Absolut Vodka

NBFF Latino Showcase: Newport Goes Tropical with Tropicalia

WHERE MY LATINOS AT?! Wednesday night, they were being celebrated for their recent achievements in cinema at Newport Beach Film Festival's Latino Showcase through three spotlight films from Mexico, Chile, and Brazil at the Lido, Triangle, and Big Newport theaters, respectively. While I wish I coul ... More >>

Un Plan Parfait (Fly Me To The Moon) Wins 4 Top Newport Beach Film Festival Awards

Un Plan Parfait (Fly Me To The Moon), the romantic comedy that sold out its Tuesday night French Spotlight screening and earned a repeat showing last night, was the big winner of 2013 Newport Beach Film Festival awards.It won the juried Best Film, Best Actress (Diane Kruger), Best Director (Pascal C ... More >>

Boozin' at the Only Blue Collar Bar in Brea

[Editor's Note: We all know local music and dive bars go hand-in-hand. So in the interest of merging the two together on Heard Mentality, we bring you our newest nightlife column Dive, Dive, My Darling. Read as our bold web editor Taylor "Hellcat" Hamby stumbles into the dive bar scene every week to ... More >>

Newport Beach Film Festival: Punk's Not Dead--It's On Broadway

For the first time in its fourteen-year long history, the Newport Beach Film Festival kicked off the year's season with a documentary film that packs as much wallop and frenetic energy as a mosh pit circle. Director Doug Hamilton's Broadway Idiot follows world-famous punk band Green Day as their al ... More >>

NBFF: Smaller, Shorter & Uncut

The fabled film festival has learned that less is more

Drunk After Work: Hamamori

The Place: Hamamori Restaurant & Sushi Bar, 3333 Bear St., Suite 320, Costa Mesa; 714-850-1549; www.hamamorisushi.com.The Hours: Every day, 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.The Deal: Signature cocktails and sushi rolls for $7; assorted appetizers up to $9; house wine and sake for $5.

And the Other Newport Beach Film Fest Awards Go To ...

As you can read here . . .Apartment in Athens, Nazi Drama from Italy, is Big Winner of Newport Beach Film Fest Awards. . . NBFF awards have been dished out for the weeklong cinextravaganza that ended Thursday night. But, like American television producers, I feel even more awards need to be bestowed ... More >>

Jewtopia World Premiere Opens Newport Beach Film Festival

​After actress Rita Wilson saw Nia Vardalos' one-woman play My Big Fat Greek Wedding in Los Angeles, she was so convinced it could be a movie that she and husband Tom Hanks produced what became one of the most profitable films of all-time. When Bryan Fogel and Sam Wolfson approached Wilson about t ... More >>

Newport Beach Film Festival 2012's First (and Cheapest) Entry Deadline for Filmmakers is Coming Up

​As the first entry deadline for the 13th running of the Newport Beach Film Festival nears, newbie filmmakers might be spooked that Movie Maker Magazine has named Orange County's esteemed cultural event one of the "25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee." It sounds so big time and industry envelope ... More >>

Stars Shine at the Opening of the 12th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival

​The Newport Beach Film Festival's annual occupation of Fashion Island began last night with another boozy, schmoozy and cruisey coming-out party in the Bloomingdale's Courtyard.Stars spotted on the red carpet leading into Big Newport, in front of the screen after the end credits of opening night ... More >>

Drunk After Work: Daily Grill in Irvine

Edwin Goei​The Place: Daily Grill, 2636 Dupont Drive, Irvine, (949) 474-2223.The Hours: Daily, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.The Deal: Domestic beers, $3.50. Specialty beers, $4. Well martinis & spirits, $5.50. Premium spirits, $9. $3.95-$4.95 appetizers. The Scene: This dependable meat and potatoes chain ... More >>

[UPDATED With Even More Goodies] Giveaways and Food Specials for Next Week's Good Food/Stick a Fork In It Happy Hour at the Crosby!

​UPDATE, MARCH 8, 2 P.M.: Ehrline Karnaga of Layer Cake and Valhalla Table has donated a box of her macarons to the giveaway. How the hell are we going to give so many goodies to ustedes? See you this Thursday! ORIGINAL POST, MARCH 2: Remember to mark your calendars for next Thursday at 7 p.m ... More >>

Wodka Vodka, Our Drink of the Week

​Wódka--Polish for vodka--is a new line of vodka that claims to rank higher than Ciroc in taste tests, but sells for only $8.99 for a 750-mililiter glass bottle. According to its website, Wódka earned a 90-point rating from the Beverage Testing Institute, while Ciroc earned 88 points, Belvedere ... More >>

Drink of the Week: San Clemente Cosmo

Brandon Ferguson​Oftentimes when a bar creates a new alcoholic concoction, something goes horribly awry: either overzealous bartenders blend flavors that just don't work well together (think mint leaves and any number of boozes), or they overdo it with the sugary liquids and create a nasty franken ... More >>

Absolut-ly Lemonade at Hennessey's

Flickr user rachelleb​Hennessey's is known for its potent, vodka-filled lemonade. They put a twist on it with their Absolut-ly Lemonade, and managed to make another drink that really, really sneaks up on you.

