Nightlife in Huntington Beach

As they grip the microphone and pace before the red curtain, The Comedy Palace's standups execute quips, rants, and anecdotes they've honed on such outlets as Comedy Central and late-night television. Viewers can munch on finger foods, burgers, rib-eye steak, Atlantic salmon and pages from a full menu of cuisine while watching a national headliner's set.

Amid a shopping center adorned in rustic white plaster and wood accents, Alpine Village Restaurant welcomes visitors to lively banquets of hearty German fare, frosty brews, and umlaut-heavy revelry. Guests gather under the restaurant's timbered eaves to sip samples of 15 frothy European beers on draft and munch on tasty brats, salads, and schnitzels while soaking up live music or matches of UEAF soccer. In addition to its festive eatery, the village draws in huge crowds for Southern California's largest Oktoberfest, a traditional Bavarian celebration replete with imported oom-pah bands, a 32,000-square-foot beer tent, and kitting circles churning out traditional beer cozies for the Oktoberfest fairy.

After memorizing the menu, start a food-eating contest with yourself by devouring a basket of chili-cheese fries (shoestring fries, $2.99, plus jack-and-cheddar chili mix, $1.29) or sixteen Angel wings tossed in your choice of one or two sauces (buffalo, blazing habanero, firecracker, Thai peanut, spicy barbecue, garlic parmesan, or blasphemy, $14.99). For the main event, chow down on a pulled-pork sandwich ($9.99), or the dos tacos, stuffed with steak or chicken and lettuce, cheddar and jack cheeses, and salsa inferno, and served with a side of tortilla chips and salsa ($7.49). Burgers, wraps, and pizzas fill out the remainder of the robust menu.