Photo by Jonathan HoTo spend an autumn Sunday in Orange County anywhere but Rudy's Pub N Grill is to sin, for the Lord hath designated Rudy's football-watching heaven. In this Eden of ESPN, homesick transplants and natives peacefully co-exist for three hours at a time, even the Lions and the Rams. Since rolling the dice of renovation over the summer, the refurbished Rudy's is a marriage of high-tech, sports-watching perfection and boozing. A retractable roof protects the new patio bar for those two days of rain in February. At night, the place looks like NORAD with its 30 flat-screen televisions, each tuned to a different pigskin battle. Rudy's even makes those six other days of the week tolerable by serving up Jager shots in cocktail glasses — try one, and try waking up before the boxcar in which you passed out crosses the CA/AZ border. And the cocktailers wear Catholic schoolgirl getups. Rejoice!
RUDY'S PUB N GRILL, 3110 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach, (949) 723-0293.
Matt Tucker is a 32-year-old Costa Mesan with degrees in geology and TV/film from Cal State Fullerton. Be like Matt, and tell us where you love your liquor most. Send a 200-word essay on your favorite bar toGA*******@OC******.COM. Entries must include a name and telephone number, and we reserve the right to shoot you — with a camera — at said booze barn.
