Dining Review

Mary Furr

There is something impressive about taking mother to the dining room

of a big hotel like Hotel Huntington Beach for a Sunday champagne brunch.

The lovely, low-ceilinged room is bright and airy with upholstered

benches around the edge and tables in the center. Along the northern

windows, chef Guillermo Plascencia checks the lavish buffet of waffle and

omelet stations, ham and beef carving stations, covered steam trays and a

tempting assortment of fruits, salads and desserts.

As you settle at your table, a server appears to fill your glass of

champagne, and offer orange or cranberry juice. If you prefer salads and

fruits before a hot entree, there are bowls of cantaloupe and honey dew

melon, apples and grapes. Iceberg lettuce fills another bowl with

toppings and several dressings; one has cole slaw and another potato

salad to tempt you at the long buffet.

It’s the hot dishes that are a challenge -- what to have? One we loved

was shrimp scampi, being prepared by innovative chef Guillermo in a

wonderful sauce of garlic and butter. He’s an experienced hands-on chef

with a bit of this and more of that who has been creating his magic at

Pasta in the Huntington Beach for 11 years.

Seafood is a specialty at Pasta -- the buffet has a big platter of

fresh, spiky crab, cracked open and filled with moist, sweet meat,

scallops on the half shell in a bed of ice, fresh shrimp with tails

shrimp, fried and coconut shrimp.

Chef Guillermo also wields the frying pan for the omelet we had “with

everything” -- ham, red and green peppers, onions and cheese -- puffy and

wonderful with just enough milk and egg batter to hold it all together.

There’s a covered tray of very crisp bacon strips and juicy sausage

links.

Also under the domed trays (which could be improved with labels), I

found a great mix of saucy lobster Savannah surrounded by ruffles of

garlicky mashed potatoes. A slice of tender roast beef was expertly

carved to offer pieces that were a rosy pink to a well-done brown.

A variety of desserts, done by local bakeries, included cheese cake,

big chocolate devil’s food, a light fruit and creamy icing. Bagels and a

square of cream cheese are also near the desserts and salads.

Hot entrees vary weekly but as a special for Mother’s Day brunch, chef

Guillermo plans on having medallions of roast chicken in champagne sauce,

baron of beef in a red wine sauce, Moroccan sea bass and a Caribbean

mixed grill with crab legs and mussels.

According to manager Tony Tsoung it is the quality of the food that

makes Pasta outstanding -- using king crab rather than snow crab. Here is

a restaurant that has style without formality, perfectly suited to the

casual Huntington Beach approach to celebratory dining. Tsoung circles

the dining room, sometimes pouring champagne, sometimes chatting with

diners -- weaving the room together with friendliness.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments

or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail o7 [email protected]

FYI

PASTA IN HOTEL HUNTINGTON BEACH

WHERE: 7667 Center Ave., Huntington Beach

HOURS: Mother’s Day Sunday Champagne Brunch, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

COST: Adults $15.95, seniors $13.95, children $11.95. (Regular

Sunday Brunch $2-$3 less)

PHONE: (714) 891-0123, fax (714) 895-4591