Blending Flavors

Stepping inside someone’s dream is as easy as opening the door of A Good Thai and Peruvian Restaurant.

Once inside the establishment--with its deep red booths, hand-carved chairs and radiant crystal chandelier--you are in a restaurant imagined and brought to life by Pawana Koomsup, a Thai woman who met and fell in love with Peruvian Paul Dongo 10 years ago when they lived near each other in Oxnard.

He was a UCLA student and she worked serving food and managing a Thai restaurant.

“It was love at first sight when I saw Puk,” Dongo said.

Their union created more than just two children--it also gave rise to two restaurants that unite both their cultures.

“It was Puk’s dream to own her own restaurant, and I wanted to make that come true for her,” said Dongo, an engineer.

With one requirement. She had to include dishes from his home country.

“Food from Thailand and Peru are the best foods you can ever find for people who are tired of consuming hamburgers and fast food and want something that is healthy and tasty,” Dongo said.

Their Oxnard restaurant opened Aug. 5, 1997, and they are staging the grand opening today of their Ventura establishment with entertainment by a Peruvian band from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The menu is reasonably priced, but the best deal is the weekday all-you-can-eat lunch buffet for $6.99, served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Also on the menu are the chef’s recommendations, which include snow peas and cauliflower with shrimp for $7.95, sweet and sour fish for $10.99 or spicy mint squid for $8.95. A boneless duck marinated in honey and served with broccoli is $8.95.

Some of the Peruvian foods sport long names such as ceviche de camaron, a fresh shrimp dish marinated in lemon juice for $8.99, and papa a la huancaina, boiled potatoes topped with a savory cheese sauce and garnish.

The foods come in mild and spicy--you decide. And if you want to try something you can’t pronounce and have never had, you can ask for a picture menu with photographs of each dish.

DETAILS

A Good Thai and Peruvian Restaurant, 583 E. Main St., in Ventura, and 722 N. Ventura Road in Oxnard. Hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily, except closed in Oxnard on Wednesdays. Call Ventura restaurant at 643-0583 or Oxnard restaurant at 983-1514. Web site is www.thaiperurestaurant.com.

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Nestled between a freeway and Newbury Park’s Amgen industrial section is Eric’s, a new restaurant designed by Eric Erickson that features upscale California cuisine in a comfortable atmosphere with a classy coffee-shop appeal.

Erickson, of Erickson Associates in Pasadena, was a former Navy fighter pilot in the Pacific who returned from World War II to attend the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and become an award-winning restaurant designer. His establishments include Crawdaddy, the Creole restaurant in the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, and the Starlight Roof and Crusty’s in San Francisco.

Though the names are similar, Eric’s is not affiliated with Eric Ericsson’s Fish Co. at the Ventura Pier.

Eric’s is adjacent to the Clarion Palm Garden Hotel, formerly the Holiday Inn, and was built in a meeting room of the hotel.

Black, shiny tables with a sprig of live daisies set off the open and airy look of the bar and restaurant, which has booths and tables. The patio facility has a 12-by-12 water wall and a fireplace.

The establishment opened in February. On Sunday, it will begin serving a brunch with a menu of eggs benedict, huevos rancheros, fresh seafood and salads. Prices range from $6.95 to $11.95.

The regular dinner menu includes dishes created by Chef Karl Holst, who grew up in Ventura, said manager Patrick Kolanoski.

Appetizers range from $3.95 to $11.95 and entrees are $9.95 to $28.95, he said.

Dinner choices include a garlic chicken pizza made with grilled chicken, roasted garlic, caramelized onions, tomatoes and buffalo-milk mozzarella for $9.95; swordfish grilled on a sundial of roasted vegetables with pesto risotto topped with garlic lemon oil for $21.95; and New York steak, grilled with horseradish mashed potatoes, broccoli and onion rings for 28.95.

There are also small plate orders such as scampi or salads and a variety of pasta dishes, including chicken penne for $10.50 and filet mushroom ravioli for $13.50.

The lunch menu includes land and sea dishes along with salads, sandwiches, pizza and pasta.

DETAILS

Eric’s Restaurant and Bar is at 495 N. Ventu Park Road, Newbury Park. Hours: Mon.-Fri. 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m., 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m.; Sat. and Sun. 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m., 5:30 p.m.-11 p.m. Call 716-4100.

Nancy Needham can be reached by e-mail at nancy.needham@reporters.net.