700 to Breakfast With Bush, Bren

“Wish you were here!” chirp telephone operators at the Irvine-Hilton-turned-Hyatt-Regency.

Tonight, President George Bush is going to take them up on it. He plans to arrive about 9 at the inn owned by GOP big spender, billionaire Donald Bren.

The President, who will spend the night, is coming to Orange County to attend a fund-raising breakfast Friday for the California Republican Party. Afterward, say insiders, Bush is off to Los Angeles for lunch and then to Hawaii for a Pacific Rim mini-summit. (Rumors are flying that Bush will return to Orange County on Nov. 3 to help get the vote out for Republican gubernatorial candidate Sen. Pete Wilson. The White House will only confirm that he will return to California.)

The price tag for the early-bird special? An eye-opening $500 per person. Seven-hundred guests are expected to crowd the Hyatt ballroom at 7:30. The breakfast, which begins at 8, will feature California fruit plate, orange juice, Danish pastries and croissants. (You never see mouthwatering items like eggs Benedict at these early-morning political powwows. Trims the profit.)

Parties Plus of Los Angeles is whipping up the decor: red, white and blue balloon columns (flanking the dais where Bush is expected to hold court with event co-sponsors Bren and George Argyros) and Old Glory-themed centerpieces.

Should you be thinking about spending the night in the same hotel as the President, forget it. Eighty-nine rooms are already reserved for the White House press alone.

An afternoon with Helmut: Restaurateur Helmut Reiss threw open the carved door of his Munich-inspired Laguna Beach manse on Sunday to supporters of the Laguna Art Museum.

Up for sampling: the fine wines and continental kind of fare that has made his Rothschild’s restaurant in Corona del Mar a favorite of Orange County’s smart set. (Just last weekend, Reiss catered a very posh sit-down affair for developer William Lyon at his Coto de Caza mansion.)

Up for viewing: Reiss’ vintage Mercedes-Benz automobile collection. “I thought this would be a fun party for the guys,” said Dolores Milhous. Milhous--the new president of the museum board--and Marla Bird were co-chairwomen of the bash, the last hurrah in the “Perspectives” party series that poured about $40,000 into museum coffers.

Next up for museum buffs: “Novel Ideas,” a benefit auction where party-goers get to bid on paperback novels that have been incorporated into works of art by 125 artists, including Laddie John Dill, Sam Francis and Jorg Dubin. The artworks will be previewed at the museum the week before the Nov. 17 auction.

Encore: Watch for the Guilds of the Orange County Performing Arts Center to stage a video party in the Black Box Theatre of the Center on Nov. 9. Models who performed in the Guilds’ recent fashion parade at the Center will finally get to see the show, which was filmed by professionals. The Guilds have already set the date for next year’s “The Center of Fashion.” Mark your calendar for Sept. 20. The gala will kick off the Center’s fifth anniversary celebration. Carlton Burnett will produce and direct.