Newport/Costa Mesa Offline Feb 5

Elliot_Steele · January 17, 2018, 4:51am

Al Forno Caffe
1525 Mesa Verde Dr E, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Monday, Feb 5th @ 6:30pm

Reservation is under my name.

Attending:

Elliot Steele - Red Burg or Barbaresco
Jay Selman - Chablis
Bryan Cottriel - ?
Larry H - ?
Glenn Murlin +1 - CdP
Cris Whetstone - ?
Bruce Weimer +1 - ??

Looking forward to seeing you all there

Elliot_Steele · January 18, 2018, 4:20am

Don’t everyone say yes at once…

Kenny_H · January 18, 2018, 5:45pm

My schedule is still in flux. Have that week blocked for something else but if it falls through might be there.

Bryan_Cottriel · January 19, 2018, 1:17am

I am interested depending on the day and place.

Elliot_Steele · January 19, 2018, 3:31am

Monday the 5th happens to work best for me but I could probably swing Tuesday as well. Newport is your hood so you choose a place that suits you and we can plan our wines around that. Preferably little-to-no corkage if it’s possible.

Bryan_Cottriel · January 19, 2018, 2:04pm

Unfortunately there is no place in Newport that I know of that doesn’t have corkage. Maybe some of the foodies can chime in and give us some options #Fu

Elliot_Steele · January 20, 2018, 1:53am

Looks like Gulfstream or Bandera are options. 1st bottle is free then $15/bottle after with no limit. I’ll do a little more research when I have some time.

Kenny, I hope you’re able to make it out!

Andre_M · January 21, 2018, 7:07pm

Water Grill in Costa Mesa offers no corkage.
I believe up to 12 bottles.

Elliot_Steele · January 21, 2018, 7:29pm

Awesome! Didn’t even realize there was a Water Grill in the OC. Thanks for the heads up. That’s definitely a great option for an offline.

Jay_Selman · January 22, 2018, 9:59pm

Interested here.

bweimer · January 22, 2018, 10:31pm

We like this little Italian place called Al Forno Caffe. No corkage on Mondays and well priced and tasty food. I’d be willing to go anywhere but a small offline would work well there.

Bruce

Bryan_Cottriel · January 23, 2018, 12:24am

I have heard good things about Al Forno, but have never been. All of these places sound good. Let’s decide on something and start locking in some details. I will be in with a possible +1.

Elliot_Steele · January 23, 2018, 2:34am

I’m sold on Al Forno. Food looks great. I did notice they close at 9pm (corkage is $15/bottle btw) so I guess we’d start dinner on the earlier side so we have enough time to enjoy. Looks like we are at 6 people including Kenny and your +1 Bryan. We’ll give it a bit more time before booking to give people a chance to join in. The more, the merrier. I’m fine with any start time 5:30 or later. Looking forward to meeting the OC crowd!

Elliot_Steele · January 23, 2018, 2:46am

Scratch that. Just spoke to Kelly at Al Forno and she said that Monday night is BYOB with no bottle limit!

Elliot_Steele · January 23, 2018, 2:59am

Also, judging by the Yelp pics, stems will need to be brought.

bweimer · January 23, 2018, 7:40pm

Correct. No corkage on Monday nights but bring your own stems. I would need to make it a bit later for my schedule, say 6:15-6:30.

Bruce

Bryan_Cottriel · January 24, 2018, 2:02am

I’m in +1 (Larry H…he’s a lurker)…time doesn’t matter to us. Are we going to have a theme or anything goes?

Elliot_Steele · January 24, 2018, 5:27am

I’m fine with either and seeing as it’s casual the anything-goes theme might work best.

Glenn_Murlin · January 26, 2018, 7:23pm

Hi Elliot. Monday, Feb 5 is open for me, so count me in for this offline with a plus one.

Thanks.

Elliot_Steele · January 27, 2018, 12:43am

Shaping up to be a pretty good crowd. We have 8 total now including Kenny H. I’ll give it till this coming Wednesday to make the reservation. Anyone have a theme suggestion or are we good with the free-for-all theme?