Drunk After Work: Prego

Photo courtesy of Prego Ristorante​The Place: Prego, 18420 Von Karman Ave., Irvine; (949) 553-1333; www.pregoristoranti.com The Hours: 4:30 to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Deal: $4 beers, $4.50 wine, $5 well drinks, $4 appetizers.

Homemade Wild Fennel-infused Liquor/Liqueuer

Willy BlackmoreWild Fennel Blossoms​ Distilling liquor at home, on the sly, is seriously risky business--blindness, explosions, jail time, etc, all being possible outcomes--but that doesn't mean you can't add a personal touch to a few bottles in your stock. Infusing an unassuming high-proof alcoho ... More >>

Red Lizzie at Tin Lizzie

Jessica Ford​While hanging out at Tin Lizzie for a friend's birthday party, I had a craving for some flavored Absolut. Luckily I found myself ordering from Tony--quite possibly my new favorite "mixologist." First was an experiment with Absolut Peach, which turned out to be delicious, b ... More >>

Drink(s) of the Week: Elderflower Pear Rickey at Matador Cantina

Elderflower Pear Rickey​ If heaven is a place on earth, I'm pretty sure it's Matador Cantina in downtown Fullerton. Attempting to pick one cocktail for our Drink of the Week turned into two, or three, or four--the drinks are that good. Luckily for my liver, I had a friend in tow. After loo ... More >>

Newport Beach Film Fest Opens With Flick, Vodka, Hot Porn Action!

Photos by Bleu Cotton The scene at Fashion Island.The 10th Newport Beach Film Festival opened Thursday night at Edwards "Big Newport" with "celebrity" arrivals, flashing cameras and my exclusive red-carpet interview with Oscar-nominated film composer Marc Shaiman of Hairspray! and South Park: ... More >>

NBFF: Opening Night

Rumor had it that the Newport Beach Film Festival was looking for a high-profile opening night movie that failed to finally come through, so instead the festival kicked off with SHERMAN'S WAY, which is not to be confused with the Ross McElwee documentary SHERMAN'S MARCH -- their only common factor i ... More >>

[¡Ask a Mexican!®] Is It Racist to Call a Mexican Working at a Coffee Shop a 'Beaner'?

Salty, Dawg

So I'm at The Block the other day for an exciting double-feature of Eastern Promises (pretty good) and Shoot 'Em Up (outstanding) with a break in between for appletinis made with Absolut Pears, and this woman walks up to me asking me something blablabla, D.C. I say, "What?" "Have you ever heard of ... More >>

grub guide

Grub Guide

Tasty morsels from the county's best damn dining guide

Film Fests Are a Beach

Some highlights from the past few days of the Newport Beach Film Festival

NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL 2007: THE ARTFUSION EXPERIMENT

The best place to drink heavily at Fashion Island is...Red Robin. Unexpected, right? But a Jack-and-Diet there will run you $4.79 plus tax, and it comes in a full-size glass. Don't ask why the price is so strangely to-the-penny; just enjoy the fact that it's a cocktail cheaper than many beers. Other ... More >>

SATURDAY AT THE NEWPORT BEACH FILM FEST

2:30 p.m.: Arrive at Fashion Island, having gotten the proper directions this time, and only had to make one drastic, corrective U-turn. Find the courtesy lounge. Marvel at the array of free brownies and donuts. Despair that there is no free booze...and considering the lounge closes at 6, there prob ... More >>

NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL 2007: OPENING NIGHT

Never trust Moviefone's directions. As an OC noob, I actually expected to get the correct map to Edwards Island Theaters, but the step-by-step instructions left me in the middle of Newport Beach before giving up. Fortunately, I found the Lido Theater, and the owner was more than happy to give me d ... More >>

New Kid in Town

Fullerton Film Festival debuts, doesnt suck

Grub Guide

This week in bringing back a bigger dining guide

Commie Girl

Sex, Sex, Sex! No, really: sex

What I Miss About Drinking

No more Crazy Rita, but a grave, sober scrapbooker

Capitol Punishment

How Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped worrying and learned to love selling out to special interests

This Week In Small-City Dining

Poor Pitiful Pearl

And the boy who felt me up at the Canyon Inn!

Kids These Days

Wheres the pee?

Eight Days

Mommy Not Know!

Eat the Cheese!

Socialites lips and mad old bikers

Apocalypse Now

Letter from Coachella

Sunset Beach

American Beauty

Spinning on Spins Punk Memoirs

Valhalla on Earth

Smorgasbord the way Thor intended

Yoove Gott a Frend in Gee-zus

Guilty Pleasures

1567-1600

Hello, Dolly!

Part trite, part Brite parts

Summer Beach & Beer Guide

Valentine's Day Massacre

It's my pity party, and I'll cry if I want to