Lunch

Mary A. Castillo If someone gave you three to five seconds to figure out in your head what 58 times 526 was -- could you do it? A team of four sixth-graders at Mesa View Middle School are in training to do just that and more. Led by coach Pat Murphy, the team -- Piero Remedios, Chris Murphy, Garret Shinn and Kelly Self -- have been coming in twice a week during lunch to drill in mental mathematics, estimations, logic and construction. They will compete with more than 500 students in the 2002 Mathematical Field Day this Saturday.

Veronica Duran When they started meeting for lunch 30 years ago, Rose Bouza, Irene James, Kim Wetmore and Tommie Rovano used to hit restaurants like Coco's, Mimi's Cafe and Marie Callender's. The four said they have been to about 90 different restaurants together -- never the same one twice -- including the Ritz Carlton in Newport Beach to commemorate Bouza's and James' birthdays. "We have stuck together through thick and thin," said James, a Huntington Beach resident.

The state Department of Education has released income criteria for free or reduced-price student meals during the 2009-10 school year. Households will be asked to fill out an application listing their income level in order to qualify. Qualification is based on household size and relative income. For example, a family of four must earn no more than $28,665 to qualify for free lunch, breakfast or milk, or $40,973 to qualify for reduced-price lunch or breakfast. Households that already receive Food Stamp, CalWORKs, Kin-GAP or FDPIR benefits may not have to fill out an application for the program.

Back in April, I was fortunate enough to be a judge at the 2005 Taste of Huntington Beach. My vote for "best bite" went to the crab cakes so elegantly served up by the Palm Court restaurant. These delectable creations also won the favor of other judges and were voted the "best taste." The crab cakes, being so wondrous, left me longing to try more of the Palm Court's offerings. Over the next several months I brainstormed ways of procuring sufficient funding in order to dine at a place where a pastrami sandwich fetches $15. Do I bankrupt my secret poker stash for one meal?

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District offers menu choices each day at elementary schools. Students may choose a vegetarian entree. The selection varies and may either be a salad, sandwich or hot entree. Here's what's being served this week: TODAY: Munchable lunch salad with fruit yogurt or pepperoni hot pocket, crisp green salad with ranch, Tree Top flat fruit, choice of milk. WEDNESDAY: Munchable lunch salad or two mini cheeseburgers, lettuce and pickles, fresh pear, choice of milk.

Michele Ryan has lunch once a month at a dusty, makeshift restaurant with dining companions who have little understanding of table manners. She wouldn't have it any other way. Ryan, who owns two horses at the Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center, is among the regulars every second Saturday at Have Lunch with Your Horse Day. The fundraiser, hosted by the nonprofit Red Bucket Equine Rescue, invites owners and other members of the public...

Mary Furr NAME: Italian Express WHERE: 9101 Atlanta Ave., Huntington Beach HOURS: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. PRICES: Ten pizzas ($5.95-$13.95), pasta ($3.99-$5.95), and salad ($2.39-$3.99). Also, 16 choices for lunch specials with salad and drink ($5.49) DRINKS: Soft drinks ATMOSPHERE: Brushed aluminum shines over stoves and ovens manned by cook and manager Carlos Valle, who prepares favorites like chicken fettuccine ($5.95) -- flat, narrow egg noodles with chicken in creamy white sauce; the house specialty, Mama Mia!

Michele Marr 'o7 'Defend the rights of the poor and the fatherless; be fair to the needy and the helpless."f7 Psalm 82:3 During the past week I have been surprised and touched by the e-mail and phone calls I have received about my Aug. 9 column, called "A great lesson in kindness."

DINING OUT Looking for the little bistro you've never forgotten since you visited Italy? Look no more. It's been cloned, and that great Italian food is being prepared by chef/owner Dino Ferraro at Capone's Cucina, in the center of the big strip of stores and cafes at Beach Boulevard and Adams Avenue in the Newland Center. Chef Dino cooks Italian at lunch, and Executive Chef Francois Lieutaud prepares the fine French dining in the evening. It was lunch for us -- not a quick affair, since every dish is prepared when ordered, but well worth the extra time.

