Oscars on the Town

And the Dinner Is. . . : The Oscars are Monday, and many restaurants are planning to help celebrate. For pre-Oscar night excitement, head over to the Gardens Restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel, where Jeremiah Tower of Stars Restaurant in San Francisco will be cooking today through the weekend. You can order a la carte or get an $85 five-course tasting menu. Some of his specials include Maine lobster salad with black truffles, Jerusalem artichoke soup, confit of capon breast, lavender and honey rack of lamb and individual baked Alaska. You can also get into the spirit by viewing pastry chef Donald Wressell’s chocolate tribute to the best picture nominees (including sculpted chocolate versions of the Titanic safe and necklace, and an unzipping letter M, for “The Full Monty”), which are on display in the restaurant throughout the month. The Gardens Restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel, 300 S. Doheny Drive, L.A.; (310) 273-2222.

While a big-screen television is broadcasting the Oscar ceremony in its dining room Monday, Citrus will be serving a menu from the Titanic--the menu, to be exact, that was served in the First Class Dining Salon April 14, 1912. It consists of oysters a la Russe, cream of barley soup, poached salmon with a mousseline sauce, Filet Lili or roasted duck with Calvados sauce and chocolate eclairs with vanilla cream. The price is $75 per person, and menu is served for the whole table only. Citrus, 6703 Melrose Ave., L.A.; (213) 857-0034.

At the Bistro Garden, TV monitors will be set up around the restaurant, and so will buffet tables. You can arrive after 5:30 p.m. and begin noshing on medallions of Atlantic salmon, peppered tuna carpaccio, warm potato salad, cannelloni, penne with spicy sausage, beef curry, roast turkey and potatoes au gratin, to name a few items. Once you’re done with the savory buffet, you can move over to the sweet table and have your fill of chocolate souffle, creme bru^lee, creme caramel, tarte Tatin or chocolate mousse cake. The price is $48 per person. The Bistro Garden at Coldwater, 12950 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; (818) 501-0202.

Abiento is having an Oscar party that might fulfill your gambling impulses. If you’re feeling lucky, call ahead to have an Oscar ballot faxed to you and drop it off at the restaurant before the Oscars air. If you pick any of the winners that night and are in Abiento’s dining room for the drawing, you could win a prize (a free drink, dessert or brunch--even a dinner for two). Reservations begin at 5 p.m.; menu specials for the night include shiitake mushroom tart, calamari and shrimp salad, paillard of veal and roast chicken with a honey lime sauce. Abiento Restaurant, 110 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena; (626) 449-4151.

An Unripe Eggplant in Newport: When Tim and Liza Goodell opened their new restaurant Troquet in South Coast Plaza, they were hoping to be done remodeling their original place, Aubergine, by this month. Due to parking permit delays, though, Aubergine won’t be able to reopen until summer.

Everybody’s Going Family: You may know about Campanile’s Monday night family dinners, where you get a good price on a meal ($30 a head) if everybody at the table orders the same thing; entrees are things like osso buco and seven-hour leg of lamb. The concept debuted in November and has been running steadily since the beginning of the year. The entree on March 23 will be stuffed veal breast; on March 30, goulash with spaetzle. Campanile, 624 S. La Brea Ave., L.A.; (213) 938-1447.

But Campanile isn’t alone. Pinot at the Chronicle has Monday night family dinners during March ($25 a head); the entree is set in the middle of the table, help yourself. Meals include appetizer and dessert. The entree on Monday is stuffed veal breast; on March 30, braised lamb shank. Pinot at the Chronicle, 897 Granite Drive, Pasadena; (626) 792-1179. Le Chardonnay has three-course Sunday dinners (excluding holidays) from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. for just $25 a head. The first course is either vegetable soup or mixed green salad, the entree is usually your choice of veal Marengo, half-chicken on the spit or grilled salmon, and the dessert varies. Le Chardonnay, 8284 Melrose Ave., L.A.; (213) 655-8880. Il Grano, a relatively new Italian restaurant in West L.A., serves Italian family dinners on Sunday nights from 5:30 to 9 p.m. for about $35 per person for four or five courses; everyone at the table must order the same meal. Recent entrees have been rabbit cacciatore and octopus with tomato sauce. On Sunday, the entree is braciola (beef stuffed with Parmesan, raisins and pine nuts). Il Grano, 11359 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A.; (310) 477-7886.

How do folks at Campanile feel about everyone getting on the bandwagon? Campanile’s G.M. Claudio Blotta says, “We’re very flattered that people think it’s a great idea.”