We’re not sure if Leslie, Amy Poehler’s character from "Parks and Recreation," invented or just popularized Galentine’s Day, but now it is clearly a thing.
On that special day, Feb. 13, or really anytime this weekend, women celebrate their friendships with each other, which are enduring, before their romances, which can be fleeting. They’re having potlucks, parties, wine tastings and all kinds of fun. Jeez, maybe dudes should start a Palentine’s day.
If you haven’t got time for an elaborate get-together, here are some suggestions for a drink or bite out with the girls.
Petals and Pop
Why didn’t someone think of this sooner? A place where you can buy flowers and Champagne, with a girly ambiance. The menu is presented in a book with a library card listing bubblies by the bottle and the glass. Your drinks are poured in shapely vintage coupes with flowers scattered around the stems. You can sip something inexpensive and refreshing by the glass like Villa Sandi Prosecco ($10) or splurge on a bottle of Taittinger, Brut La Francaise ($72). There’s a gift boutique and bottles for sale if you find something you love.
Two locations: perch at a small chic bar in Pacific City or stop by Seal Beach. Both are surrounded by good restaurants. 214 Main St., Seal Beach; 562-936-0131; 2102-58 Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach; 714-374-0252, petalsandpop.com
– Anne Valdespino
Walt’s Wharf
If your girlfriends are like mine, the most popular wines on the table are not manly cabernets and zins, they’re chardonnays and pinots. Walt’s, whose owner just happens to own Babcock Winery, specializes in both. You can order them by the glass (6 or 9 ounces) or in flights with 3-ounce pours, or find one you love and get a bottle. Grapes are from Santa Barbara and the Santa Rita Hills, and vintner Bryan Babcock (Walt’s son) knows how to turn them into wine that’s balanced and approachable. We loved the appley Santa Rita Hills 2014 Chardonnay "The Limit" ($13-$18 per glass) with a creamy finish, and the juicy "Je Ne Sais Quoi" 2014 Pinot Noir ($13-$19 per glass) with delicious dark cherry notes. They’re all great with food, so make a reservation for steaks and seafood or go during happy hour for $5 fish tacos, crisp calamari, sliders and ceviche.
201 Main St., Seal Beach; 562-598-4433, waltswharf.com
– Anne Valdespino
Mesa
When you walk into Mesa for the first time, you feel like you’ve entered a swanky Las Vegas Strip bar. Mesa is a restaurant with a nightclub attitude. The 24-seat bar takes center stage, flanked on each side by dimly lit lounge-style seats. The restaurant’s new American cuisine is delivered with a bit of sass from talented purple-haired Executive Chef Niki Starr Weyler, who trained under Amar Santana. Nightly entertainment, combined with a creative craft cocktail menu, makes Mesa a fun place to yak it up with your best gal pals. Be sure to call ahead to reserve one of the private cabana tables. Best of all: Mesa is 21 or over.
725 Baker St., Costa Mesa (at The Camp); 714-557-6700, mesacostamesa.com
– Nancy Luna
Go for Mexican
When you’re out with girlfriends, you have permission to indulge. And, the best cuisine for breaking the diet is always fine Mexican. I couldn’t narrow my choices to one place, so I have three options for you: If you’re in coastal or south Orange County, head over to Javier’s in Irvine or Newport Coast. Once you step inside, it’s party time at Javier’s. Keep the Cadillac Margaritas coming and you’re in for a grand night. In Orange, you’ll find a more intimate setting at Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen. The restaurant’s friendly male servers will keep the drinks flowing as you dine on some of the county’s best Mexican dishes. Note: Gabbi’s now charges $3 for chips. Over in Huntington Beach, Solita delivers magic with its wood-grilled tacos and its sweet, blue agave-infused Margaritas. And, this just in: Last week, Solita added a line of "super tacos" to the menu. It includes the Vampiro, a popular double tortilla carna asada taco with cheese found at sister eatery Sol in Newport Beach.
