Travel Costa Mesa Blog
7 Great Things to do This Fall in Costa Mesa
The seasons may technically be changing, but fortunately for you Southern California’s sunshine and relaxation aren’t going anywhere. Now is the perfect time to take advantage of everything that Orange County has to offer. To get you started, here’s a look at seven great things to do this fall in Costa Mesa.
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Posted in Play
Valentine’s Day Special Events in Orange County
Whether you’re looking for a night out to celebrate with your love, or weekend away for Valentine’s Day with that special someone, look no further than Costa Mesa, Orange County’s City of the Arts™. Oysters, champagne, “Shakespeare in Love” on stage; how does that sound for a classic date night? Or, get a little funky and check out the hit show from Lincoln Center in New York – “Kinky Boots.” Both shows are running through the weekend of February 10 to get you in the mood for cupid’s favorite holiday!
Dinner and a Show, through February 10
Plan to dine out before the show at one of these popular Costa Mesa restaurants:
Make reservations at Leatherby’s Café Rouge and enjoy their new mouthwatering Pre-Theater Menu, including a selection steak, fresh seafood and specially crafted cocktails from the bar. Leatherby’s is the dining concept from celebrated Chef and Patina Restaurant Group Founder Joachim Splichal and Executive Chef Greg Stillman. A passionate meat expert and The French Laundry veteran with more than two decades of culinary experience, Stillman presents a menu that focuses on steakhouse classics with a contemporary approach. Dine in luxury with a view overlooking the gorgeous Julianne and George Argyros Plaza at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
If dining on February 14, a special Taste of Love Valentine’s Day menu is available at Leatherby’s Café Rouge. Be sure to make reservations.
After dinner, stroll through the spectacular performing arts center to South Coast Repertory – Orange County’s Tony Award-winning production house. Pick up your tickets to “Shakespeare in Love” and head inside for a pre-show cocktail then prepare to fall in love. “Mistaken identities, ruthless scheming, and backstage theatrics make this romantic feast a joyous celebration of theatre,” according to the Daily Telegraph.
“Kinky Boots” follows the true story of a struggling shoe factory owner who works to turn his business around with help from a dancer in need of some sturdy stilettos. The music from this six-time Tony Award winning Broadway hit is by none other than, Cyndi Lauper.
I HEART The OC MIX, February 10
If you’re looking for the perfect gift to by for a friend or sweetheart, head over to SOCO and The OC Mix for a day of shopping, special offers, tastings and live music from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The OC Mix is a collection of boutiques offering clothing, jewelry, spices, coffees, libations and more. We think it’s a perfect place to find unique items you won’t find anywhere else. Some of Costa Mesa’s favorite restaurants are also located here.
ARC Food and Libations and ARC Pizza House
Located at SOCO, Chef Noah creates delicious salads, one of the biggest burgers you’ll ever see and carefully crafted libations for lunch and dinner at ARC Food and Libations, as well as a selection of wood-fired pizza’s at the ARC Pizza House. If you want to go on Valentine’s Day, an extra special menu has been curated for couples. Start with The Goose is Loose cocktail made with fresh blackberries, tequila and citrus, followed by savory appetizers, a Wedge salad for two and champagne. The main entrées being offered are grilled wild salmon or a 14 oz. filet mignon, accompanied by a glass of cabernet sauvignon, followed by apple cobbler and an after-dinner desert cocktail. Dinner for two is $200. Make reservations soon before they are booked.
Want a little more quality time together, how about a cooking class with a multi-course dinner as the finale?
Sur La Table’s “Night Out – French Romance” is all about creating your own crave-worthy romantic French food at home. On the menu are French Onion Soup, Seared Chicken with Mustard and Bacon and Roasted Winter Vegetables. Classes are $85 per person excluding tax and gratuity. For more information please call 714.549.1280 or 714.241.0118 at South Coast Plaza.
