SPECIAL EVENTS : Food Fest Is Appetizing

Aromas of Ruby’s burgers, Maryland crab cakes, calamari fritti, spicy poached won tons and much more will waft through the air at the fourth annual Taste of Newport, Friday through Sunday in Newport Center.

At least 45,000 are expected to visit the new, enlarged location on Newport Center Drive, which will be closed to traffic between Neiman Marcus and the Hard Rock Cafe. The event will run from 5 to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday.

Admission is $6 per person; children 12 and under are free Saturday and Sunday only.

To sample the fare, guests purchase script for $1 each. Item prices will range from $1 for fruit coolers from the Farmer’s Market, Atrium Court, or cookies from Haagen-Dazs, to $4 for grilled shrimp with rosemary polenta from Bistro 201/Diva and $5 for a combo of three sausages from Lido Shipyard Sausage.

More than 40 restaurants will prepare cuisines varying from Italian to American, Moroccan to Japanese.

Some participating Newport Beach restaurants and their offerings: Chinese tea-smoked chicken with sesame ginger vinaigrette, Five Feet Too; shrimp scampi with fresh mushrooms on linguini, John Dominis; grilled chicken sausage sandwich, Daily Grill; country pate Dijonnaise sandwich, Le Meridien Hotel; roasted eggplant and red pepper soup, J.W.’s California Grill, Newport Marriott, and lamb brochette, Marrakesh.

Outside of Newport Beach, restaurants include Five Crowns of Corona del Mar, which is featuring roasted prime rib sandwiches; Antonello of Santa Ana, bringing tiramisu; Mamakura, Costa Mesa, serving California rolls; and the Balboa Dessert Co. of Costa Mesa, bringing Snicker’s bar cheesecake.