Salad

This is the third in a four-part series about healthy restaurants in the Huntington Beach/Fountain Valley area.   If someone had told me I would be eating a salad as my main meal of the day I probably would have pelted them with croutons. Salads to me had always been an annoyance. They were the pesky kid brother of my meal, often foisted on me by others, and I was forced to entertain, though largely ignored. Much like my younger brother, toleration transformed to admiration, though a safe distance was still kept.

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.

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.

Doug Tabbert You can actually taste the mesquite charcoal that your chicken is roasted over at Caravana Peruvian Rotisserie. The chicken is marinated in a blend of herbs and spices, and not overwhelmed by fried or oil inundated skin. There are also plenty of Peruvian condiments like yellow-jelly hot sauce to mix it up. It is pretty easy to order here. White or dark is the main question and dinners can choose from several of scrumptious sides. I suggest the baked mesquite yams, which are steaming and wrapped in tinfoil.

How can you get a reasonably priced meal at a very nice restaurant in these difficult economic times? Many fine restaurants are offering pre-fixe dinners and early bird specials, but we have found a particularly delicious and extensive bar food menu at Bayside Restaurant in Newport Beach. The food is excellent and the room handsome. As you enter the bar area in the center of the dining room, you are confronted with a dramatic steel and glass wine tower. Overhead, large billowing sheets of fabric create a tent-like feeling or perhaps suggest a montage of sails on the bay. In addition to the seating at the bar itself, there are nicely upholstered booths and comfortable wicker chairs at small marble tables.

Three-Seventy Common Kitchen + Drink is a wonderful new addition to the Orange County dining scene. Well, not entirely new because it is in the former home of Sorrento Grille. New owner, Executive Chef Ryan Adams, and his Chef de Cuisine Mitch Gillam are both Sorrento Grille alumni. The space has been attractively redecorated and the menu is entirely their own, featuring "kicked up comfort food" with tons of flavor at reasonable prices. The menu is divided into five categories: bites, small, medium, large and sides.

How can you get a reasonably priced meal at a very nice restaurant in these difficult economic times? Many fine restaurants are offering pre-fixe dinners and early bird specials, but we have found a particularly delicious and extensive bar food menu at Bayside Restaurant in Newport Beach. The food is excellent and the room handsome. As you enter the bar area in the center of the dining room, you are confronted with a dramatic steel and glass wine tower. Overhead, large billowing sheets of fabric create a tent-like feeling or perhaps suggest a montage of sails on the bay. In addition to the seating at the bar itself, there are nicely upholstered booths and comfortable wicker chairs at small marble tables.

Jesse Baker, founder of Ecofficiency, a nonprofit that encourages responsible lifestyle, consumption and choices, says running a restaurant with the environment and community in mind shouldn't be costly or difficult. But the movement toward a green lifestyle has taken on a life of its own, with organizations that charge thousands of dollars to certify restaurants, buildings or companies, and sometimes their standards aren't flexible enough to fit each business. To simplify, Baker developed the Positive Plate, a comprehensive, local sustainable restaurant certification program that goes beyond just where the food is coming from.

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.

Seasons 52 has opened at South Coast Plaza. Occupying the first floor of the building that used to house the old Clubhouse restaurant, Seasons 52 brings its concept of a seasonally inspired menu with no dish counting more than 425 calories. The award-winning wine list features an international selection; in fact, wine bottles play a prominent part in the handsome, casually sophisticated décor. With elements of dark wood and natural stone, the two large rooms have a club-like atmosphere, although there is patio dining as well.

While we're always on the lookout for the hot new thing, we love to rediscover an oldie but goodie. We were a bit worried about revisiting Marrakesh in Costa Mesa since neither of us had been there for at least 12 years. We're happy to report that our fears were unfounded. Stepping off busy Newport Boulevard into this dark, casbah-like atmosphere, we were immediately put in the mood for a unique dining experience. The large space is broken up into smaller dining areas with tent-like draperies, each with low brocade-upholstered banquettes lined with pillows.

If you haven’t already heard about David Myers’ Pizzeria Ortica in Costa Mesa, you probably haven’t been paying attention because it’s been written up everywhere. The consensus is that the pizza’s just dandy, but short shrift has been given to the rest of the menu. We’d like to rectify that omission and commend chef Steve Samson for putting out some authentic Italian dishes, using good ingredients and letting them shine. The result is clean, simple and tasty food.

Always be wary of restaurants with gift shops. When there is so much concern with hats and shirts, attention is taken away from the kitchen. And attention is what Rodrigo?s Mexican Grill needs. The restaurant on Goldenwest Street near Bolsa Avenue used to be a Don Jose?s but was changed to a Rodrigo?s a couple of years ago. The restaurant is owned by the same company, and while this is the first spot for a Rodrigo?s in Orange County, there are two older locations in the Inland Empire.