Pierpont Chef to Go All Out for Dinner

Kevin Sherry, the new executive chef at Ventura’s Pierpont Inn, will host his first winemaker dinner at the restaurant Sunday. He and his staff will cook up a five-course dinner featuring food from the Central Coast, accompanied by wine from the Sanford Winery of Buellton.

To start things off, Sherry will prepare a cured salmon pastrami with cilantro, molasses and fresh cracked pepper, followed by an Arroyo Grande consomme with petite wild boar dumplings--yes, wild boar, straight from San Luis Obispo County--smoked over applewood and served with a julienne of pumpkin.

Following a palate-cleansing Bahama Star Ruby grapefruit will come the entree: an Ojai Valley squab served with parsnip and fresh herb flan, vegetables and a rice pilaf.

For dessert, Sherry will prepare his Topa Topa citrus tart, made with orange and lemons grown near Ojai’s Topa Topa mountain range. The tart will be topped by a pistachio creme anglaise, made from pistachios grown in the Cuyama area.

Cost is $65 per person. Call 653-6144, Ext. 144 for reservations. Dinner will begin at 6 p.m. The Pierpont is at 550 Sanjon Road.

*

What better way to celebrate winter than with a warm, hearty meal.

That will be the theme Saturday when Ventura’s City Bakery hosts its “Winter Seasonal Dinner.”

The five-course meal, which will be prepared by bakers Coleen Coffey and Felicia Bentham and cook Jason Bays, will open with a choice of smoked salmon and dill strudel, or a carrot, feta and dill strudel. Next will be a borscht served with pumpernickel rye bread, followed by a spinach salad with roasted sweet potatoes.

For the main course it will be stuffed cabbage served with roasted kasha. (Vegetarian entrees are available.) And to top it all off, a pear tart tartin for dessert.

“The menu looks like it’s from Russia, not real California cuisine,” said Mabel Chase, owner of City Bakery. “Even though it’s peasant food, it’s special, because nobody eats these anymore. I just hope it’s cold that night, not 85 degrees.”

Cost is $19.50 per person. Call 643-0861 for reservations. Seatings are from 6 to 8 p.m. Guests are invited to bring their own wine. Musical entertainment will be provided by the classical quintet Concrete Feet. City Bakery is at 2358 E. Main St.

*

The 2 West Coffee Co. in Ventura will begin this month showing films Tuesday through Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons. Though he has yet to finalize a schedule, Dave Paglia, owner of the coffeehouse/cafe, said the film selections will be classical and eclectic.

“They will range from Fellini to Steve McQueen to Charlie Chaplin to Fred Astaire,” said Paglia. “Our [business] card says, ‘coffee, food, and culture,’ and that’s what I’d like to bring to Ventura.”

Paglia said his intent is to attract folks familiar with the films, as well as those unfamiliar with the big-screen names of bygone eras.

“We get a lot of younger kids in here and some aren’t even aware of classics like ‘Star Wars,’ ” he said. “It’s so easy to get caught up in the big movies of today. I just want to offer a little bit of history and culture, to educate people on what brought us to where we are today in pop culture.”

Paglia said all movies will be shown, via video, on a nine-foot screen. The coffeehouse is at 2 W. Main St.