CHECKING IN WITH PEGGY FORT:

Many people view the weeks after the New Year as a time to relax and plan — but for Peggy Fort, the spokeswoman of the Newport Beach Restaurant Assn. and organizer of the city’s annual Restaurant Week, it’s when the real action begins. From Jan. 20-24, nearly 100 restaurants offered special menus and entertained some of their biggest crowds of the year. This Tuesday, Fort and a group of participating owners held a wrap party at the Chart House Restaurant in Newport Beach. The day after, Fort sat down at one of her favorite spots in town — the Bayside Restaurant near Balboa Island — and talked about life with Newport’s culinary crowd.

Do you have a favorite restaurant in Newport Beach?

I have a lot of favorite restaurants in Newport Beach. That’s why I love my job so much. But I think overall can I name them by categories?

Sure.

Well, I love Bayside. That’s why we’re here for lunch. My favorite Mexican restaurant, by far, is Avila’s El Ranchito. Favorite sushi is 930 Sushi. For just kind of a waterfront ambience, I like to go to Newport Landing, which is right near my house. It’s nice to be able to walk. And for overall dinner, I like the Bungalow. I like Oysters. Café R & D, for a lighter dinner, is great at Fashion Island after a day of walking around the shops.

Do you have any dietary restrictions?

I actually don’t eat red meat. I really enjoy seafood and chicken and vegetarian cuisine. I really like Zinc Café for vegetarian cuisine.

Outside of Newport Beach, what’s your favorite city for dining?

Paris, by far. I love the cafés there. I’d like to do a restaurant week in Paris.

What’s the strangest restaurant where you’ve ever eaten?

Probably in New Orleans during Mardi Gras 10 years ago. There were some interesting characters and items on the menu.

Such as?

I just remember different crawfish and frog legs on the menu.

Have you ever thought of opening your own restaurant?

I have thought of opening a restaurant. Not seriously, though.

But oft-times, I think of what it takes to run a restaurant. Knowing what I do, it probably wouldn’t be my first choice for my next venture.

What kind of restaurant would you open if you did?

If I could open up a restaurant, it would be very warm and cozy, probably healthy Mediterranean-style cuisine, a wine bar atmosphere, coffee atmosphere — more like a bistro, the kind where I could get to know all the customers. Not that big.

How many times did you eat out during Restaurant Week this year?

Eight. Being that I went out for lunch and dinner every day during Restaurant Week, I think that was my allotment for dining out for the next few months. I got my fill for a while.

Do people seem to recognize you at restaurants around town?

A lot of restaurateurs are either longtime acquaintances or friends, so it’s nice to go and dine and kind of see friendly faces, which is kind of a nice perk to my job. It’s always nice to go into a restaurant and feel welcome.

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.