Morton’s Opens Steakhouse in Santa Ana

Planet Earth has a new neighbor at the South Coast Plaza Village. The steakhouse chain Morton’s of Chicago has just opened its 30th restaurant. From the kitchen setup and spacious booths right down to the Leroy Neiman serigraphs on the walls, it’s an almost identical copy of the Beverly Hills branch on La Cienega Boulevard (which is named Arnie Morton’s of Chicago to distinguish it from Arnie’s son Peter’s West Hollywood restaurant Morton’s). About the only thing that’s different is the framed enlargements of historical photos, which at the Orange County location feature Seal Beach and other locales as they looked in the near-past--when this restaurant, certainly, was not around.

The traditional steakhouse features aged, grain-fed USDA prime beef. And to help you make your selection, waiters give a visual presentation of the menu at breakneck speed, with the aid of a cart stocked with the kitchen’s raw materials--giant beefsteak tomatoes, football-sized Idaho potatoes, the various steaks, chops, brochettes, all of suitably large proportions. A big live Maine lobster, claws taped safely shut, rides around on the cart, too, taking a bow at each table.

* Morton’s of Chicago, 1661 Sunflower Ave., South Coast Plaza Village, Santa Ana. (714) 444-4834. Open Monday through Friday for lunch, daily for dinner. Major credit cards accepted. Complimentary valet parking. Appetizers $4.95-$9.75; steaks $22.95-$29.95.