RESTAURANT ROUNDUP:

A couple of local restaurants are offering new Happy Hour deals.

Britta’s Cafe in University Center in Irvine is offering half-off drinks and free snacks from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Wednesdays you can really save money with the restaurant’s gourmet hamburgers with pomme frites and Caesar salad for $14. Britta’s Cafe is near Edwards Theater across from UC Irvine at 4237 Campus Drive. For details, call (949) 509-1211.

Taco Rosa in Newport Hills shopping center, 2632 San Miguel Road, Newport Beach, is offering a marathon Happy Hour from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., except on holidays. For more, call (714) 505-6080.

Restaurants hold small essay contest

You love your mom a lot, don’t you? Yeah, well prove it. And win some gift cards while you’re at it. The Orange County Restaurant Assn.’s free online community, OC Foodies, is sponsoring a sort-of mini essay contest. Winners can nab $500 in gift cards to 10 Orange County restaurants, including 118 Degrees in Costa Mesa, 21 Oceanfront in Newport Beach and Sage on the Coast in Newport Beach.

Here’s what you need to do: First, join the OC Foodies online community at ocfoodies.com (at no charge), then tell them in 50 words or less why yours is the “Mom of choice.” Send your submissions by May 7 to info@ocfoodies.com.

For more information, go to ocrestaurantassociation.org or ocfoodies.com.

— Paul Anderson