Newport’s Bouzy Rouge Becomes a Good Sport; Giorgio Gets a Twin

Two newcomers are livening the scene on the Balboa Peninsula: D.P.’s Pub and Grill at what used to be the Bouzy Rouge, and, in the next block, Giorgio’s La Trattoria. The old Bouzy has been all but totally transformed (only the frame remains the same) into a sports bar, similar to Legends in Long Beach, with no fewer than 18 screens showing several games at once. On the menu: burgers, pizzas, salads and such nightly specials (for $5.95) as chicken or beef pot pie, whole baked chicken, 10-ounce New York steak and 12-ounce mahi-mahi. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., with live entertainment every night starting at 9. 3110 Newport Blvd. (714) 723-0293.

Giorgio’s La Trattoria is the second venture for Giorgio Noferini, who also owns Giorgio on Marine Avenue on Balboa Island. “Same menu, same prices, same cooks--my wife, Sondra, and me,” says Noferini, who had a restaurant in his native Florence (“it was in my family from 1905 to 1975”). Selections include homemade sausage with rigatoni in a fresh-tomato marinara sauce; linguine with clams, mussels, calamari, shrimp and scallops, and swordfish sauteed in brandy with sliced tomatoes, herbs and black olives. $12.95 to $17.95, including salad and a side of pasta. The informal, family-style restaurant is open every night but Monday. 3012 Newport Blvd. (714) 673-4020.

Three vintages of Opus One, a red wine produced in partnership between the Robert Mondavi Winery and Chateau Mouton Rothschild, will be poured during a special wine dinner Saturday, June 1, at the Robert Mondavi Wine & Food Center. It’s a black-tie event, starting at 7 p.m.; tickets are $135, including tax and gratuity. 1570 Scenic Ave., Costa Mesa. (714) 979-4510.

A haven for Easterners, the Great New England Seafood Co. specializes in you-know-what flown in from Boston, and it’s offering a Gourmet Night Sunday, June 2. There will be two seatings, at 4 p.m. and at 7 p.m., for the six-course feast. Appetizer choices will include skewered Cajun shrimp, vegetable pate on toast points, steamed chicken with ginger and shallots, and poached salmon steaks with orange champagne sauce. Among the entree choices: grilled swordfish with lime tequila sauce, lobster and mushroom crepes, mussels Parisien. All this, and a bottle of wine per couple, will cost $29.95 per person, tax and gratuities included. 23600 Rockfield Blvd., El Toro. (714) 589-9702. Reservations required.

Mario’s in Mission Viejo is now called Abbondanza (Italian for abundance) but the staff and menu remain the same. Owner Sarah Parrish opted for the new name because, she said, there are so many restaurants called Mario’s. 25922 Muirlands Blvd. (714) 830-1600.