One of Lafayette’s restaurant “gems” is giving back to the community on Tuesday.

Bo’s Barbecue, 3422 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette, will be donating 15% of dine-in and takeout orders for lunch and dinner on Tuesday, Jan. 10, to Springhill Elementary School. Bo’s will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. that day with all orders counting.

In order for the order to count as part of the fundraising effort, you must mention “Springhill Dines Out” and/or have one of the Springhill fundraising flyers, which will be available at the school or at the restaurant on Tuesday.

To call ahead for your order, call Bo’s at 925-283-7133.

Hard times in Lafayette. Chipotle has pushed back the opening of its location there a whole week, until Sept. 21. Update your calendars accordingly, folks.

Never fear, Lafayette. You’re less than a week away from delicious cilantro-infused rice and barbacoa beef burritos.

The good folks at Chipotle just sent word their Lafayette store will open next Wednesday, Sept. 14. The store, the fifth in Contra Costa County, will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Remember, when forming a line, absolutely no cutsies.

One of the more popular events in Lafayette, “Taste of Lafayette,” is returning on Tuesday, May 17, for its ninth consecutive year.

“Taste of Lafayette” is a tour of many of Lafayette’s restaurants, giving tour-goers a taste of the food at each location.

The event begins in Lafayette’s Plaza Park at 5:30 p.m. for live music and wine. Participants can then either walk down Restaurant Row or board the shuttle. With 15-20 restaurants participating, there are a lot of stops. After the tour, coffee and dessert will be available in Plaza Park.

Tickets for the tour are $45 with proceeds benefiting the Lafayette Community Foundation and the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce’s website.

The Lava Pit Fire Grill in Lafayette offers a variety of food options originating from Asia and the Hawaiian Islands in a fast food setting. With options ranging from seafood to meat to salads, everyone should be able to find something they will enjoy.

The food does carry the authentic Hawaiian flavor, and the average entrée costs around $10. If you don’t mind the price and a 10-15 minute wait for your food, then the Lava Pit Fire Grill is worth checking out.

The Lava Pit Fire Grill is located at 3647 Mt. Diablo Blvd. in Lafayette (next to Trader Joe’s). It is open seven days a week from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. They also have a location in Orinda at 2 Theatre Square, Suite 142, which is open Mondays through Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

For more information, visit their website at http://www.lavapit.com.

I was unable to connect yesterday with Table 24 co-owner Michael Karp for my article about valet parking in downtown Orinda, but I spoke with him for a few minutes this morning about the restaurant’s plans.

Table 24 is talking with parking companies, including Douglas Parking, which manages the Theatre Square parking garage, Karp said, and hopes to begin offering valet service in a couple of weeks.

The restaurant would validate its customers’ parking tickets to give them a discount on valet service, Karp said, and is open to partnering with other downtown businesses to share the cost. The city’s policy requires valet service be available to anybody, regardless of where they plan to shop or dine.

“We’re excited to sponsor (the valet) and to manage it and to have it as an added amenity to downtown Orinda,” Karp said. “We think that we’re part of  hopefully a growth or the next steps in what it’s going to take to develop that downtown retail comm, and we’re excited to be a part of it.”

And for the record, the valet parking policy is to allow for the use of city streets for the valet service. As several pointed out at last week’s council meeting, Casa Orinda offers valet parking to its customers, but does so on-site and thus does not require a permit to do so.

When the El Balazo in Lafayette closed its doors in March, there were whispers of the owners of the restaurant chain having some major tax issues. They also had an issue in 2008 when some of their employees were caught in an immigration raid.

All of the whispers and rumors seem to be more than that, as the owners, Marino Sandoval, 57, and Nicole Sandoval, 50, have both been charged with 20 counts of tax evasion, conspiracy and employing illegal immigrants

The couple has been arraigned in U.S. District Court and have since been set free on a $100,000 bond.

The Orinda Chamber of Commerce has organized the 3rd Annual Orinda Restaurant Tour, which will take place this Tuesday, Sept. 28.

Appetizers will be served from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Theater Square, which will be followed from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. by a sampling of many of Orinda’s downtown restaurants. Dessert will be served in Theater Square from 8:00 to 8:30 p.m.

A San Francisco trolley will take attendees from restaurant to restaurant during the tour.

Tickets to the tour are $30 if purchased in advance or $35 if purchased the day of the event. Advance tickets can be purchased online through the Chamber’s website. The Educational Foundation of Orinda will receive a contribution for each ticket purchased to the event.

For all of the times that cars crash into buildings in the movies, it just doesn’t seem like something that you’d plan to see in Orinda in the middle of the afternoon. Diners and employees at Orinda’s Europa Restaurant, as well as stunned onlookers, witnessed an elderly woman drive her Honda Accord right through the front window of the restaurant shortly before 2:30 p.m. Thursday though.

Despite the destroyed storefront and damaged car, no serious injuries were reported. Firefighters from the Moraga-Orinda Fire District were on the scene shortly after the accident to check the driver for injury and keep the area safe.

Happy Father’s Day to all of the fathers out there from the Lamorinda Sun blog.

If you aren’t busy watching the World Cup and the U.S. Open, check out the Motorama World of Wheels car show in downtown Lafayette.

A lot of families will be heading out to the local parks to enjoy the nice weather. The forecast shows it will be sunny and in the 70s all afternoon.

Chevalier Restaurant, located at 960 Moraga Rd. in Lafayette, is also hosting a special Father’s Day dinner tonight from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. A special a la carte dinner menu will be available featuring “some of Dad’s favorites.”