Slurping Safari

Whew, El Nino has been keeping things hot, and I’ve been in hot pursuit myself--of the perfect thirst-quenchers: juices, coffees, cocktails and locally brewed beers. Orange County is a large, diverse area that offers a mind-boggling number of choices. Here are a few of my favorites in those categories, with apologies to the many outstanding beverages I’ve left out.

Juice Drinks

* BIG KAHUNA--Balboa Island’s Marine Avenue is lined with ice-cream parlors, coffee bars and boutiques, but the health conscious patronize the Main Squeeze, a little yellow storefront that specializes in drinks concocted from fresh juices. The Big Kahuna ($4.25) is a specialty here--24 ounces of blended orange juice, frozen strawberries, protein powder, wheat germ, lecithin, oat bran, wheat bran, bee pollen and brewer’s yeast. Bet you feel healthier already.

The Main Squeeze, 211 Marine Ave., Balboa Island. (714) 673-3060.

* PEACH RASPBERRY SMOOTHIE--Jan Gaffney makes the best smoothies in Orange County, and what could better reflect the Southern California lifestyle than her location, inside a surf shop directly across PCH from the Huntington Beach Pier. These are thick energy drinks made from a fresh-fruit base augmented with banana, honey, juice and Altadena yogurt. When fresh peaches and raspberries are available, there is no more ambrosial drink ($3.95).

Jan’s Health Bar, 300 Pacific Coast Highway, No. 104, Huntington Beach. (714) 536-4856.

* GRANI-PLAT--Jugos Acapulco uses only fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and a giant metal juice extractor called an esprimidor in Spanish. Health benefits notwithstanding, these juices are pulpy and delicious, and it is fun to watch the employees behind the counter work, selecting fruits and vegetables from huge piles. Their most impressive creation may be Grani-Plat ($3), a mix of plantain, granola, rompope (Mexican egg nog), vanilla, sugar, milk and ice. Natural juices are outstanding as well, especially beet and pineapple.

Jugos Acapulco, 2003 W. 1st St., Suite A, Rona Plaza, Santa Ana. (714) 558-1414.

Coffee

* ESPRESSO--Alta Coffee started as a wholesale roasting warehouse, but the Lido Peninsula coffeehouse is pure atmosphere, a claustrophobic, cluttered shack filled with wooden tables and quirky signs. Alta’s espresso blend is about the best espresso in the county, with lots of rich body but without the heavy buzz provided by more caffeinated blends. This one is a blend of Guatemalan, Kenyan and Colombian beans (single, $1.10; double, $1.60). The finish is slightly bitter, like a good espresso should be.

Alta Coffee, 506 31st St., Newport Beach. (714) 675-0233. The bean blend is $10.40 per pound.

* HUEHUETENANGO COFFEE--German-born Carl Diedrich was the first local coffee merchant to roast beans commercially on a large-scale basis, and Diedrich’s chain of coffee stores might be called the Starbucks of Orange County. The founder lived on a coffee plantation in Guatemala much of his adult life, so it should come as no surprise that the company’s signature coffee is Huehuetenango (12 oz. brewed coffee, $1.35; one-pound bag, $10.15), a light, nutty-flavored bean from nowhere but Guatemala. Go ahead and pay top dollar for Kona, Blue Mountain and other premium coffees. This is a smooth, elegant coffee, the rival of any.

Diedrich Coffee, various locations.

* CAFE MOCHA--Hedz Cafe 207, which opened Aug. 29, is San Clemente’s newest coffeehouse, a converted Internet cafe now being run by an enterprising young entrepreneur named Darren Corralez. Corralez gets his good coffees from Daymar, a San Diego-based roasting company, but it is his youthful enthusiasm that makes his cafe mocha ($2.25) a great one; 8 ounces of brewed coffee, at least half as much Monin chocolate syrup, a mountain of fresh whipped cream and the requisite amount of TLC, all served in a double-insulated cup made of recycled materials.

Hedz Cafe 207, 207 S. El Camino Real, San Clemente. (714) 361-9093.

Cocktails

* THE COSMOPOLITAN--The martini has made a comeback with a vengeance, and perhaps no local restaurant takes advantage of this cultural phenomenon more stylishly than Bungalow, the Corona del Mar steakhouse. Bungalow’s martinis are shaken, not stirred, and come in thick, conical glasses with long, elegant stems. A classic gin martini is made with Bombay Sapphire gin, but my choice here would be the Cosmopolitan ($5.25), two jiggers of Absolut Citron vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice and a squeeze of fresh lime, a drink that tests the limits of what a martini should be.

Bungalow, 2441 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. (714) 673-6585.

* SIDE CAR--The bar at the Ritz in Fashion Island is often three deep with customers at happy hour, and the lunch crowd is nearly as lively. This is where well-heeled and well-oiled locals sip a variety of classic American cocktails, but one that has fallen out of favor in recent years is the Sidecar ($5.50). It’s a sweet drink made from shaking brandy, Triple Sec and sweet and sour over cracked ice, served in a sugar-rimmed martini glass. Ritz bartender Leon Rodgers will make you one, but he says he rarely gets the request.

The Ritz, 880 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. (714) 720-1800.

* BRISAS FIZZ--Las Brisas in Laguna Beach is always crowded with revelers on Sundays at brunch, thanks to the sun-splashed, festive atmosphere, the strolling mariachis and the great drinks. Whenever I go for brunch, I have at least one Brisas Fizz ($5.50), a frothy, refreshing concoction of tequila, sugar syrup, flower water, egg whites, cream and sugar. The drink was on the menu about 10 years ago, but today it is a guarded secret, shared mainly with longtime customers.

Las Brisas, 361 Cliff Drive, Laguna Beach. (714) 497-5434.

Microbrews

* NUT BROWN ALE--Lookers in the Pavilion Center makes obvious style references to the controversial Hooters chain, both in its menu and in the waitresses’ uniforms. But it also O.C.’s southernmost microbrewery, Howling Ale Brewery, home of several good beers. The best is the cold and refreshing Nut Brown Ale ($2.50/pint), the color of watery root beer but with a smooth, malty nose and a mildly bitter finish. It’s as easy-to-drink an ale as you will taste.

Howling Ale Brewery, 24921 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point. (714) 488-3106.

* BAVARIAN DUNKELWEIZEN--Come taste the heady brews from the hand of master brewer Tucker Fleming at the spiffy new Old Towne Brewing Company, adjacent to the Orange Metrolink station. Fleming’s best is the creamy, sweet Bavarian Dunkelweizen, which has the color of unfiltered apple juice and a light head. The main ingredient is Belgian wheat, and a blend of yeasts adds a spicy, almost tropical aroma to the nose.

Old Towne Brewing Company, 186 N. Atchison St., Orange. (714) 744-4181. Bavarian Dunkelweizen, $3.50/pint.

* STEELHEAD AMBER--What could be more natural than a brew pub by a college campus? That’s exactly the case with UC Irvine and the Steelhead Brewing Company. The amber that shares the name of the pub is a reddish one and has a medium body and a mild flavor that blends smoothly with a good number of the dishes on the menu.

Steelhead Brewing Company, 4175 Campus Drive, Irvine. (714) 856-2227. Steelhead Amber, $2.75 to $4.50.