*chomp* *gulp* *slurp* Food...Drinks...
from many of the…read morefood greats
and some drink lounges
Feb 7 kicked off the first Bottoms Up event of the year at Newport Dunes, and from what I heard of the OC Weekly staff, they're itching to have another one every few months throughout the year.
Parking at the Newport Dunes is decently expensive at $10, or for free if you're willing to park along Back Bay drive and make the 8 minute walk across their GIGANTIC parking lot. You have 3 presale options: $15 for all you can eat, $35 for 15 alcoholic drink samples, and $55 for VIP entry, unlimited craft drinks, and a little OC Weekly goodie bag.
We went the $55 option, which was surprisingly worth it. Not really for the VIP line (we had instant entry, but the normal line looked to be about a 15 minute wait an hour after the event began), or for the goodie bag (which had OC Weekly chapstick, a Resowater hangover drink, an ounce of Deep Eddy Vodka, a beer koozie, and some coupons), but because the specialty drinks in the VIP lounge were unlimited, and were FAR superior to the drinks provided inside. Is that worth the extra $40? Only if you're a good drinker and you greatly prefer mixed cocktails over beer and wine (which I do).
In the VIP area, the Boathouse Collective, Tempo Urban Kitchen, Kitsch Bar, Red Bar & Lounge, and Anapelco's Cafe each had a dedicated bartender constantly mixing their two specialty drinks, for a total of tasty cocktails you could choose from. The VIP area also had slightly nicer plush chairs to sit on, which were typically occupied by SEVERELY drunk Newport girls, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your worldview. We found them absolutely hilarious.
If you wanted libations inside, you had many spots to choose from. There were about 35 different liquor, beer, and wine companies, each providing you either a shot (if liquor) or about a 4 oz pour (if beer or wine). Every time you imbibed a libation, they would mark off a spot on your drink card. 15 was more than enough for most people, but if you wanted more, other fellow guests were willing to give away their extra drinks once they've had their 3-4 drinks. Many of the restaurants also gave away cocktails, like gin & juice or kamikazes, without counting them against your 15 drink total. So it wasn't hard to get a buzz on.
If you were seriously hurting for a drink after blowing through your $15, the middle area has a cash cocktail bar for about $8 a drink. It was completely empty all afternoon.
The food was AWESOME though. Like most events of this type, there were LONG lines at a few tables, absurdly short lines at other tables, and in the last hour of the event there were slim pickings. We got there about an hour into the event, and were able to try everything. By far the stars of the show were the chicken and waffles at Iron Press, the sliders at Rudy's, the clam chowder at Woody's Wharf, and the chicken wings at A&O. I absolutely adored the spicy cole slaw they provided with the chicken and waffles.
Everyone was super fun and OC Weekly provided a few of the obligatory group events. Live band music, a photo booth area, giant jenga, cornhole toss...and everyone was super friendly.
All in all, well worth an afternoon with friends.