Antonello Ristorante owners Antonio and Fiorella Cagnolo are also cooking a special Valentine’s menu where at the conclusion of class, you’ll enjoy a four-course dinner featuring the evening’s selected menu items. Classes cost $65 per person excluding tax and gratuity. From February 9 – 15, the restaurant will also serve a Valentine’s menu. Reservations required, please call 714.751.7153.
Williams-Sonoma is also offering a fun-filled afternoon of Valentine’s baking for adults or kids.
South Coast Plaza is not just a top-shopping destination; it is home to more than 30 restaurants and cafes, many of which are serving up special menus just for Valentine’s Day, February 14.
A Valentine’s Day five-course menu and live entertainment await you and your guest. Start with an appetizer selection of Ossetra Caviar with Pan-Seared Day Boat Scallop or Filet Mignon Pot stickers with Foie Gras. Next, enjoy Endive and Five-Spiced Walnut Salad or Hamachi Sashimi, followed by Misoyaki Butterfish or An’s Famous Garlic Noodles with Colossal Tiger Prawns. The final savory course is a choice of Herb Roasted Filet Mignon or A-5 Wagyu Steak. Conclude with a dessert duo of Dark Chocolate Raspberry Tart with Cardamom Ice Cream and Passion Fruit Parfait with Lychee Sorbet. Enjoy all of this for $125 per person, excluding tax and gratuity. Served from 5 – 10 p.m. For reservations please call 714.557.5679.
Darya Fine Persian cuisine will be offering a specialty three-course Valentine’s Day menu for $59.95 per person excluding tax and gratuity. Enjoy live entertainment in the evening by singer Laura Angelini. Reservations required, please call 714.557.6600.
In addition to Vaca’s full à la carte dinner menu, award-winning chef Amar Santana will offer select Valentine’s specials including ceviche mixto, terrina de unagi y foie gras terrine, paella de veira with braised lamb neck, oysters on the half shell with bloody marry sorbet, house cured Mediterranean sardines and Valrhona dark chocolate ganache with churro toast and olive oil ice cream for dessert. Specials range from $13-$45; à la carte prices vary per selection (exclusive of tax and gratuity). Served from 5 – 10:30 p.m. For reservations, please call 714.463.6060.
heART bEAT Mixer on Valentine’s Day
Want to meet your match? You might have luck and at a little bit of fun at the Center 360 Heartbeat Singles Mixer at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. This is a great opportunity to experience the City of the Arts™ with live entertainment, karaoke and giveaways on the recently opened outdoor Julianne and George Argyros Plaza. Bring your friends, or a date. The Center 360 Café has a full bar serving spirited libations, craft coffees, along with a variety of appetizers, entrees and dessert! The event runs from 5 – 9 p.m. on February 14.
See the Premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s LUZIA
Show your endless love by planning ahead and getting tickets to the hottest new show coming to the stage in Costa Mesa – LUZIA by Cirque du Soleil, premiering February 21 at OC Fair & Event Center. Tickets are available to shows running through March 25. LUZIA brings multiple places, faces and sounds of Mexico to the stage in a surreal dream-like performance. If you need more reason to see the show, here are Five Reasons you won’t want to miss this spectacular performance under the big top.
Celebrating the weekend after Valentine’s Day has its perks, and comes with a bit of luck! Lunar New Year celebrations begin the weekend of February 16 with performances, special offers and activities for the whole family to bring in the Year of the Dog. South Coast Plaza has a schedule for the celebrations taking place through March 24.
With so much to celebrate, we hope to see you soon! Costa Mesa hotels have created many special offers to help you extend your stay.
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4 Places for Thanksgiving Dining – and a Black Friday Deal!
The holidays are here, and it’s the most wonderful time of the year to get together with family and loved ones. But aren’t you tired of chopping veggies and mashing potatoes? Let someone else do the cooking for Thanksgiving this year – like a gourmet chef – while you relax and enjoy the holiday! Here are 4 great spots in Costa Mesa to try for Thanksgiving, plus a very special offer for a quick holiday shopping getaway before Christmas.
