MARY FURR -- Dining Out

Pasta, the restaurant in Hotel Huntington Beach on Center Avenue, will

offer a Thanksgiving welcome that would make the Pilgrims proud. Food and

beverage manager Phillip Ching and inventive chef Guillermo Garcias plan

to provide a holiday feast that will please the whole family.

Banquets border the low-ceiling room, tables fill the dining area, and

across one wall is a long buffet table loaded with brunch choices -- an

omelet and waffle station, ham and turkey carvery, a great assortment of

fresh seafood, eggs, bacon, sausage, traditional desserts and more.

But the secret sauce that flows over Pasta is friendliness. Diners

discuss choices as they pass along the serving line; chef Guillermo

explains the creations beneath the big silver domes.

Crisp Belgian waffles take about three minutes to bake, so give your

order and go on to check out the rest of the buffet, or get an omelet

going -- there are 10 fillings of ham, onion, red and green peppers,

cheese, and preserves, with just enough egg to hold it all together. Go

for the works. We did, and it was great.

If you like seafood, there’s a big platter of fresh, spiky crab legs

with moist, sweet meat; scallops on the half shell in a bed of ice; fresh

tail-on shrimp and coconut shrimp; beef brochettes; fettuccine Alfredo;

and, very special for Thanksgiving, lobster Thermidor, the meat cooked in

a creamy bechamel sauce.

Farther along the buffet are lox and bagels with a big square of cream

cheese, fajitas steak with green and red peepers, chicken and dumplings,

and a big bowl of a modified bouillabaisse, a seafood stew with fish,

shellfish, onions and tomatoes. Chef Guillermo says it’s sometimes called

“seven seas soup,” which he makes with nonfat milk.

Hot vegetables include a mix of peas, carrots and asparagus. Labels on

the covered steam table items would be helpful.

Salads are next with a plate of fresh melon and honeydew, a bowl of

greens and several gelatin molds the kids will be sure to select.

While you have been making selections at the buffet, servers have

filled your champagne and orange juice glasses. This is a hands-on place

with manager Ching circling the dining room to check on your needs or

fill your coffee cup. Everybody works together, from the charming

receptionist to chef Guillermo, one of the most accomplished culinary

experts to be found in the area.

Indeed, this Thanksgiving, our cup runneth over.

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

or suggestions for her, call (562) 493-5062.

FYI

Pasta

WHERE: 7667 Center Ave. in Huntington Beach, (714) 891-0123

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily

PRICES: For Thanksgiving, the cost for adults is $15.95; seniors,

$13.95; children, $10.95. On regular Sundays, $2 less. Reservations

required.