Nightlife in Rossmoor

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.

The idea for California Fruit Wine was hatched in 2009, when a friend of Alan and Brian Haghighi introduced the twin brothers to small batches of homemade fruit wine. Since those first sips, Alan, Brian, and their older brother, David, have continued to help wine drinkers break free from grape-based conventions, utilizing such fruit as peaches, strawberries, plums, and pumpkins as the foundation for an ever-growing arsenal of flavors. From dry to sweet, the winery fills glasses with unique bouquets, and—like the microbreweries throughout Vista Business Park—buys its ingredients from local sources rather than growing them or stealing them from the refrigerators of napping bears. California Fruit Wine's spacious facility, which is stocked with a stage, bar, and pool table, can also be rented out for parties and private events.

Johnny's Tacos & Sports assumes multiple identities. At once a sports bar, arcade, and restaurant, the lively interior is lit by blazing neon signs and 15 high-definition TVs. The kitchen whips up dishes from an extensive of bar food classics—ranging from chicken wings to burgers to pizzas—and bartenders draw from 21 beer taps. Next door, the newly upgraded game room boasts a variety of arcade-style joystick games, shuffleboard and pool tables, and a prize counter complete with iconic bouncy balls that bounce higher than an astronaut on a moon trampoline.

Of all the things a bar could be well known for, eggs might be low on the list. At Baddeley's Pourhouse, however, pickled eggs become unlikely stars, especially when washed down with iconic crimson, blue, and silver cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon. As patrons cluster in choruses of clinking cans and glasses, games flicker to life on seven high-definition televisions, which helped earn the tavern the No. 3 spot on CityVoter's list of Best Sports Bars in 2011. In a neon halo, a computerized jukebox spills out tunes and secret aspirations of becoming a food replicator on a starship missions. The cinnamon-hued felt of the pool table washes into the colors of red-topped bar stools, where customers perch as they order from the daily specials or discuss forming a synchronized swimming team for sponsorship by the alehouse.

Wall-to-wall plasma TVs flicker with broadcasts of high-intensity sports as guests to Beach Club Sports Bar & Grill bite into burgers piled with pastrami, chili, or bacon. When not urging on their team, visitors can also create competition of their own, sending pool balls flying or throwing down a foam finger to challenge rival fans to a duel. On weekends, mimosas and bloody marys wash down morning breakfast fare on a sunlit outdoor patio.

Behind its brick storefront, The Crush Bistro & Wine Bar presents visitors with the opportunity to sample wine from around the world. Pendant lights throw their glow across a towering case filled with stacks of wine and miniature ships waiting to dock in an empty bottle. However, rather than having bartenders manage the sizable stock, 16 self-serve dispensers pour tastes and glasses of reds and whites, letting visitors sample several options to pair with the tapas menu. Small plates create landing sites for smoked Norwegian-salmon crostini and beef-short-rib sandwiches, and the bistro's chefs also cook veggie options such as Asian-style summer rolls that wrap marinated tofu with lettuce and cabbage.