The Chicago Booth Review analyzes the performance of AI against wine writers and finds AI to produce more profits in the wine industry.
The entire article follows:
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France + 6 Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
The Great Courses are offering several travel courses to help prepare for trips or do armchair traveling.
Three of the courses I Thought looked very good include:
-Rome in the Time of Caesars
-Exploring Southern Italy’s History, Art, and Archaeology
-Ancient Treasures of Turkey
Information about these courses follows:
https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/mp/465/#cv/priority/%5Esmartlabel_promo/19f845cec88a1a31
I have used Great Courses to study photography, macroeconomics, nutrition, and tai chi and qigong and have been happy with the course offerings.
It is fun to browse through their entire course catalog.
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France + 6 Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games and 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
Pretty Great Garlic Chicken at Golden Star Chinese Restaurant in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget
One of my favorite Chinese food-as-medicine dishes is garlic chicken. At Golden Star Restaurant in Salinas (California), garlic chicken is especially delicious with the addition of seasonal, organic vegetables.
Golden Star’s garlic chicken is similar to the one by Teresa Shields makes on Allrecipes.com, which calls for:
1-Heating peanut oil in a wok and stir-frying garlic, ginger, and green onions. These vegetables are called the aromatics for flavoring the peanut oil.
2-Chicken pieces are added and stir-fried till opaque. More garlic is added and stir-fried.
3-Sweet onions, bell peppers, and cabbage are next added in and stir-fried. The onions and bell peppers are called seasonings and flavor the chicken and other vegetables.
4-At Golden Star, the restaurant adds thinly sliced carrots and mushrooms to the mixture above and stir-fries them.
5-A small amount of chicken broth is added next, and the wok is covered.
6-While the wok contents are steaming, the cook makes a sauce of chicken broth, soy sauce, a little sugar, and cornstarch. The cornstarch thickens the sauce. The sauce is added and stirred till steaming. The garlic chicken is served immediately with rice.
The combination of garlic and vegetables in this dish is delicious, especially the mushrooms which bring out the umami flavor in the garlic chicken.
Golden Star is an unpretentious neighborhood Chinese restaurant that makes use of the choice of 200+ vegetables grown in the Salinas Valley outside Salinas, California.
I initially went to Golden Star Chinese Restaurant to support a local business and loved how good the food was. Their large menu can accommodate just about all diners.
The food at Golden Star Chinese Restaurant is reasonably priced and merits a look on the online menu for interested potential customers.
By Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France + 6 Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games and 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
Reliably Delicious Food at Woody’s at the Monterey Airport (15 minutes away from Salinas, California) by Ruth Paget
Thanks to visitors from around the US and overseas, the menu at Woody’s Bar and Grill at the Monterey Airport offers a variety of dishes including traditional American bar fare and items like potstickers, seared ahi salad, and sirloin bites for golfers, professors, comfortable retirees, and TV and movie stars.
On a recent (July 2026) visit to Woody’s after several hot days, my family went to dinner at Woody’s. We arrived early to secure an upstairs booth in an air-conditioned room. (Reservations recommended)
My daughter Florence Paget and my husband Laurent began their meal with cups of clam chowder. I ordered chicken potstickers, which were plump, meaty, juicy, and umami delicious. Nine came in what I thought was a generous portion for appetizers.
I ordered what has become an American bar classic: fish and chips. At Woody’s, they serve three large pieces of Pacific Rock Cod that has a beer batter, deep-fried crust. I loved the creamy, tartar sauce with piquant pickles, and the spicy cocktail sauce with freshly grated horseradish.
Laurent ordered a tomato – fennel cream pasta with a side of burrata cheese to go on grilled crostini. Florence ate a large sirloin steak with a baked potato with butter and cream cheese. People in town know that Woody’s has great steak, especially the prime rib special on Friday nights.
For dessert, Laurent ate house made raspberry sorbet, and Florence drank an espresso martini. I love bar – restaurants that serve reliably delicious food like Woody’s at the Monterey Airport in California.
Travelers and locals alike might be surprised by the variety of choices worthy of a steak and seafood restaurant on the shoreline.
By Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France + 6 Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games
Good Deal Tex-Mex Fajitas Kit at Costco in Sand City, California by Ruth Paget
The Tex-Mex fajitas kits at Costco in Sand City, California that sell for $22.86 (as of 6-20-2026) are a great deal for 3 to 4 people.
I make these fajitas for 3 people for $7.62 per person. My family eats everything in the kit at one meal.
The Costco fajitas kit includes:
-pre-cooked, seasoned asada beef strips to be heated up in the microwave
-pre-cooked, seasoned al pastor chicken strips to be heated up in the microwave
-sliced red, yellow, and green bell peppers
-sliced yellow onions
-spicy red salsa
-cilantro lime crema sauce
-spicy cheese sauce to be warmed up
-12 flour tortillas to be warmed up
-4 lime quarters to squeeze in beer
I heated the meat and chicken up for 4 minutes each in the microwave. I grilled the peppers and onions till they had char marks on a Cuisinart grill for 15 minutes. The vegetables reduced to 1/3 of their original size. I also warmed the tortillas for a minute till hot in the microwave.
The meat and vegetables were sizzling hot when we all sat down to eat. (Handle the hot dishes and food with care.) We drank Peroni lager beers with lime juice squeezed in with our meal.
My family has been eating fajitas at home to watch World Cup Soccer matches. (We ate Costco club sandwiches for some matches, too.)
People who like Tex-Mex food might enjoy cooking fajitas at home to add to sports night dining options.
By Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France + 6 Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games and 8 Classical Western Civilization War Games_
The Salinas Regional Soccer Complex will host a World Cup Soccer viewing party on July 18 & July 19, 2026 on the big screen.
The admission is free with some fundraising options. Information follows:
https://salinassoccer.org/world-cup-watch-party-salinas-regional-soccer-complex/
Reposted by Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games
Salinas Rodeo Brings Population Surge!
I read that 90,000 people are in town for the Salinas, California Rodeo this week with a concert by Grammy winner Miranda Lambert in the Monterey County Weekly’s online newsletter.
There is a weekly farmers’ market at the Rodeo from 4 pm to 9 pm with food, merchandise, and entertainment. There is a farmers’ market with food trucks on Saturdays in Old Town Salinas as well.
We have Western clothing and boots stores galore in town with custom cowboy hat makers as well.
There is also a Salinas Rodeo Museum and Carnival at the Rodeo grounds.
Have fun!
By Ruth Paget
-author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France + 6 Kindle books
-developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games + 8 Clasical Western Civilization War Games