EATERIES GO ALFRESCO TO PUT UP A GOOD ‘BITE’

Ever try buffalo chili? Apricot chicken skewers? Near-beer? These are some of the offerings from The Bite of Orange County, a food fest being held this weekend at the Rancho Santiago Community College District’s Orange Canyon Campus in Orange as a benefit for the district.

In red and white tents behind the campus, 33 Orange County restaurants have set up kitchens and will offer bite-sized samples of their wares from noon to 8:30 p.m. today and Sunday. There is no admission charge to The Bite, which began Friday, but tasters are asked to pay from $1-$3.50 a serving for samples of Carmel’s carne asada tacos; Barney’s Ribs; Stuart Anderson’s charcoal-broiled chicken, and--served under a mounted buffalo head--The Overland Stage’s fiery buffalo chili.

Orange resident and travel show producer David Friemann, 38, modeled The Bite after events held for several years in Seattle and Chicago.

“I thought it was time we had a Bite of Orange County,” Friemann said. “It’s a good event because you don’t have to bring a credit card, you don’t have to hire a baby sitter and you don’t have to spend $60 to test a restaurant.”

In addition to eating, Bite-goers will be able to hear country-Western music, watch belly and Polynesian dancers, view a demonstration of ice carving and take free rides in Stuart Anderson’s helium balloon.

But the focus is food. Patric Bolognesi, district manager for Stuart Anderson’s, said he had just returned from the Seattle Bite, where 400,000 people bought samples from 50 restaurants. The Bite gave consumers an opportunity to taste-test dishes from local restaurants--and to indulge, he said.

“They can become gluttons if they’d like to,” Bolognesi said with a grin.

Ten percent of all sales at The Bite will benefit the Rancho Santiago Foundation, the foundation for the Rancho Santiago Community College District. The district’s Orange Canyon campus, which officially opens this fall, is at Newport Boulevard and Chapman Avenue.