This Cannery Just Swims With Fish

Can Opener: Cannery Seafood of the Pacific has finally opened in Newport Beach. Those of you who know that Ron Salisbury, owner of the El Cholo restaurants, took over a former-cannery-turned-restaurant there have been waiting patiently for it to open. Two years, in fact. Now at dinner, Felix Salcedo, formerly the chef at Sonora Cafe in L.A., another of Salisbury’s restaurants, turns out scallop ceviche ($8.95), baked mussels with jalapenos and cilantro ($11.95), and steamed clams in a white wine broth ($11.95) for starters. Obviously, the menu is seafood-driven, with entrees such as chile-charred ahi tuna ($21.50), Pacific swordfish with lobster cream ($22.50) and a seafood enchilada ($17.95), though red meat makes an appearance as a barbecued pork chop ($22.50), Colorado rack of lamb ($28.75), herb-roasted chicken ($17.50) and various steaks.

Photos of the cannery in its working days some 30 years ago decorate the walls of the restaurant’s lobby. Dinner is served daily from 5:30 p.m. Daily lunch service should begin in early March, followed by Sunday brunch in mid-March.

* Cannery Seafood of the Pacific, 3010 Lafayette Blvd., Newport Beach; (949) 566-0060.

Little Italy Got Bigger: Another Maggiano’s Little Italy will open next month at the Grove, the new shopping complex-in-construction beside the old Farmers Market at Fairfax Avenue and 3rd Street. Maggiano’s is a family-style Italian dinner house with an upscale design, similar in concept to Buca di Beppo but with much fancier digs. Maggiano’s exist already in Woodland Hills and Costa Mesa. More details on the restaurant chain can be found at their Web site at www.maggianos.com.

* Maggiano’s Little Italy, at the Grove, 189 Grove Drive, L.A.; (323) 965-9665.

Menu Action: Kincaid’s Bay House in Redondo Beach has launched its prawn festival. For the next month, chef James Miller will be cooking Alaskan spot prawns, Australian banana prawns, Indian giant freshwater prawns, Florida rock shrimp, Thailand black tiger prawns, Cabo white prawns and Chilean bay shrimp as appetizers and entrees at lunch and dinner ($7.95-$24.95) daily. The “Prawntastic Journey,” as they’re calling it, runs until March 30. Kincaid’s Bay House, on the Redondo Beach Pier, 500 Fisherman’s Wharf, Redondo Beach; (310) 318-6080....

The Terrace Restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel puts out a seafood buffet every Friday night (which is especially handy for those folks who gave up red meat for Lent) that includes sushi, oysters and seafood chowder, as well as swordfish, halibut and a slew of other fish. It’s $48 per person and includes a dessert spread. The Terrace at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, 1 Ritz-Carlton Drive, Dana Point; (949) 240-5008....

In response to the recent resurgence in downtown L.A., McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant there has opened for lunch for the first time in its 10-year history. The menu is the same as the dinner menu, with the addition of “lunch and light” entrees ranging from $6-$14. The restaurant now opens at noon daily. McCormick & Schmick’s, on the 4th level of the Library Towers, 633 W. 5th St., downtown L.A.; (213) 629-1929....

Drago in Santa Monica has begun serving family-style meals at the communal table on Wednesday nights. The family meals include a risotto, a ravioli, a pasta, a meat or poultry entree and a dessert, for $35 per person. If you want to sit at your own table, at least two people must order the family menu, which changes weekly. Drago, 2628 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica; (310) 828-1585.

PETA Approves: If a stamp of approval by the animal-rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (or PETA) gets your mouth watering, visit their Web site at www.peta.org. They’ve recently begun spotlighting vegetarian and vegan restaurants across the country. Last month’s pick was Native Foods at 11101/2 Gayley Ave. in Westwood. Their phone is (310) 209-1055.

Correction: Last Thursday, we incorrectly said that Locanda Veneta is in Santa Monica. The restaurant is in Los Angeles, on 3rd Street.

Reach Angela Pettera at (310) 358-7647 or pettera@prodigy.net.