Taking a Closer Look at Our Celebrations

Things happen over a meal. Business deals are consummated, gossip is exchanged and momentous events are commemorated.

Over meals we celebrate beginnings, solemnize ends and mark every occasion in between. Even the rocky road to love is paved with the credit card receipts, tucked into Leatherette bill holders and discreetly slipped onto the candle-lit table during those many romantic meals consumed at posh restaurants. An evening out generally means dinner. Or it’s dinner and a movie, dinner and a play, or dinner and a concert. When we start combining meals with other forms of entertainment, however, it can get rather costly.

In an effort to combine both tariffs and yet make the evening palatable, entrepreneurs everywhere have brought us the great combo deal: dinner and theater. Sometimes a great notion, though, leads one to wonder: When folks flock to hear Frank Sinatra Jr. at a Holiday Inn, is it the chicken dinner or Junior singing “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” that’s the serious draw?

A few Ventura County venues offer the dinner theater combo deal, though Sinatra has yet to come to these parts. And since we like to get to the bottom of things that appear on the dinner table, we sent staff writer Leonard Reed--one of our restaurant reviewers--to check it out. Reed, among other things, likes a good meal and loves a great performance. But he’s the worst of cranks when one is played off at the expense of the other.

“I’d rather eat well, simply, and go to a show, than eat extravagantly and badly at the show and feel bad all night,” he said. “You can get it both ways around here. So beware. It’s never a good deal if you’ve got to fight for your food and then wind up staring down at it, afraid.”

Bon appetit. And enjoy the show.

Meanwhile, in other news, thoughts have turned to Valentine’s Day, that day when hearts fill with love and gold-foiled hearts fill with chocolate. In last week’s Shop Talk column, Leo Smith offered tips for interesting and reasonably priced Valentine’s Day gifts for the man in your life. This week, Julie Sawyer speaks up for the women. And in the Fashion column, Kathleen Williams notes that this is a popular time for troth pledging among singles. According to Williams’ informal poll, the diamond continues to be the No. 1 favorite among local couples looking for that perfect symbol of eternal love. Well, it certainly wasn’t going to be the chocolate, which in my house won’t make it to Tuesday.