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The Taste of Newport is Entertainment
Mr. OC (left) at the prime party area at the Taste of Newport.
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Taste
of Newport Article & More Photos
The Taste of Newport is
a blur.
It runs past you like Reggie Bush headed for the end zone.
Speeds past you like the Ferrari on the freeway you never see until
it's three exits past your car. Gone like a bottle of vodka on a boat
full of trophy blondes.
For the Taste of Newport is so fun, it's over much quicker
than seems possible. One moment you're excitedly walking in and the
next, you're hearing the dreaded words "Last Call."
"But we just arrived," you protest.
After all, you've just hit your social stride, the band
is peaking, you've identified your favorite food booths and have the
drink stations down. So you relunctantly make your way to the exit and
vow to the group to show up earlier NEXT YEAR. Because there WILL be
a next year.
The PubClub.com
Party Bus parties from the
South Bay to Newport.
This is one way to identify an entertaining event and
the Taste of Newport is certainly an entertaining event. Held in fashionable
Fashion Island in uber upscale Newport Beach, CA, it's a festival of
food, drink, music and mingling. Of being out in the Southern California
night, dinner in one hand and drink in the other among friends and soon-to-be-friends.
 The
Taste of Newport is a fall ritual for residents of Newport Beach and
much of Orange County. PubClub is looking to expand that horizon and
in 2007 took a party bus from the South Bay (Manhattan Beach, Hermosa
Beach) and Long Beach to the event.
The bus was hosted by the PubClubettes, the ambassadors
of PubClub.com,
who were quite the visual attraction once they arrived at the Taste.
Naturally, we chose Friday night of the three-day
event, which is the Taste's unofficial "singles night." Thousands
of sweet singles swarm the Taste on this night like locust in a grain
field. Some come for the food, but most go for the chance to meet new
people and expand their social empires.
"Newport Beach is the center of Orange County social activity
and the Taste of Newport is the place to be in Orange County for this
weekend, " said local resident Al Freeman, whose social prowess has
earned him the nickname 'Mr. OC.' "Singles from all over Southern
California come her to mix and play, looking to connect. The Taste of
Newpor, in a beautiful outdoor setting, is the pefect place to mingle
and ogle with great food, plentiful drinks and top-notch classic entertainment.
"
Freeman publishes an incredibly in-depth newsletter called
OC
Events, which contains all pertinent events in and around
the OC. So he speaks with authority when it comes to the Taste of Newport.
 The
prime gathering spot is halfway between the two entrances. Down one
road is the stage where the band plays (in 2007, it was Huey Lewis &
The News). There's a big screen showing the stage and, in case anyone
forgets they are in Newport, a Rolls Royce display is on the corner.
Why do they gather here? Well, there's a cocktail stand
on one side (women) and a beer stand on the other (men). In between
is where time stands still, hours seemingly lasting just minutes as
all manner of eyeballing and interacting take place.
It's a well set up event, too. Script stations are abundant
with no lines, the staff is always smiling and, for those with ambitious
anticipation about their (food and drink) consumption, any leftover
credit is actually refunded. The scripts are not a roll of tickets,
but rather a plastic card that is scanned at the food and drink booths.
This is an excellent idea with flawless execution.
Restrooms are only about a block away and these are NOT
the standard blue Port-O-Lets. Instead, they are powder room palaces;
even the men's room has private stalls, a mirror and running water.
PubClubettes Melissa Paz, Rose Arzate and Jessica Hamel at the Taste
of Newport.
So when the Taste of Newport rolls around on the mid-September
calendar, it's a given The Bartender, Mr. OC and the PubClubettes will
be there. You can find us at the social center area – the PubClubettes
with cocktails, The Bartender and Mr. OC with beers.
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Meet
the PubClubettes!
The Bartender can be reached at bartender@pubclub.com
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