If you've wondered why all the holler about veganism, there is a way for the bi-niverous to check out this alternative dining lifestyle: attend a meeting of the Orange County People for Animals (OCPA) Veggie/Vegan Luncheon/Dinner Club, whose next meeting is 1 p.m. Sunday at The Secret Spot, 3801 Warner Ave., Ste. B, Huntington Beach, (562) 592-4494.

Don't get your lettuce in a bunch, Mickey D: The Secret Spot is a non-vegetarian restaurant but also "Ovo, Lacto, Vegan-friendly." So you can order vegan options as burritos or pancakes. Indeed, part of the reason OCPA is frequenting the joint is to push the owners into offering even more vegan choices by showing non-meat, non-poultry, non-dairy, non-seafood eaters spend money, too.

The Veggie/Vegan Luncheon/Dinner Club meets the first Sunday of each month at different vegetarian/vegan restaurants. Some times it is dinner, some times lunch. Who knows, you could be so won over that you'll want to participate in the May 17 Veggie Pride Parade in New York? You know what they say: once vegan, never, er, meat-again.

Spend $100 or more this Thursday, April 2 or Friday, April 3 in any of the shops or restaurants at The Market Place and get a $20 gift card.

Simply take your receipts on the same day to the impressively titled Redemption Center (open 9:00pm-8:00pm) near the Edwards cinema to claim your gift card. There's a limit of two per guest per day, while supplies last. The cards are redeemable at the Market Place, Fashion Island or Irvine Spectrum.

Can't say fairer than that!

Fans of Zov's might be miffed to hear that the bakery sections at the Irvine and Newport locations have been removed to give the bars more space.

However, core items will still feature on the dessert menu (and others can be ordered in advance), and the full range is still available at the original Zov's Bistro in Tustin.
 
A spokesperson for the family-run mini chain tells us that it's in response to customer needs, with the existing bar areas becoming increasingly packed (presumably as we all turn to the bottle).

In any case, it's a good excuse to check out the expanded bars' new happy hour menu (4:00pm-7:00pm), when specialty martinis are priced at $7 and appetizers (such as roasted chicken Sloppy Joes) go for $5.

Further débuts at both outposts include weekday prix fixe menus, costing $12 at lunch and $19 at dinner. The two-course deals include the likes of Caesar salad, Asian chicken noodle salad and beef kebob.

The Irvine location is also launching its "family-style suppers": two courses plus side dishes for $15.95 a head (minimum four people), from Sunday through Thursday.
 
Zov's Bistro in Tustin, meanwhile, continues to offer its popular "Bridal Luncheon Package" for a wedding-budget-friendly $20 per person.
 
As if that weren't enough, all three locations are participating in the upcoming Happy Hour Week, which kicks off on April 12.

Break of Dawn in Laguna Niguel is one of the few redeeming factors of that city, and one of the best breakfast joints in Orange County. Their sausage and eggs--linguiça, green papaya and a scallion puree--is the greatest version of the dish you'll ever try, and I recently enjoyed a French toast with the crispy top and creamy middle of the best creme brulees. But avoid at all costs their chilaquiles.

I want to know when chilaquiles became a Mexican desayuno for gabachos on the same level as the breakfast burrito--but that's an aside. A great chilaquiles dish is simple--beans, rice, hot (temperature- and spice-wise) tortilla chips, with a bit of queso fresco and just-fried chips. You can add eggs, but that's not essential. But crispy tortilla chips, even if a couple of days old, is a mandatory.

What Break of Dawn advertises as their chilaquiles simply isn't. Read the menu closely: amongst the ingredients listed is "corn tortilla," but what they call a corn tortilla is just a roll of masa. It's not a disgusting dish--I scarfed it down, but that might've been because I was hungover from the night before--but that masa tasted exactly like the soggy tortilla chips in a proper chilaquiles dish. I'll still recommend Break of Dawn to all, but the chef should either get some crispiness into his dish pronto or leave Mexican food in South County to the Surfin' Chicken.

Break of Dawn, 24351 Ave. de la Carlota, Ste. N-6, Laguna Hills, (949) 587-9418; www.breakofdawnrestaurant.com. Seriously: get that sausage-and-eggs; it's one of la naranja's breakfast gems.

