The Orders Are Flying at El Toro With the Invasion of the Foodies

John Pickering voiced the dilemma facing the palates of most of the thousands of visitors to the eighth annual Taste of Orange County on Saturday night.

“It’s really tough making a choice with all this food here,” said a smiling Pickering, a Laguna Beach painting contractor who ultimately opted for a filet mignon kabob from the Warehouse of Newport Beach.

Where else in the county could you have started your meal with a lobster taquito from Newport Landing, then gone on to a vegetable samosa from Natraj Cuisine of India in Laguna Hills, some crab cakes from McCormick & Schmick’s of Irvine, and maybe a sweet corn tamale with barbecued chicken and duck from Kachina of Laguna Beach?

That wouldn’t even put you one-third of a way around the spacious, outdoor festival grounds at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. Forty of Orange County’s restaurants took part in the three-day charity event, which will conclude today.

A similar problem existed with the multitude of diverse choices of entertainment, with a lineup of improvisational comedy and local and national musical talent on three outdoor stages. Among the Saturday headliners was Dick Dale. Merle Haggard is scheduled to perform tonight.

There are also ongoing cooking exhibitions by the county’s chefs, live radio broadcasts, children’s activities and a display of antique aircraft from the Marine Corps.

Patrice Shilling, 37, of Moreno Valley, one of a party of four who made the trek Saturday from the Inland Empire, said the way to partake in the Taste is to simply stroll around and take it all in.

“This is sort of like going to an air show without all the noise,” she said, munching on a piece of barbecued buffalo meat from the Pavilions booth. “The music’s good, nobody’s fighting and everyone’s polite.”

Actually, Lori Yarborough of Fullerton, who has attended and volunteered at the Taste for the past three years, has developed a system she shares with Mike Patefield of San Clemente. It was devised for food but could work for entertainment too.

“I try a lot of different things I wouldn’t normally order . . . and try out restaurants you’ve heard of but never been to,” said Yarborough, 33, a bank employee.

Aggie Dougherty of Lake Forest said the Taste is an event she and her boyfriend have enjoyed for several years, previously at other locations and now this year at the base for the first time.

“You just keep walking, getting sun and listening to the nonstop music,” Dougherty said. “I like it here. Last year’s was a little more intimate maybe, but we like it here.”

A Taste of Orange County concludes at 9:45 tonight with a fireworks display.