A Supper Club Catering to the ‘90s Singles Scene

Jacqueline Lombard of Camarillo and Polly Wiseman of Ventura are convinced that there are single people in Ventura County hungry for both good food and a good social life.

The fact that more than 30 folks have already signed up for their new West Coast Supper Club, which has its first supper scheduled for Friday night, suggests that the two women are right.

“I am a single mom and I love being a mom at home, but I also know I don’t meet people in my living room,” Lombard said. “There’s a tremendous void between going to college at 22 and being 38 and single.”

It was that revelation, and similar stories from single friends, that in March led Lombard and Wiseman to form the supper club. Members are paired with members of the opposite sex based on interests and background, Lombard said. The couple is then hooked up with two other couples to share dinner at a local restaurant.

“We decided Ventura County could really use this. We wanted to get the focus away from dating services and more back to the social graces of enjoying dinner and dinner conversation,” Lombard said. “Food brings people together. It just makes it a more comfortable situation.”

Lombard said response from area restaurants has been good, with about a dozen already lined up to participate. Among them are McCarthy’s Restaurant in Camarillo, Eric Ericsson’s and the Barefoot Bistro in Ventura and the Glen Tavern Inn in Santa Paula. Petrucci’s Ristorante in Camarillo is hosting Friday night’s dinner.

Members pay a one-time enrollment fee of $295 (a discounted $195 fee is being offered through the end of April). There is no additional service charge for the first three meals, but from the fourth meal on there is a $15 service charge per meal. As for dinner itself, guests order their own meals and pay their own checks. Call 484-3790 for more information.

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Leeward Winery of Ventura will hold a Spring Open House on Saturday and Sunday featuring a barrel sampling of its 1995 Edna Valley Reserve Chardonnay. All of the winery’s current releases also will be available for tasting. Open house hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. The winery is located at 2784 Johnson Drive.

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Ventura’s resident cookbook author Gail Hobbs and travel writer Bob Carter are preparing a sequel to their recently published Soups On! cookbook of soup recipes.

Last month the writing team published a selection of soup recipes from local chefs. Now they’re looking for bigger pots to boil. They’ve put out a call to chefs, food writers, cookbook writers, cooking instructors, nutritionists and other culinary professionals throughout the country to submit their favorite soup recipes.

Deadline for submissions is May 30. Food professionals can send their recipes to Gold Coast Press, 4360 E. Main St., Suite 129, Ventura, CA 93003.

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Capistrano’s, The Greek at the Harbor, The Whale’s Tail, Ouddy Thai Express, Filomena’s and the Chart House will be among the 20-plus restaurants participating in the fourth-annual Taste of Ventura County food and wine festival, April 26 to 28 at Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard.

The Channel Islands Farmers Market and an ostrich farm from Torrance will also be represented, as will about a dozen wineries and some microbreweries. Nonculinary entertainment will include music, dance contests and waiter and waitress races.

Tickets are $6 adults, $3 seniors and military and free for children under 12. The festival will run 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Call 985-4852 for more information.