Not more than a day after I wrote about my return visit to Hamamori to try their discounted omakase menu, they went and discounted it again! The $48 5-course omakase meal I enjoyed a week prior is now marked down to $45. 

Geisha House in SanTana's cursed CityPlace development just opened, and I haven't stopped by to try the place so can't comment on the food. I can, however, offer an opinion on its valet service: pointless.

It's one thing to offer valet service in urban areas where parking is scarce or in vast lots, but that problem doesn't exist at CityPlace: The parking lot, from end to end, takes no more than three minutes if you walk on game ankles and trick knees. And it's not like CityPlace is slammed with business, either: even with Mother's Market and McCormick & Schmidt's as anchors, one can find parking at any time--and good spots at that.

So, why the valet service? From its website and big pictures of those infantile Japanese wome that Gwen Stefani so idolizes outside its structure, it's apparent Geisha House sees itself as a scenester restaurant and not one trying to compete with the Kappo Suzumarus and Honda Yas of the world. I might try out the fool, but in the meanwhile can safely say that anyone who pays $5 for the valet service deserved to get ripped off for their stupidity.

Geisha House, 2773 N. Main St., Santa Ana, (714) 564-0350. Click here for a newsier take on CityPlace!

I'm not advocating that we all reach for the bottle during these stressful times (if a recent study is to be believed, even one small glass of wine a day can increase a woman's cancer risk), but for those of us who like an occasional top-quality tipple but who balk at the high prices, there's good news.

There are a ton of local wine deals and--to repeat that overused word--"experiences" in Orange County right now, and we'll be blogging about as many as we can manage. First, we kick off at the high end.

At the Next Vintage Wine Shop, within the classy Charlie Palmer restaurant at South Coast Plaza, there's a new monthly happening on a Saturday afternoon (3:00pm-5:30pm), during which guests can buy 50 of the store's top wines at 50 per cent off their usual price. There will be samplings--plus snacks to soak them up--and sommeliers will be on hand to offer advice.

The radical name for the shindig is "50 for 50" (at least it's easy to remember!).

There are some pretty good deals on the preview list we saw: a Napa Valley Duckhorn Merlot for just $26, a decent non-vintage Diebolt-Vallois Champagne for $20, and, from Spain, a JC Vizcarra Tempranillo for a bargain $11.

The dates for your diaries are: April 25, May 23, June 13 and July 25.

You may have seen the posters plastered on bus stops throughout the county: There's the Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival this weekend at the Orange County Fairgrounds. 

Our favorite SAFII posts of the week:

Gustavo unearthed another Taco Bell Crime of the Week. The "restaurant" overcharged a Washington family by $135, not including overdraft fees (which TB subsequently paid on his behalf).

Edwin ate in the dark one night--no, not because he didn't pay his electricity bill but because he'd been invited to the third annual Orange County Dining in the Dark event, hosted by the Foundation Fighting Blindness organization.

With spring officially upon us and a bounty of fresh produce to look forward to, I blogged about producer/director Carrie Gallison, who recently made a documentary about the history of South Coast Farms, OC's oldest farm.

We also brought you news that the hotly anticipated Kéan Coffee in Tustin had finally opened. I'm hoping to visit this weekend; early reports say it's busy and that staff are still getting up to scratch, which is to be expected.

The shocker of the week, perhaps, was that McDonald's ranked among the least unhealthy fast-food chains in America. I know that's like a double negative... but somehow it doesn't seem right to call McD's "healthy", apple dippers or no.

A list of places that closed in March. Lake Forest seems particularly badly hit.

Islands, Laguna Hills

Black Angus, Tustin and Lake Forest. The parent company filed for bankruptcy in January, although reps currently aren't forthcoming on whether other locations are on the danger list.

Izakaya Zero, Huntington Beach

Thai Spice, Lake Forest

Cherry Berry, Lake Forest
 
Wendy's, Foothill Ranch

Savannah, Costa Mesa (last service is dinner on March 31)


If you know of any others, please chime in below. Thanks.