A LA CARTE : VALENTINE'S DAY DINING.Byline: Larry Lipson Such obvious Valentine's Day destination restaurants as Valentino in Santa Monica, Il Cielo in Beverly Hills and Brandywine in Woodland Hills are always booked up well in advance of the day itself. But there are always those other possibilities for a variety of tastes and budgets. And with Valentine's Day falling on a Sunday this year, there'll be those who want to celebrate it earlier in the day with a brunch. Here then, are a few restaurants and hotels with Valentine's Day activities worth consideration: Beach House Address: 100 W. Channel Road, Santa Monica. Phone: (310) 454-8299. Cuisine: New American. Menu information: Prix-fixe three-course dinner begins with a choice of sauted fois gras on mache, roasted beets and goat cheese salad, or diver sea scallops with mini corn cakes. Entree choices are New Zealand red snapper or truffled pate-stuffed Cornish game hen, Colorado rack of lamb Noun 1. rack of lamb - a roast of the rib section of lamb crown roast rack - rib section of a forequarter of veal or pork or especially lamb or mutton lamb roast, roast lamb - a cut of lamb suitable for roasting , or Maine lobster with mushroom flan. Desserts are sweetheart tart, chocolate cake or strawberry souffle souffle /souf·fle/ (soo´f'l) a soft, blowing auscultatory sound. cardiac souffle any cardiac or vascular murmur of a blowing quality. . Price: $65. Miscellaneous: Served from 6 to 10 p.m. Bistro Garden Address: 12950 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. Phone: (818) 501-0202. Cuisine: Contemporary continental. Menu information: Three-course prix-fixe dinner has five starter choices: tuna carpaccio car·pac·cio n. Very thinly sliced raw meat or fish, especially beef or tuna, garnished with a sauce. [Italian, after Vittore Carpaccio, who favored red pigments. , assorted greens with beets and goat cheese, raw oysters (Malpeque, Fanny Bay and Kumamoto), carrot ginger bisque bisque 1 n. 1. a. A rich, creamy soup made from meat, fish, or shellfish. b. A thick cream soup made of puréed vegetables. 2. Ice cream mixed with crushed macaroons or nuts. , lobster ravioli. Six entrees are: grilled chicken breast, baked Alaskan salmon in pastry, Cajun seared tuna, ostrich medallions, rack of lamb, filet mignon with three peppercorn pep·per·corn n. 1. A dried berry of the pepper vine Piper nigrum. 2. A small or insignificant thing. peppercorn Noun the small dried berry of the pepper plant sauce. Five dessert picks: creme brulee, cherries jubilee, fruit sorbets, Grand Marnier parfait, chocolate souffle. Price: $48. Miscellaneous: Valentine dinners and/or sweets to take home from adjacent BG to Go, (818) 366-3246. Boomerock Address: 61 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. Phone: (626) 440-0088. Cuisine: Aussie-style hot-rock barbecue. Menu information: Prix-fixe meal of champagne, heart-shaped prawn prawn: see shrimp. and scallop scallop or pecten, marine bivalve mollusk. Like its close relative the oyster, the scallop has no siphons, the mantle being completely open, but it differs from other mollusks in that both mantle edges have a row of steely blue "eyes" and entree, edible flowers and surprise dessert for lovers. Added appetizer of steamed clams with truffle oil and roasted hearts of palm broth. Price: $25 per person. Added appetizer $8.95 extra. Miscellaneous: Australian beers and wines and Down Under gift shop. Canard ca·nard n. 1. An unfounded or false, deliberately misleading story. 2. a. A short winglike control surface projecting from the fuselage of an aircraft, such as a space shuttle, mounted forward of the main wing and de Bombay Address: 4101 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Phone: (818) 752-2879. Cuisine: Indian. Menu information: Three-course prix-fixe dinner begins with shrimp or vegetable on puri, then Kamasutra chicken (actually marinated Cornish game hen seasoned with ``aphrodisiac'' herbs and spices and wrapped in clay) is the main course. Dessert is mango sorbet and ``aphrodisiac'' tea. Price: $29.95 per person. Miscellaneous: Vegetarian or no-salt, no oil versions available. Includes unlimited non-alcoholic champagne and a flower for each woman diner. Cha Cha Cha Encino Address: 17499 Ventura Blvd., Encino. Phone: (818) 789-3600. Cuisine: Californian-Carib. Menu information: A la carte offerings include crab cakes, ceviche ce·vi·che or se·vi·che n. Raw fish marinated in lime or lemon juice with olive oil and spices and served as an appetizer. [American Spanish, from Spanish cebiche, fish stew, from cocktail, tamales de oro, jerk pork, coconut shrimp, corn chowder, paella, rack of lamb, various shrimp dishes and potato-crusted salmon. Price: Starters from $5 to $7.50, entrees from $17 to $22. Miscellaneous: Exotic cocktails, tarot card readings, live steel drum band, three seatings (5:30, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.). Chianti Address: 7383 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. Phone: (323) 653-8333. Cuisine: Italian. Menu information: Four-course fixed-price menu includes two glasses of Mumm's Cordon Rouge bubbly. Some items: oyster soup, radicchio ra·dic·chi·o n. pl. ra·dic·chi·os Any of several varieties of chicory, having red or red-spotted leaves that form globose or elongated heads. nests with crab meat, grilled filet mignon on lentil lentil, leguminous Old World annual plant (Lens culinaris) with whitish or pale blue flowers. Its pods contain two greenish-brown or dark-colored seeds, also called lentils, which when fully ripe are ground into meal or used in soups and stews. spread, grilled salmon on wilted leeks, heart-shaped baked cream. Price: $59 per person. Miscellaneous: Dim-lit room, strolling guitarist. Seatings at 6:30, 8 and 9:30 p.m. Same menu available Friday and Saturday nights. Conga Room Address: 5364 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. Phone: (323) 935-0900. Cuisine: Nuevo Latino. Menu information: Prix-fixe menu featuring lobster bisque, empanadas, duck breast, seared tuna, filet of beef with poblano po·bla·no n. A cultivar of the tropical pepper (Capsicum annum) having a mild or fairly pungent dark green, thick-skinned fruit used in cooking. mashed potatoes, swan-shaped chocolate mousse in rum-guava sauce. Price: $27.50 per person. Miscellaneous: Does not include nightclub. (Packages from $40 to $75 per person.). |
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