations to Robert Garcia, executive chef of Capistrano’s Restaurant at Oxnard’s Mandalay Beach Resort. He recently won the Dinner of the Year award presented by the Southwest Assn. of Chefs and Culinarians.

Speaking of Garcia, he will be preparing a special meal for Valentine’s Day at Capistrano’s. It will begin with a choice of spinach tortellini or tiger prawns, followed by a passion fruit sorbet. For the entree, it’s either filet mignon, fresh Pacific broiled salmon, or Chicken Casanova filled with prosciutto, provolone, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes. Cost is $28.50 per person. Call 984-2500, Ext. 569 for reservations.

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There’s no shortage of Ventura County Valentine’s Day feasts, if you truly feel like eating to your heart’s content. Following are the highlights of two more of the many multi-course specials being planned:

At Nona’s Courtyard Cafe in Ventura, Chef Annie Harfield’s menu will include artichoke bottoms stuffed with herb chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and Italian cheeses; a salad with smoked Muscovy duck and an entree of New Zealand rack of spring lamb, fresh Atlantic salmon filet en croute, tenderloin of beef, or risotto with grilled wild game. Cost is $32.95 per person. Call 641-2783.

At the Hyatt Westlake, Chef Don Catlin’s “Cupid’s Champagne Buffet” includes roast sirloin with bordelaise sauce, the chef’s catch with citrus sauce, chicken cordon bleu, and heart-shaped pasta. Price: $20 per person. Call 497-9991, Ext. 164.