Raising A bar
So tonight after work I dashed over to A Restaurant in Newport Beach to catch Mona and Greer Wylder, our Best Buys columnist, tend bar there as local celebrities. Hey, they may not have as much star power as Dan Aykroyd (who tended bar for a few minutes there last week) — yet — but you just wait.
They drew a big crowd there, including many old friends who I was so glad to see after a tough day at work. I’m talking good friends like Bill Lobdell, author of “Losing My Religion,” who will be in Portland Thursday promoting his book and Lana Johnson, former promotions ninja for Times Community News. Our excellent restaurant critic John Reger was there, but he was mostly checking out the wine-and-cheese event on the other side of the restaurant. Coincidentally, I also met Shelly Register of the next-door A Market who was working the wine-and-cheese tasting. I say coincidentally because I interviewed her for the Checking In feature this week.
I feel like Bruce Cook now listing important faces in the crowd, but here’s more: Kim Daskas, director of marketing for the District in Tustin, (I’ve got a crazy idea to promote my blog and Kim might be able to help… hint, hint… Hopefully the Barstow Boyz can too); Pam Waitt and Gina Mims of the Orange County Restaurant Assn., Alan Freeman head of Diamond Productions (who’s a fan of the blog. Big ups for that, Alan, even if it’s not as good as curling up with an Orwell novel), Luke Allen and Ashley Eckenweiler, Tricia Cook of the Art Institute of Orange County (Mona and I serve on the school’s advisory board with her), Rochelle Veturis (who used to work with me and Lana), and Janet Vinograd of Greer’s OC.
Anyway, this is just a way to say thank you to all those good people who’ve got my back and support my blog and, well, some type to go around these fun pictures. Enjoy!
(p.s. The featured drink, Mona reminded me, was called “Greer’s Fuzzy Navel.” I was afraid to ask, but had to. It’s Pavé, Absolut Apeach, ginger ale, and a splash of tonic, garnished with a lime. Try making it at home, folks!)
When they weren’t busy posting to their Facebook pages, Greer and Mona were slinging the drinks…
hello paul. for some reason, i thought you didn’t drink. i guess i don’t know you as well as i would like to — some day, i hope. i see that this is the second blog on mona and greer this week. they seem to be recurring figures… i would love to join them. just tell me when and where. i drove past the la times building today and looked past the guard gate just to see if you would be standing there – would that be my luck or what? anyway, all my best. laurel.
Sorry I missed it, sounds like it was a lot of fun.