Gabbi’s: 141 S. Glassell St., Orange; 714-633-3038, gabbipatrick.com. Solita: 7631 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach; 714-894-2792, solitatacos.com. Javier’s: 7832 E. Coast Highway, Newport Beach; 949-494-123, and 536 Spectrum Center Drive, Irvine; 949-872-2101, javiers-cantina.com
– Nancy Luna
Bottle Logic Brewing
Sometimes, it’s not all about cocktails and wine. A growing number of women, especially older millennials and Gen Xers, are cross-drinkers. We enjoy mixing it up with wine one day and craft beer the next. In Orange County, there are plenty of new and old craft breweries to wet your whistle. But the one that combines great beers with a festive atmosphere is Bottle Logic. A different food truck parks outside the brewery each night. Food can be brought into the spacious tasting room, where tables spill into the tank-filled brewery space because it gets so packed. Monday night is especially a good time to go because it’s trivia night. It’s a ton of fun and a good way to meet others as you answer pop-culture questions over a flight of the brewery’s award-winning hoppy beers.
1072 N. Armando St., Anaheim; 714-660-2537, bottlelogic.com
– Nancy Luna
Orange Hill
This hilltop stalwart was always cherished for its unparalleled views of the county, but since its impressive renovation, last year the menu and the bar choices rival the sunset views. Celebrity sommelier and consultant Michael Jordan had a hand in the new wine list, which includes more than 200 entries and won a Wine Spectator award. The bar and dining room have been altered so your view through the picture windows is now unobstructed. Of course, you’ll be just as tempted by the menu as the view and the drinks. The raw bar alone is worth the trip; the seafood tower ($75 to $125) is a spectacular Galentine’s Day indulgence. Thankfully, you can also enjoy the place on a budget. A much-praised French onion soup is $8, and many entrée salads are under $20. If you’re hungry but still budgeting, a three-course prix fixe menu is $44 to $50, depending on your entrée.
6410 E Chapman Ave, Orange; 714-997-2910, theorangehillrestaurant.com
– Paul Hodgins
SeaLegs
With a background in marketing, Alicia Whitney had a detailed vision for a different kind of wine bar, and when SeaLegs opened in 2012 in an unremarkable strip mall on Beach Boulevard not far from the coast, people bought into it, big time. Women have found the place especially inviting. Teaming with designer Kenneth Ussenko and chef Alexander Dale, Whitney created a pleasant retreat that can be called unreservedly girly. It’s intimate yet sophisticated, with hand-crafted pieces and vintage photos on the walls. Our favorite spot is a small room with billowing curtains and a nautical theme that feels like the lounge in a yacht owned by some Jazz Age tycoon. SeaLegs has a wine cellar of more than 4,000 bottles, 40 wine lockers, and an extensive craft beer collection that highlights 10 beers on draft and many more by the bottle. If you’re lucky you’ll spot Alicia as she breezes by, an eternal smile on her animated face as she tends to her customers.
21022 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach; 714-536-5700, sealegswinebar.com
– Paul Hodgins
Stonehill Tavern
At the freshly updated and now less formal Monarch Beach Resort, Michael Mina’s Stonehill Tavern is where you’ll find one of the best bars in south O.C. For starters, it’s staffed by a team of talented mixologists who know their stuff. Its hefty 17-page cocktail and spirits menu includes slightly tweaked versions of classics such as the Blood and Sand and the Manhattan as well as inventive new concoctions. What makes them stand out, though, are the care and quality that go into them: All fruit is grown locally and hand-squeezed daily; the barkeeps use premium, small-batch spirits only and make their own syrups and bitters. If you’re into wine, sommelier Paul Coker and his team have assembled a 39-page wine list that’s among Orange County’s biggest and most comprehensive. The atmosphere is relaxed and convivial – it’s easy to make friends at the bar – and the view is magnificent, especially at sunset. Needless to say, the restaurant, one of only two Mina dining rooms in Southern California, is divine if you have the green to lay down.
1 Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point; 949-234-3900, michaellmina.net
– Paul Hodgins
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