Michele Ryan has lunch once a month at a dusty, makeshift restaurant with dining companions who have little understanding of table manners. She wouldn't have it any other way. Ryan, who owns two horses at the Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center, is among the regulars every second Saturday at Have Lunch with Your Horse Day. The fundraiser, hosted by the nonprofit Red Bucket Equine Rescue, invites owners and other members of the public...

An oversized check was presented to the City Council on Monday with enough money to keep the community swim programs at the Huntington Beach High School Aquatic Facility open for the rest of the year. The community held a swim-a-thon in December to raise the $8,500 needed to close the budget gap and keep the pool open for the residents. “We hope that you take this as another message of how important these aquatic programs are,” said Sylvia Garrett, one of the event coordinators.

The state Department of Education has released income criteria for free or reduced-price student meals during the 2009-10 school year. Households will be asked to fill out an application listing their income level in order to qualify. Qualification is based on household size and relative income. For example, a family of four must earn no more than $28,665 to qualify for free lunch, breakfast or milk, or $40,973 to qualify for reduced-price lunch or breakfast. Households that already receive Food Stamp, CalWORKs, Kin-GAP or FDPIR benefits may not have to fill out an application for the program.

Soroptimist International Huntington Beach will honor four Orange County women at its 24th Annual ?Making a Difference for Women? awards ceremony and fundraising luncheon at 11:30 a.m. May 12 at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort. This year?s award recipients are Marcia Manker, chief executive of Orange Coast Memorial Hospital, for ?Advancing the Status of Women in Health;? Marilyn Macallister, ?Woman of Distinction in Community Volunteer Development;? Dr. Susan Roper, Huntington Beach Leadership Academy, ?

The bell rings at 12:15 p.m. I walk out of class to find the shortest lunch line. Yes! There is a line with only 15 people in it — that’s only like a 20-minute wait — so I hurry up and buy my Pizza Hut Personal Pizza, two cookies and a soda for $4 and take it back to “our spot” to meet up with my friends who got stuck in longer lines. This is a normal lunch day for many students at Huntington Beach High School. What’s wrong with this picture?

My lunches have been getting a little stale. I seem to be visiting the same places and was in desperate need of expanding my rotation. Lunch to me, and I am sure to others, is often an afterthought — food to wolf down as we take a break from work. Often I am eating in the car going to an appointment, so my choices are never very good. I despise fast food, but am often forced to eat it for its convenience. I figured, though, there had to be a better way to spend a half-hour than chomping on a cheeseburger.

Back in April, I was fortunate enough to be a judge at the 2005 Taste of Huntington Beach. My vote for "best bite" went to the crab cakes so elegantly served up by the Palm Court restaurant. These delectable creations also won the favor of other judges and were voted the "best taste." The crab cakes, being so wondrous, left me longing to try more of the Palm Court's offerings. Over the next several months I brainstormed ways of procuring sufficient funding in order to dine at a place where a pastrami sandwich fetches $15. Do I bankrupt my secret poker stash for one meal?

On a trip to New York in 1988, my wife and I were in midtown Manhattan when the lunch hour arrived. For most of us, that's a casual time of day, when we take a little time to relax before completing the rest of our duties. Not in Manhattan. In Manhattan, the lunch hour is a race against the clock and your fellow man. The loser is the person who did not get his or her order in at the deli in time, or who did not bring sneakers in order to get in some power shopping.

Rows of smiling grandmothers and grandfathers faced a congregation of St. Finbar School students Friday who raised their hands to them in a prayer of blessing during Mass that celebrated Grandparents Day. Grandparents of St. Finbar students were invited to attend an all-school Mass. They were treated to a special lunch and had the chance to visit their grandchildren's classrooms and teachers. "I want to show you everything!" 5-year-old Hunter Goffin told her grandmother Gerry Goffin, who took a day off work to attend the celebration.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District offers menu choices each day at elementary schools. Students may choose a vegetarian entree. The selection varies and may either be a salad, sandwich or hot entree. Here's what's being served this week: TODAY: Munchable lunch salad with fruit yogurt or pepperoni hot pocket, crisp green salad with ranch, Tree Top flat fruit, choice of milk. WEDNESDAY: Munchable lunch salad or two mini cheeseburgers, lettuce and pickles, fresh pear, choice of milk.