Trend Watch: Home-style cooking gets new spot in H.B.

We got a tip from a reader that Kathy May’s Restaurant has moved and opened up as Kathy May’s Lakeview Café at 6622 Lakeview Drive in Huntington Beach.

The home-style restaurant, previously on Goldenwest Street, offers breakfast, lunch and dinner at reasonable prices. Weekday breakfast specials run about $3.99 with the most expensive dinners at about $10.99.

“The restaurant has windows all across the front so you can see the lake,” owner Kathy May said. “There’s a huge fireplace and the décor has a very cottage type of feel — like you’re on vacation on the lake.”

It also features an indoor and outdoor patio with views of Lake Huntington and Central Park.

Fan favorites, according to May, include the spinach omelet for breakfast, and patty melts, salmon and country fried steak for dinner.

The restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday; (714) 842-7700.

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Party at Pelican Hill

Still no plans for New Year’s Eve? The Resort at Pelican Hill has several options.

In the Great Room, there will be live music, a balloon drop and a complimentary Proscecco toast, according to a news release. There will also be an a la carte New Year’s Eve menu from 6 p.m. to midnight.

The event is free for guests and $35 for those not staying at the hotel.

An “Il Cenone,” or Italian Gala, will be held at Andrea Ristorante, featuring a four-course menu of many choices and two dinner seating options. The gala will take place form 5 to 7 p.m. and costs $130 per adult without wine pairing, or 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. for $170 per adult without wine pairing.

In the Pelican Grill & Lounge, a California grill, four-course prix fixe menu is happening from 5 to 10 p.m. A five-piece band and singer will entertain from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. with dancing as well. At midnight, a balloon will drop in the lounge and complimentary Prosecco will be offered to guests.

Cost is $125 per adult without wine pairing or $165 with wine pairing.

Other events include a pajama party for children ages 4 to 12 at Camp Pelican from 5 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Children will enjoy games, crafts, dinner and a holiday movie to ring in the New Year. Cost is $130 per child and only available for resort guests.

The Resort at Pelican Hill is at 22701 Pelican Hill Road South, Newport Coast. Call for (800) 820-6800 for dining and reservations or go to https://www.pelicanhill.com/Holiday for more information.

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Plenty of Christmas dinner options

Of course, there are tons of holiday dining options at South Coast Plaza. On Christmas Eve, there are a few, including dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. at Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s.

A five-course, prix fixe dinner starts with a gravlox amuse, then a roasted winter salad, followed by truffle butternut squash risotto, according to a news release. An entree of black garlic-crusted lamp chops follows that with a poire maron Yule log for dessert.

The dinner is $80 per person, plus $35 for wine pairing. Call (714) 352-2525 for more information or to make a reservation.

At Pinot Provence, a French-inspired Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. The dinner kicks off with butternut squash soup, arugula salad, celery root risotto or hamachi, followed by the choice of sweet potato ravioli, pork belly or Manila clams. Main dish choices include sauteed diver scallops, crispy duck breast, prime rib or half rotisserie chicken.

The cost is $65 per person for three courses, $78 per person for four courses and $19.95 for children under 12.

Call (714) 444-5900 for reservations.

Antonello Ristorante is hosting its own Christmas Eve dinner, as is AnQi by Crustacean, Scott’s Restaurant & Bar Marché Moderne Morton’s The Steakhouse Pinot Provence and Royal Khyber Fine Indian Cuisine.

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Lagunan writes memoir

I just received a copy of Lagunan author Niki Smart’s memoir, “Hell Camp: How to Chew on a Crazy Childhood and Avoid Checking.”

I haven’t started reading it — more to come on that later — but in case you weren’t aware, Smart read an excerpt of it at the most recent L.A. Times Festival of Books and had an author signing at Laguna Beach Books.

Smart, who works with at-risk teens, also teaches yoga and has written several songs. More on her book and life is at niki-smart.weebly.com.

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Christmas Eve in Laguna

Sapphire Laguna also is offering a special Christmas Eve dinner. The three-course prefix dinner, prepared specially by Chef Azmin Ghareman, will be from 4: 30 to 9:30 p.m. and will feature menu of “culinary influences from around the world.” Cost for the dinner starts at $52.

Reservations and more information is at Reservations https://www.sapphirelaguna.com.

ALISHA GOMEZ is the managing editor of the Coastline Pilot and Huntington Beach Independent. She can be reached [email protected] or (714) 966-4618.