GREER’S BEST BUYS:

Luxury dining at unbeatable prices? That’s just what you’ll find at South Coast Plaza’s “Fashion Plates,” a promotion going on through Sunday that features prix-fixe, three-course lunches for $20 and four-course dinners priced at $40.

Here’s a sampling of the menus offered. At Charlie Palmer, you’ll be served chilled English pea soup; grilled Berkshire pork chop with braised pork belly; pan-roasted scallops with green asparagus risotto; and crisp oyster mushrooms; and molten chocolate, hazelnut gelato.

Morton’s the Steakhouse is featuring lobster bisque; Morton’s salad with blue-cheese dressing; single-cut filet mignon, sauce Bearnaise; broiled salmon filet; beurre blanc; and choice of sides (sauted garlic green beans, steamed-fresh broccoli, mashed or Lyonnaise potatoes).

Pinot Provence is offering ahi sashimi, truffle vinaigrette; roasted baby beets, goat cheese, oranges, toasted pine nuts, lemon vinaigrette; braised boneless short ribs, pommes puree; pan-seared Scottish salmon, spring vegetables, sauted pea tendrils; Valrhona chocolate bread pudding, vanilla bean ice cream, creme anglaise.

Pizzeria Ortica Farro con frutti di mare (mussels, calamari, shrimp); verdure al forno con burrata fresco (wood-oven roasted vegetables, fresh burrata cheese, basil oil); tortelli di pere e pecorino al burro e salvia (pear and cheese tortelli, brown butter, sage); sogliola con pesto trapanese (roasted sole, tomato-almond pesto); pollo al mattone (jidori chicken griddled under a brick), baba al rhum.

The $40 menus include food only. Dinner service starts at 5 or 5:30 p.m

Participating restaurants at South Coast Plaza, South Coast Plaza Village and the theater district include Antonello Ristorante, Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s South Coast Plaza, Darya Fine Persian Cuisine, Hamamori Restaurant-Sushi Bar, Leatherby’s Cafe Rouge, March Moderne, Morton’s the Steakhouse, Nello Cucina, Quattro Caff, Pinot Provence, Pizzeria Ortica, Royal Khyber Fine Indian Cuisine, and Scott’s Seafood Grill & Bar. For more, go to www.southcoastplaza.com.

Salon plans benefit

Look fabulous and contribute to a great cause! Holiday Salon in Costa Mesa will be holding a benefit from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 5, for Autism Speaks, an organization that raises money for research for a cure, awareness of the disorder, and funding for families of diagnosed autistic children.

All haircuts are discounted to $50 and eyebrow shapings will be $30.

All proceeds will go to Autism Speaks. And 25% of all sales from the current photo exhibit “Glorious Ruin” will be donated to Autism Speaks the day of the event. Holiday Salon is at 369 E. 17th St. No. 5, Costa Mesa.

For more, call (949) 642-4040 or e-mail holidaysalon@sbcglobal.net.

Chow down at Eat Chow

I couldn’t be more excited about the new Eat Chow in Costa Mesa. It’s the new breakfast, lunch and dinner hang-out (get this, upscale cafe foods at affordable prices).

Co-owners Eric Doran and Brian McReynolds created a hip eatery that’s already one of Costa Mesa’s most talked-about restaurants.

So the next time you’re thinking about any meal, best to consider Eat Chow.

It’s not visible from Newport Boulevard, and shares the same roof as the Closet (a fave clothing store, by the way).

In Eat Chow’s short life span there’s already popular items that everyone’s hot to order — for breakfast: the buttermilk pancakes, French toast, (Le Guenn’s French baguette) with blackberry compote; chilaquiles, and breakfast BLTA.

At lunch and dinner the musts include fried-green tomatoes with chili herb aioli truffle Parmesan fries; the simple grilled-cheese sandwich, the Reuben with house-made corned beef, imported Swiss, house-made Thousand-Island dressing, red cabbage kraut on grilled sourdough; the French dip, herb and sea salt-rubbed prime rib eye, with horseradish cream on a toasted brioche bun; and fried-chicken combo, panko-crusted chicken breast served with Chow’s five-cheese mac ‘n’ cheese.

Eat Chow proudly serves local and freshly roasted Kean Coffee; imported and domestic beers, mostly California wines, and shochu (distilled spirit, similar to vodka) cocktails.

Eat Chow, 1802 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach, is open for breakfast 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday through Friday; open for lunch and dinner 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; open for breakfast 7 a.m. to noon Saturday; open for lunch and dinner 12:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; open for breakfast 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, call (949) 650-CHOW (2469) or go to www.eatchownow.com.

GREER WYLDER writes Best Buys for the Daily Pilot each Friday. She’s the founder and president of greersoc.com, a free daily e-mail service.