Celebrities Help Children’s Charity Win the Waiting Game
Orange County Supervisor Gaddi Vasquez made about $3,000 in “tips” at Monday night’s Celebrity Waiters’ dinner staged at Antonello restaurant.
Serving up pasta and veal piccata to Disneyland execs such as Jack Lindquist and Ron Dominquez, Vasquez helped bring total proceeds of more than $30,000 to the benefit for the Orangewood Children’s Foundation. Vasquez’s flawless serving skills--honed at the old Mr. Steak restaurant in Orange when he was a high school student--also got him a prize, a Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf bear. (This member of the stuffed-animal set was decked out in battle fatigues and dog tags).
Getting the most laughs at the affair was developer William Lyon, who donned a black wig and mustache for his stint as a waiter.
“I’ve waited my whole life to wait on others,” he deadpanned. “They told me to be an Italian waiter, so I decided to look like one.”
Also among those waiting on guests were Olympic athletes Janet Evans and Peter Vidmar and television newscaster Vikki Vargas.
Harleys and Elvises at the Hard Rock: When VIP guests at the Hard Rock Cafe’s free grand-opening concert on Sunday weren’t swaying to the sounds of the Neville Brothers, they were eyeballing the Flying Elvises (who parachuted into the affair) or gawking at the fleet of Harley Davidsons parked in front of the new restaurant in Newport Beach. (The one limousine parked nearby looked absurd in comparison.)
The Elvises--featured in the movie, “Honeymoon in Vegas”--munched on turkey burgers as they shared happy tales of working with their co-star, Nicholas Cage.
Did Cage, who made like a Flying Elvis in the movie, actually parachute out of a plane?
“Naw,” said Brad Brophy of Las Vegas. “They dropped him 50 feet from a crane.”
The 500-strong VIP crowd consisted mostly of press and public relations types. Up for treats: beef burgers, chili, cheese squares, watermelon wedges, double-chocolate fudge brownies and ice cream.
The name game: Restaurateur David Wilhelm is gaining a reputation for renaming his bistros. His popular Diva in Costa Mesa was going to be called Blonde, until higher-ups squawked about the name sounding sexist. And now, Indigo--his yet-to-open eatery at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana--has been renamed Cafe Topaz. Seems Indigo is the name of a bistro up L.A.-way, and Wilhelm wants no mix-ups.
Cafe Topaz will open Dec. 1 with a bash for Orange County meeting and party planners. On Dec. 2, area VIPs will officially christen the new venue.
And while we’re talking changes: The all-out New Year’s Eve celeb-studded bash planned by Roxbury South has been postponed until Valentine’s Day, sources say. The nightclub, fashioned after the hip Roxbury hot spot in Los Angeles, will be located in Santa Ana at the site of the old Courthouse Restaurant.
The ladies in red: Tonight, members of the Red Ribbon 100 (the women’s advisory council for the Orange County chapter of the American Red Cross) will stage their seventh annual Champagne Fest for about 400 guests at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. Members have been invited to wear red or white to the affair, which is being chaired by Peggy Goldwater-Clay of Newport Beach, daughter of former Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater. Gloria Osbrink is co-chairwoman. Beverly Ray, owner of the Bay Club, is honorary chairwoman. Proceeds estimated at about $30,000 will go toward the general needs of the Red Cross, which may include communication equipment used in disaster relief services in Orange County.
Bergeson honored: State Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) was honored at the Orange County Homeless Issue Task Force’s first benefit dinner on Monday night at Tutto Mare in Fashion Island. Dinner proceeds will be given to the Task Force--founded by Bergeson--to support its efforts to increase community awareness of the homeless and provide shelter services through its Interfaith Shelter network. Peter Zeughauser and D. Randall Barth were event co-chairmen.
Pacific Chorale reception: Baritone Sherrill Milnes was feted by Pacific Chorale’s board of directors following his recent performance at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Among guests at the Center Club reception praising the performance of the Metropolitan Opera star were John Alexander, artistic director of the Pacific Chorale, and Jay St. Clair, the chorale’s board president. Also among well-wishers were Bonnie McClain, Bill Gillespie, Smith Bacon, Roy Kunkle, and Phil and Mary Lyons.
