Orange County's hottest arrivals in shopping, nightlife, dining, entertainment, attractions, museums, theater, culture, sports and recreation. MAPS of Orange County

Shopping
A Bevy of Boutiques
South Coast Plaza adds to its incredible collection of marquee retailers. Italian luxury icon Prada offers its fashion-forward clothing (seen here on the runway), shoes, handbags, sunglasses, accessories and luggage for men and women. Intimacy, known for free bra-fit makeovers and complimentary lifetime alterations, boasts an eye-candy bra wall and gilded “bra bank” with thousands of bras, in more than 90 sizes from luxury brands including La Perla and Lise Charmel. Free People is known for boho-vintage apparel with ruffle and lace details for twenty-something women. Herve Leger by Max Azria’s couture and ready-to-wear collections enhance the female silhouette with “bandage dress” concepts.

SHOPPING
Splendid New Retail
New boutiques at splendidly redone Fashion Island in Newport Beach include Splendid, home of the ultimate T-shirt made from the softest fabric and most color-absorbing yarns, as well as dresses and shorts; it’s a lifestyle collection of ultra-comfortable styles for the entire family. The boutique is an outpost of the flagship on hip Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles. Among Splendid’s white oak floors, white plaster walls and white lacquer shelves is a green wall of living vegetation. Leading French organic beauty brand Melvita opens its third U.S. location, offering women’s, men’s and baby collections, as well as nutritional supplements and its own line of honey, all certified organic. Top sellers include slimming products, plant oils, floral waters, lip balms and moisturizers. Founded in Ardèche by beekeeper and biologist Bernard Chevilliat in 1983, Melvita is strictly organic-certified by France’s ECOCERT. Splendid and Melvita are near the stunning Nordstrom and Fluxus and Michael Nusskern boutiques, which opened earlier this year.

SHOPPING
You’ll Flip
Havaianas, renowned Brazil-based maker of rubber flip-flops, has opened its first boutique in the United States, a colorful, cheery spot in renowned surf city Huntington Beach. The one-of-a-kind feel and quality of Havaianas flip-flops is due to a top-secret rubber recipe that makes them feel as soft as marshmallows. The first pair was born in 1962, inspired by the zori, Japanese sandals made of fabric straps and rice-straw soles; the foot-beds of all Havaianas feature a textured rice pattern. Four years ago, the Havaianas Slim debuted, featuring more delicate straps, which have become a brand icon. Today, Havaianas come in hundreds of distinctive, super-fashionable hues and patterns. 300 Pacific Coast Hwy., Huntington Beach, 714.536.0001.

dining
In Season
The bounty of the farmers market inspires an eclectic menu of dishes such as “mini indulgences,” spicy chipotle shrimp flat bread, caramelized sea scallops and char-crust filet mignon at new Seasons 52 at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa; there’s a casually sophisticated indoor-outdoor ambience. Opening above Seasons 52 is elegant East Coast steakhouse the Capital Grille. Signature dishes include Wagyu beef carpaccio, cedar-planked salmon and bone-in, Kona-crusted, dry-aged sirloin with caramelized shallot butter. Choose from among 5,000 wines.

dining
Beach Cruiser
Sandy’s Beach Grill opened on the sand at the Huntington Beach Pier, downstairs from sibling Duke’s Huntington Beach, with locally inspired artwork, rustic communal tables and an expansive patio. Regionally inspired small plates are designed to share: seafood ceviche with lime and avocado; tofu lettuce wraps; crab corn fritters with blue crab, asparagus and béarnaise sauce; and Cajun lamb chops with herbed yogurt dipping sauce. Among larger plates—also for sharing—are Prime Brandt Farms bavette steak with truffle fries and beer-can chicken. Wood-fired pizzas and flat breads, burgers and salads are complemented by a wide selection of craft beers and wines by the glass.

dining
Yours Truly
True Food Kitchen, developed with healthful-living author Dr. Andrew Weil, has opened at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. Among executive chef Michael Stebner’s globally inspired, locally sourced dishes are Tuscan kale salad; roasted eggplant pizza with smoked mozzarella, red onion and marjoram; pan-roasted natural chicken with corn, fennel, farro, figs and walnuts; and a superb grilled steelhead salmon with arugula, beets, pomegranate and lemon. Wines are selected based on commitment to organic, biodynamic and sustainable farming practices. The dining room is done in cheery hues of mustard and green and has two communal tables; the huge patio features a stunning linear fire pit.

entertainment
Pantastic!
Direct from engagements in London and San Francisco comes the spectacular new threesixty stage production of Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie’s classic story performed in a state-of-the-art theater-tent pavilion adjacent to the Orange County Performing Arts Center, beginning Sept. 28. The show features 22 actors, stunning puppets, epic music, dazzling flying sequences and the world’s first 360-degree CGI theater set; the interior of the tent is lit with more than 15,000 square feet of high-resolution video so that both cast and audience are immersed in a CGI Neverland. When Peter and Wendy fly to Neverland, the audience flies with them over 400 square miles of virtual London and beyond. Performances are presented “in the round.” Behind-the-scenes Into Neverland tours are offered weekly during the run.

entertainment
Pacific Pianists
Piano concertos provide the centerpieces for the first three programs of the Pacific Symphony season at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. Guest conductor Giancarlo Guerrero leads the orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1, with piano soloist Jon Kimura Parker, and Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 on Sept. 23-25. Music director Carl St.Clair takes the podium Oct. 14-16 for Ravel’s Piano Concerto, with soloist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, as well as Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. St.Clair also leads the ensemble Nov. 18–20 in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, with pianist Jeffrey Biegel, Mozart’s symphonies No. 34 and 35 and the world premiere of William Bolcom’s Prometheus.

exhibits
Art of the State
The California Biennial opens Oct. 24 at the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach. OCMA curator Sarah Bancroft has identified some 40 innovative contemporary artists and collaborative groups, presenting exciting developments in drawing, film, video, installation, painting, performance, photography, sculpture and text-based work.

exhibits
Blast Off
Boeing Rocket Lab, the first exhibit inside the Discovery Science Center’s iconic Cube, has opened, and it’s permanent. Highlights include the Blast Off Zone, Air and Water Rockets, Rocket Fuel and Nozzle Chamber. Suspended high inside the Cube is a RS-68 rocket engine developed by Rocketdyne in 1995; guests can experience the sensation of what it’s like to be beneath the engine during blastoff. They can also learn about the chemistry behind various rocket fuels and interact with two types of model rockets, which soar 65 feet into the air. The huge Cube is a landmark visible along Interstate 5.

exhibits
Display on Tap
Long before tailgate parties and brew pubs, before pull-top cans and long necks, beer and ale have been quenching thirsts. Long before. Recipes for beer inscribed on Babylonian tablets date back to 4300 B.C.; the brew also shows up in Egyptian and Mesopotamian accounts. In the Middle Ages, beer was used for tithing, trading and paying taxes. In 1776, soldiers in the Revolutionary War received a quart of beer a day in their rations. “Many battles are fought and won by soldiers nourished on beer,” noted Peter the Great of Russia. Hear, hear! Kegged, Casked, Bottled or Canned: 10,000 Years of Beer, through Oct. 10 at Fullerton Museum Center, tells the story with advertising material, tap handles, metal signs, prints, beer steins and fixtures from the home brewing industry.