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A Farm-to-Fork Dining Experience in Orange County
A Fire-and-Ash Wine Dinner at Centennial Farm will take place Saturday, November 4, 2017 in the Red Barn at the OC Fair & Event Center.
This farm-to-fork dining experience is just one example of how Costa Mesa continues to become a culinary destination where award-winning chefs and popular restaurants are opening on the regular in this Orange County hot spot. Restaurants like Old Vine, Taco Maria and Vaca are not only serving up some of the freshest dishes with both locally sourced and high-quality imported ingredients; they are creating experiences that have foodies coming back time and again. In just a short time, “Top Chef:All Stars” alum from Bravo TV, Richard Blais, will join the trending foodie movement in Costa Mesa when he opens his first Orange County location of The Crack Shack.
With so much good food to choose from, how do you decide where to go when dining out? Sure, there is a time and perfect place for an intimate dinner with special people in your life, but think about the times that are most memorable with groups of friends, experiencing something new for the first time.
Specially curated dining events have become more and more popular as a way to experience great food, meet new people, learn cooking techniques and even rub elbows with the chefs behind the creative cuisine.
This is exactly what you’ll find at A Fire-and-Ash Wine Dinner. It’s held on a fully functioning farm inside the Red Barn at Centennial Farm in Costa Mesa. When you’re there, you’ll feel as though you’re miles away in the middle of the country, under twinkling lights and sounds of nature.
This exclusive dinner has all the components of being a talked-about Costa Mesa culinary event. Guests will be treated to a variety of sparkling wines from the Orange County Wine Society along with roasted butternut squash soup shooters, flatbreads and short rib polenta cakes for appetizers, followed by tours of Centennial Farm.
The multi-course, family-style dinner menu will feature items from California’s bountiful produce and artisan meats cooked exclusively in ash over an open fire. Each course will be served with wine that perfectly complements the dish. The first course begins with a savory waffle Panzanella micro green tower; the second course includes Cornish game hens, an ash-roasted autumn squash trio and beefsteak Portobello complemented with wines from Martin Ray from Sonoma. Dessert is the third of four courses and includes a traditional dessert that is cooked over an open flame – S’mores – but in this case there is a twist on these melt-in-your-mouth, marshmallow and chocolate-stacked graham crackers. Pastry Chef Stéphane Tréand of ST Patisserie Chocolat in Costa Mesa will prepare handmade, fired, passion-toasted marshmallow and dark chocolate Bon Bons. Is your mouth watering yet? As if this wasn’t enough, Mini Donuts with Affogato (shot of espresso and vanilla ice cream) will be served with Orange County Wine Society’s port wine or Bailey’s Chocolate Cherry.
If you’ve been looking for the next dining experience to raise the bar on an evening with good food and friends, there is still time to be a part of this fall event. In fact, it’s a great time to snag those tickets by using a discount code to save a few bucks. Read on for more details and to order your tickets. By attending this event you are helping to provide year-round educational opportunities through Centennial Farm, Heroes Hall and Imaginology community programs at OC Fair & Event Center.
Reservations for this unique dining experience are $125 per person, which includes dinner, wines, gratuity, tax and parking. As one of our neighbors, you can save $25 per ticket by using code OURBARN when purchasing tickets on Ticketmaster. Extend the weekend with hotel deals in Costa Mesa and experience events happening around this lively city.
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Posted in Misc
Springtime Family Events and Easter Brunch
Springtime has arrived and brings great weather, beautiful blooms, and maybe a weekend escape! If you’re looking for a spring break getaway with the kids, or you just want to get out and enjoy the warm weather and sunshine, head to Costa Mesa for your springtime activities. We’ve got a roundup of free events you won’t want to miss this month, especially if a visit with the Easter Bunny is on your list.
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