SARKO....WHO? If you don’t know yet, you’ll know very soon. I am a self-professed restaurateur, fund raiser, and social junkie. I enjoy the social contact of the people who make this town what it is. I enjoy different foods and the interiors they’re served in. I love a crowded bar and waiting in line for a drink. I love dinner at home with friends. I love walking around the Island, both Fashion and Balboa, waving and chatting with new, old, and future friends. This is my home and you’re invited along to join in all the fun, facts, and frivolous blah-blah that are part of this city.
  Let’s kick off Sarko in the City with St. Patrick’s Day, a pretty major party day for a normal guy in his own right. But now add turning 50 the same day and you wouldn’t want to be John “J.T.” Tenaglia the morning after. The two-day soiree began on St. Paddy’s Eve with close to 50 of J.T.’s pals surprising him at The Balboa Bay Club. Organized by David Obbage and Jimmy “U,” friends came from as far away as Santa Barbara to San Malo to celebrate the self-proclaimed “Chairman of the Board” reaching the mid-century mark. Absorbing martinis at the bar were Sandy and Sharon McDougal, Wally and Kathy Limburg, Todd Goodman, Bobbo, Nelson Wheeler, Mark Rubin, and a bevy of beautiful women including Nan Richardson, Pallie Jones, Melanie Belger, and Kari Cox.
  The following night, the always-generous and ultimate storyteller J.T. hosted a party for himself at 333 on the traditional Irish holiday for 80 of his “brothers from different mothers.” Sliders and vodka were the fare of the evening. Seen laughing it up were Dave Willke, Gary Robertson, Mac Shattuck and the “Irish Girls” from LA.
  There seemed to be quite a few birthdays to celebrate lately and this town is famous for making each celebration at least a week long. Candles were flying on Lido Isle at Diana Thomas’s 50th birthday (sorry, I just had to put it in print), when hubby Chris Thomas and daughters Amelia and Alexandra threw a surprise bash. As co-conspirators held court with Diana for a couple cocktails, some 40 of us packed under the staircase for the ultimate surprise. Diana toasted the night away with friends Andrew and Karen Littlefair, Marlo Scott, Jeff Morter, Lisa and Mark Zelinski (Mark, what a guy, flew in from San Francisco), Lance Klueger, Chris and Dennis Overstreet, Buddy Ritchley, and yacht mogul John Buettner.
Speaking of my wannabe restaurateur life, I shared some of the most delectable meals with Newport’s most famous culinary experts recently to celebrate a birthday. Where do I start? Saturday night Anne and John Wortmann entertained at Aubergine with a to-die-for bottle of Harlan cabernet sauvignon. Sunday, Jimmy “U” of Blue Water Grill, one of the nicest guys in town, not to mention a fine chef, hosted a dinner party and showed off his culinary flare and extravagance by bringing in at least 40 pounds of the largest crab legs I have ever seen. Measuring two-feet long and 2” in diameter and paired with his famous split-pea soup, it was an understatement to say Julianne Ulcickas, Joe Decoma and Kelly Gorman, Marianne and John Payne, and Nan Richardson “ate like queens and kings.”
On to Monday night, and rounding the final lap, Virginia and Steve Layton got everyone into a margarita mood at El Ranchito with Mac Shattuck, J.T., Russ Flueter, Bill Peterson, Michelle Garvin, and Marco Baljeu.
One of my favorite soirees of the year is Orangewood Pals’ annual Athletes First Gala, where you mingle with some of who’s who of the NFL. Along with 800 other guests, I made a quick Sunday afternoon road trip to the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort to support Stephanie and Jeff Gehl, who chaired the popular event with last year’s honoree, Paul Makarechian. Stephanie shared personal respect, love, and admiration for her father, George Argyros, who served as one of the honorees. Another great introduction by a family member, father Mac Bledsoe brought up son Drew Bledsoe, who was also an honoree and is best known as the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. His other claim to fame is his foundation, the Drew Bledsoe Foundation, which was created to support his parents’ passion to teach effective parenting, a cause close to their hearts.
Big news of the night was the live and silent auction that were over the top in raising the $250,000, especially the Von Dutch motorcycle that was custom-made for this event. In attendance to support PALS were friends Kim and Bob Miller, Marty and Richard Dutch, Penny and Jeff Spellens, Carol and Pat Ward, Wendy Drake, Kelly and David Emmes, Julie and Kirk Norton, Leslie Perez, Lisa and David Heil (David donated a $10,000 custom wardrobe and Will Smith wore one of his custom tuxedos to the Oscars), Merry and John Hagestad, and Shannon and Byron Tarnutzer.
Mingling with the stars included football’s Matt Hasselbeck, Joe Jurevicius, Gary Baxter, and Pete Carroll. As usual—which is starting to get pretty funny—Wing Lam showed up with his entourage and brushed up against my entourage…
Just when I thought I’d heard it all, I got word from the Costa Mesa camp that Hurley friend Bob Burnquist accomplished a first-of-its-kind skating stunt and a lifelong dream when he successfully skated a 50/50 grind on the mega rail jump and shot off/base jumped into Hell Hole Bend of the Grand Canyon, parachuting to the bottom of the canyon. After two unsuccessful attempts and hours of repacking his parachute Bob accomplished this feat on his third try. The Discovery Channel’s Stunt Junkies show was there to capture every moment of this unprecedented, extremely complex stunt. Congrats to Bob on accomplishing this unbelievable achievement!
A worthy save-the-date: Ted and Connie O’Connor are chairing the 2nd Annual Sunset “Cruise for a Cure,” to be held on the Endeavor Yacht (so graciously donated by Captain Stuart Sitko!) in Newport Harbor on Sunday, April 23. From 3 to 6 p.m. a wonderful afternoon is planned listening to Grammy-winning Eric Marienthal’s saxophone, dancing, basking in sunshine, sipping champagne, eating great food, and meeting new and old friends. Most importantly, everyone will be helping in the fight to save lives by finding a cure for leukemia and lymphoma and all blood-related cancers.
The suggested minimum donation is $125 per person, and they promise you will depart the ship feeling that you spent your Sunday afternoon in a very important way. Contact Ted O’Connor at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 4299 MacArthur Blvd., Ste. 207, Newport Beach, CA, 92660, or you can also register on a secure website by visiting www.active.com/donate/
leukemiacupors/CruiseTickets.