F or Nick Fisher, owner of the Ventura Wine Co., "spring cleaning" means sweeping up the construction dust.

He spent April Fools' Tuesday — which also happened to be his 60th birthday — overseeing the move of his wine shop from its former, 1,600-square-foot space next to the All Cats Clinic on Telephone Road to its new, 4,000-square-foot home less than a mile away. The shop's retail footprint will be just a bit larger than before, said Fisher. Accounting for the difference in size is The Cave, an adjacent wine bar that features boulder-like walls crafted from Gunite (the same stuff used in the construction of in-ground swimming pools) and the Enomatic, an automated wine-service system that dispenses 1-, 3- and 5-ounce pours at the insertion of a special, chip-embedded card and the push of a button.

The opening of The Cave is still several weeks away. But as of today, Fisher expects to have both the old and new locations of the wine store open, with the latter taking over by the end of the week. It's in the Harbor View Business Park at 4435 McGrath St., Suite 301. Just in case, call before you go: 642-9449.

Construction also is the topic du jour at My Florist Cafe & Bakery, where owner David Lacy is celebrating the arrival of the cafe's full-bar liquor license with a special on martinis made with SKYY Vodka: They're just $4.75 each, but only for as long as nearby portions of Oak Street are ripped up and/or closed for the installation of new water mains, a project that already has gone on twice as long as expected. Meanwhile, in the bakery at the back of the Art Deco-meets-Streamline Moderne building at 76 S. Oak St., the daily display of artisanal pastries and breads by baker Tobey Layne now includes shelves of My Florist-label spreads and dipping oils. Call 653-0003.

PAM ANDERSON ALERT: No, not that Pam Anderson. This one is the cooking columnist for USA Weekend and Better Homes & Gardens, and, judging by her photos, she hasn't been tweaked to Barbie-esque proportions by a team of plastic surgeons. Anderson's normal, healthy appearance is, in fact, the inspiration for her new cookbook, "The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight & Eating Great." In it, she details how she lost more than 40 pounds by making small but crucial changes in what she eats, how she exercises and, just as important, how she now thinks about both of the above. Anderson will demonstrate a few from-the-book recipes (including lime-coconut slice-and-bake cookies and fresh tomato flatbread pizza with arugula) during an appearance at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Let's Get Cookin' in Westlake Village. For reservations, $80, call 818-99940.

NO FOOLIN': Given its April 1 publication date, the existence of something called "The 99-Cent Only Stores Cookbook" sounds like an April Fools' Day joke. But the book is the real deal, written by Christiane Jory, and, at $12.99 per copy, in keeping with the chain's numerical philosophy. Using the discount store's ever-changing merchandise, Jory delivers ideas that also are in keeping with the book's "Gourmet Recipes at Discount Prices" subtitle: Included are such dishes as Artichoke Spinach Bake on Homemade Pizza Bread and Pinot Noir-Poached Pear Tart.

FOR A GOOD CAUSE: Vintages from more than 60 wineries from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and, yes, Ventura counties will be poured during the fifth annual Malibu Wine Classic taking place from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Malibu Civic Center, 23525 Civic Center Way. Presented as a benefit for Childhelp, an organization devoted to preventing and treating child abuse, the event also will feature gourmet nibbles from restaurants ranging from American Flatbread to Water Grill. Tickets, $79: http://www.malibuwineclassic.com.

Ceramic bowls created by area artists will double as serving ware during The Bowls of Hope Project from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at The Vineyards, 2525 Stow St., Simi Valley. Each attendee will select a keepsake bowl into which soup will be ladled by "local dignitaries" and others. The event benefits Many Mansions and its programs for homeless and low-income residents of Ventura County. For tickets, $25-$30, call 496-4948, ext. 224, or visit http://www.manymansions.org.

WHERE'S THE BEEF?: No doubt about it, the rib-eye steak that Fabio Viviani, chef and co-owner of Cafe Firenze in Moorpark, prepared Friday night for Big Love, the supersize-it alter ego of Simi Valley resident Jim Graue, was huge. So huge, that Big Love is making good-natured "allegations of shenanigans" after failing to eat all of what Viviani said was a 71-ounce piece of meat but that Big Love says he believes weighed at least 80 ounces. A rematch is in the works for June.

RECIPE BLAST: If you have an original strawberry drink, dip or dish, organizers of the 25th annual California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard want to see the recipe. The deadline is noon April 30 for submissions for the festival's Berry Blast Off recipe contest, to be followed on May 6 by an "Iron Chef"-style cook-off featuring five semifinalist recipes and their creators. For rules, guidelines and prizes, call 888-288-9242, or click on http://www.strawbery-fest.org.

IN REVIEW: For restaurant critic Rita Moran's thoughts on Harvard Cafe in Santa Paula, see Time Out in Thursday's Star.

— E-mail Lisa McKinnon at lmckinnon@VenturaCountyStar.com.