I haven't been in Southern California except to take a cruise ship in 7 or 8 years. I have a friend near Santa Ana who has had quite a few health problems--she wanted to have some kind of celebration of her milestone birthday and the anniversary of her professional life.

I offered to host a dinner in her honor and she accepted. It will be in little over a month, so I am alerting her friends and figuring out how to go forward. I live in San Jose, so will make arrangements from here. I googled best restaurants in the area, but didn't come up with anything acceptable.

It has to be a place with a private or semi-private dining area. Also they must be able to accommodate her dietary needs, the most important is that it be low sodium. Her favorite Italian restaurant is far too noisy.

Any one who lives or visits the area who can give me ideas, suggestions? Doesn't have to be formal, but I'd like it to be classy. (We will have Veuve Cliquot.)

I'll tell you more later, just hoping for suggestions for a place where we can eat and celebrate. If I had more time I'd fly down to OC and check things out myself, but I already had a lot on my plate when this came up.

We were born in the same hospital two weeks apart, but then her family moved out of state. We met at the beginning of our sophomore year of college when her family moved back to my old neighborhood, and we've been friends ever since.