"Lauren-n-n-n-n" > wrote in message
...

> i'm going to orange county california the end of the month. although it
seems
> rather devoid of culture, i'm hoping there'll be a few good places to
drink
> (and eat). any recommendations would be appreciated (including
interesting
> things to do, if you have time to list some).

I've lived in OC for two years, and the perception that it's devoid of
culture is only partially accurate. It just happens to be really, really
buried and you have to dig for it a bit.

There are some good beer stops. Among the chains, the Rock Bottom in Irvine
is actually one of the best ones in the chain. Ditto the Gordon Biersch in
Laguna Hills. There are a couple Yard Houses (Costa Mesa and Irvine) that
have huge beer selections, although at times oddly unadventurous for having
100-plus taps. BJ's is in several locations as well. Beer's OK, food's
somewhere south of there.

For independents: Ocean Avenue Brewing Co. in Laguna Beach is excellent.
Small selection, but great beer. Run away from the other Laguna Beach
brewpub. Newport Beach Brewing Co. can be a bit inconsistent, but does have
some good stuff. Goat Hill Tavern is across the street from the Costa Mesa
Yard House, and couldn't be more opposite in atmosphere. Beer can be of
variable quality, but there's lots of it (it's another mega-tap place). The
Abbey in Seal Beach is one of my absolute favorite places (and was one of
Mark McGwire's too, for what that's worth). Small place with a moderate yet
well-executed beer selection, focusing largely on Europeans. Good food, too.

The one place I would say is pretty much required is Pizza Port Brewing in
San Clemente. This is the third brewpub for the guys who started out down
near San Diego, and they have an excellent reputation that is well-deserved.
Especially if you like hops. Also worth checking out is another San Diego
string of brewpubs called Oggi's (formerly Stuft Pizza). Fortunately, their
incompetence in coming up with names does not carry through into their
beer.They have an outstanding export-style stout, and the IPA is quite good
as well. Atmosphere of the place sucks, and can be overly family-intensive
sometimes. Their Orange County location is in Mission Viejo.

Another place worth checking out is Old World Village in Huntington Beach.
It's a cheesy replica of a Bavarian village, but there are a few
restauarants and pubs there that have a wide variety of fresh draught German
beers.

That should give you a start, certainly. As far as interesting things to do,
that all depends on what you consider interesting. Most of the beach towns
have cool, quirky characters, with Laguna Beach, Seal Beach and San Clemente
being the most unique and worthwhile (in that order).

-Steve