‘Taste’ Offers Tour of the World

The 800 or so people who descended upon the Brea Mall after hours Sunday came not to shop--but to eat--till they dropped.

At Taste of the Town 1992, presented by the Junior Auxiliary Assistance League of Fullerton, guests could sample fine wine and a variety of international cuisines under one roof. Proceeds from the $35-per-person gala were expected to exceed last year’s net of about $20,000 and will go toward the auxiliary’s Children’s Dental Health Program.

Location, Location

While some might consider Brea Mall a strange locale for a gala, the mall’s spacious Center Court suited the 13th annual tasting event perfectly.

In past years, the event had been held in a medical building and even a tent set up in the Brea Mall parking lot.

“This is wonderful,” said Pam Clark, auxiliary chairwoman. “We have all the room in the world, and if the event doubles in size we’ll just move upstairs.”

A jazz band entertained the crowd at the Robinson’s wing, and tables featuring more than 30 restaurants, caterers and wineries were set up all along the corridors of darkened storefronts.

Movable Feast

“We have Italian, Chinese, American, French--you can graze on food from all over the world,” said Charlotte Chamberlain, event chairwoman.

Crocodile Cafe served up exotic pizzas, including a barbecue chicken variety with cilantro, red onions and smoked Gouda cheese. King Tut’s offered fried squid, Mulberry Street made a chicken pasta with pesto sauce and Beverly’s Best Bakery made chewy mocha cookies and a pina colada cheesecake for dessert.

At the Cat & the Custard Cup’s table, more than 25 people stood in line while chefs worked over an open flame preparing chicken in Marsala wine sauce with prosciutto ham and asparagus.

For the first time, 18 wineries joined the taste, and Fullerton Hofbrau Brewery served up its locally brewed beer.

Guests--the men in suits and the women in spring cocktail dresses--wandered from table to table sampling the wares. Some balanced plates on their hands and ate while strolling the mall, while others sat at tables decorated in bubble-gum pink, mint green and silver star-shaped balloons.

“We come every year. It gives you a chance to try restaurants you otherwise wouldn’t try,” said guest Dodie Puckett as she took a break from the feasting to get a glass of mineral water.

Making Kids Smile

Proceeds from the gala help provide dental care to Fullerton schoolchildren who otherwise could not afford it. The auxiliary pays for half the treatment; volunteer dentists donate the rest of the cost.

“It gets the children out of pain so they’re able to concentrate on their studies,” said Bobbi d’Arc, chairwoman of the auxiliary’s dental program.

Others attending the taste were James Charter, Brea Mall’s general manager, Susan Barden, Dennis and Susan Bevins, Dr. John Davis and his wife, Janet, assistance league president, Mike Levine and Kim Oylear.

Taste of Irvine

As Taste of the Town was getting started early Sunday evening, another tasting gala was winding up at the other end of the county.

Organizers with the Irvine Temporary Housing Program chose the courtyard and dining room of the Park Place office building in Irvine to hold their eighth annual Taste of Irvine. About 1,000 people paid $18 each to attend the event, which raised about $25,000 for the housing program.

Participating in the taste were 23 restaurants that prepared a variety of cuisines, while a wine-tasting and live chamber music added to the festivities.

“For the price of a ticket, you get carte blanche” to unlimited food, said Jamie Wilkinson, event spokeswoman. “That’s why we limit it to two hours. People really do eat all they can eat.”

Irvine Temporary Housing provides needy families with shelter, food, clothing and other necessities, according to Wilkinson.

Ann Dean and Renee Schneider served as co-chairwomen of the gala.