New Menu--Difference Between Night and Day

By day, Ventura’s Front Street Deli offers up omelets, gourmet pizzas, hoagies, sandwiches and fries. By night, it’s angel hair primavera, French onion soup, stuffed chicken breast, smoked salmon canapes and prime rib au jus.

Regulars of the deli will recognize the daytime personality. But the restaurant’s evening persona is a new one--dinner service began just last week.

“The motto right now is ‘deli by day, fine dining by night,”’ said Susan Saleh who owns the 7-year-old restaurant with husband Joe Saleh. “We have a whole new professional crew at night.”

Susan Saleh said that for most restaurants, the constant shifting back and forth from deli to gourmet might be awkward, but not for them. “We do a lot of catering and [gourmet] is the type of food we prefer to cook,” she said. “Joe was an executive chef with the Holiday Inn corporation in Baltimore and this is where his experience is.”

Susan Saleh said the couple tried opening the deli for dinner several years ago, but the venture lasted only nine months. “We tried keeping the same deli menu, and we just didn’t find that people really went for it,” she said. “People really wanted dinner.”

Fans of the restaurant’s gourmet pizzas will be happy to know the pizzas are present on both the day and evening menus.

Front Street Deli is open for breakfast and lunch 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays. Dinner is 5-8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 5-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The restaurant is at 1070 E. Front St.

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Mix just the right amounts of red wine, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, granulated sugar, fresh lemon juice, grated lemon zest, chopped ginger root, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground allspice, chopped peach, chopped pear and chopped onion, and mix it with 2 1/2 cups fresh strawberries and what do you have? Spiced Strawberry Relish, the grand-prize winner in last weekend’s 1996 California Strawberry Festival Berry-Off held at Oxnard College.

The Berry-Off is a prelude to the annual festival, to be held at Oxnard’s College Park on May 18-19.

The winning entry, submitted in the “Sauces, Butters and Condiments” category by Stuart Byford of Waldron, Ariz., beat out 17 other finalists in six categories. Five entries were awarded first-place prizes in their respective categories, including a Strawberry-Mango Salsa prepared by Shaunna Zavala of Ventura. Zavala’s entry was rated best in the hors d’oeuvres category.

The grand-prize winner was awarded $1,000, and each first-place winner won $200.

Moorpark’s Kathi Hopkins, the only other Ventura County finalist, finished second in the soups and salads category for her Brie and Pear Salad with Strawberry Cream Dressing.

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Last week we wrote about Ventura County’s new West Coast Supper Club, which arranges for club members to interact with one another at local restaurants. The club arranges for groups of three men and three women to meet for dinner.

Co-owner Jacqueline Lombard of Camarillo wanted to stress that the supper club is not a dating service.

“There’s no one-on-one awkwardness,” she said. “It’s three men and three women placed together based on common interest. The group’s not so big you feel overwhelmed and it’s not so small you feel awkward.”

Lombard said that although many members are interested in romance, others are looking, simply, for social interaction.

“Because it’s a group of six people,” she said, “it would be hard not to come away with something, whether it be a business contact or friendship.” Anyone interested may call 484-3790.

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Wines from the Chateau Souverain winery of Sonoma County will be featured during a winemaker dinner Monday at Le Rendez-Vous Restaurant in Newbury Park.

The five-course meal will open with breaded calamari strips and a 1994 Sauvignon Blanc, followed by a fresh filet of salmon with dill sauce and a 1994 Chardonnay. Next will be a Caesar salad and a 1993 Merlot, followed by the main course--a filet mignon bearnaise paired with a 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon. Dinner will conclude with a chocolate mousse and a 1990 Beringer Port.

Cost is $45 per person. Call 498-1019. Le Rendez-Vous is at 1282 Newbury Road.

Leo Smith is a regular contributor to Ventura County Weekend. Write to him at 93 S. Chestnut St., Ventura 93001, or send faxes to 653-7576.