Newman’s Own

Herb Newman began hosting a weekly Sunday brunch at his Steak Joynt restaurant in Universal City last Sunday, Easter Sunday.

You can get eggs Benedict, steak and eggs, ham and eggs, French toast with marmalade and pecans, and a host of omelets, all served with roasted red potatoes and onions.

Prices range between $4.95 and $9.95. For another $1, you can top things off with a glass of champagne.

* The Steak Joynt is at 4354 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, (818) 761-9899.

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Meanwhile, down the road at Newman’s Oyster House restaurant in Studio City, the menu now concentrates exclusively on seafood. Among the new dishes are broiled lobster tail and cherrystone clams on linguine.

The lobster goes for $15.95, the cherrystone clams and linguine for $12.95.

Crab cakes, frog legs, cioppino and bouillabaisse are the signature dishes.

The Oyster House used to offer a handful of chicken entrees for those who didn’t want seafood--and send those who wanted meat to the Steak Joynt. “But we’re a seafood house,” Newman says, “and now we’re going all the way with just that.”

* The Oyster House is at 12446 Moorpark St., Studio City, (818) 761-8686.

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Tam O’Shanter Inn in the Los Feliz area will celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday with two nights of entertainment and feasting April 23 and 24.

Reservations are a must and the earlier the better, according to Ed Lepere, the restaurant’s general manager.

On both nights the L.A. Troupe will perform what it calls “A Romp with Shakespeare’s Loves,” presenting lighthearted scenes from some of the bard’s comedies.

Members of the L.A. Troupe helped the Tam O’Shanter Inn celebrate the birthday of the great Scottish poet Robert Burns in January. The restaurant also celebrates the birthday of Charles Dickens in November.

The restaurant celebrates Burns’ birthday because, Lepere says, it’s the Tam O’Shanter Inn. It celebrates Dickens’ birthday because it falls close enough to Christmas to provide a good excuse for a holiday party. It celebrates Shakespeare’s birthday because the L.A. Troupe loves doing Shakespeare--and who needs an excuse to honor the bard?

The feasting on Shakespeare’s birthday will include roast prime rib, roast duckling and fish, along with bread pudding for dessert and coffee or tea. Cost: $50 per person.

* The Tam O’Shanter Inn is at 2980 Los Feliz Blvd., (213) 664-0228.

* Juan Hovey writes about the restaurant scene in the San Fernando Valley and outlying points. He may be reached at (805) 492-7909 or fax (805) 492-5139 or via e-mail at JHovey@compuserve.com