Dinner

If the notion of a vegan meal makes you cringe, a dinner at Mai Nguyen's Au Lac might very well change your mind, especially if you are a fan of Vietnamese, Chinese or Japanese food. Co-chef Ito actually calls his cuisine "Humanese" because he wishes to break down boundaries between people — "we are all merely and wonderfully human. " We think their delicious food will make it an easy transition for carnivores to enjoy a vegan meal. Ito is at the helm of the separate raw food kitchen for those already converted to a plant-based diet who want to take it to the next step.

This is the final article in a four-part series about healthy restaurants in the Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley area.   It was time for a treat. I wanted dinner, a nice dinner — a nice, healthy dinner. Au Lac was the first place that popped into my head. I had been there before, on a dare, actually. My friend, who was a practicing vegan, challenged me to go in to the place, and I’m not one to back down from a bet. The food seemed strange to me, but I was younger and my palette not nearly as experienced as it is now. Unlike the first visit to the Au Luc, this time I was actually looking forward to eating there.

Vic and I spent the Thanksgiving holidays in Monterey with our son Scott, his wife, Nicole, and their three little daughters, Allison, Lauren and Megan. I missed cooking our holiday dinner, but Thanksgiving is really more about family than food. We thoroughly enjoyed a delicious and stress-free dinner buffet at the Marriott. There were so many choices of things to eat that it was impossible to try them all. We didn't miss cleaning dirty pots and pans one little bit. No cooking and no cleanup meant that we had more time for visiting with each other.

You may come like a hungry pilgrim to the Ruby Palace at Beach Boulevard and Ellis Avenue in Huntington Beach and enjoy the riches of the cuisine. All you need to enter is a good appetite and an appreciation of Chinese food in all its complexity. This lovely restaurant, opened in 1981 by owner and chef Hsueh Hsu, has beauty everywhere you look -- one wall is covered with Chinese symbols, another with a banquet in gold relief. The double dining area of tables and booths is centered with a beautiful vase of slender reeds hung with small accordion lanterns surrounded by piles of red and gold firecrackers.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley will host its 31st annual benefit dinner and auction, ?Wishes,? at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa, 21500 Pacific Coast Hwy. All proceeds will fund scholarships enabling disadvantaged families in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley to enjoy the Boys & Girls Club?s programs. The event, chaired by Ed Arnold of Real Orange, is expected to raise $400,000. It will include silent auctions, dinner, entertainment and live auctions.

The Independent went to Mesa View Middle School in Huntington Beach to ask sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, 'What do you consider to be the most important part of the Thanksgiving holiday?' "You get to sit down and have a big family dinner." SABRINA LA RUSCH, 12 Long Beach "For me, it's seeing family and friends I haven't seen in a long time." DANA LEE, 13 Huntington Beach "Having everyone at the table and all being there as a family."

MARINER'S MILE -- The bagpipe band played the "Marines Hymn," while guests dined on prime rib and reveled in a series of toasts, but Thursday night was about the "First of the First," the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. "This is the most patriotic event I've been to in 10 years," said Newport Beach Mayor John Heffernan. Thursday was "mess night" at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort. Leathernecks wearing the Marine Corps dress blue uniforms showed up to celebrate the traditional military dinner.

Michele Marr Valentine's Day is still two weeks away. Roses are ordered. A day's wages has been spent on a red, heart-shaped box of Godiva chocolates. They are safely tucked away until the big day. But the question still prevails, "Isn't there something else I could get her?" Put the question to a handful of hams at Calvary Chapel Huntington Beach and their answer would be, "Yes! Dinner and a great, funny night of theater." On Feb. 15, the Friday after Valentine's Day, the church will present its fifth annual Sweetheart Dinner Theatre.

TILL FEB. 18 'Centered on the Center' The Huntington Beach Art Center presents a non-juried exhibition at 538 Main St., Huntington Beach. Gallery hours are noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 6 p.m. Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call (714) 374-1650 or visit http://www.huntingtonbeachartcenter.org. FRIDAY Down Syndrome Benefit The International Surfing Museum and Team Up for Down Syndrome host "Surf's Up for Down Syndrome," an event featuring dinner, surfing activities, auctions, music by the Chantays and more, at Sandy's Beach Grill, 315 Pacific Coast Hwy., Huntington Beach.

Vic led a birding trip to Big Bear Lake recently for his senior citizen class in bird watching. I was more than happy to go with him because I love the San Bernardino Mountains. We drove up State Route 38 on a beautiful Friday morning, meeting the group at the Oaks Restaurant in Angelus Oaks for an early lunch. If you've never explored the dirt roads around the Angelus Oaks area, you're missing out on a treat. We took a sharp left off the highway at the first pullout beyond the Oaks Restaurant and bounced down the steep grade of Middle Control Road.