Eating Eggs Benedict at Nepenthe with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget and Savvy Mom Ruth Paget in Big Sur (California)
Nepenthe has Hollywood history that insiders know about and
smile when they shop for books by the poet Hafiz and Big Sur resident and poet Robinson
Jeffers. (Jeffers is also one of the
poets chosen as a Big Read author by the National Endowment for the Arts.)
My husband and I would take our daughter Florence to
Nepenthe as a child to eat at the Phoenix Café, which is the “Grand Terrace”
used in the film The Sandpiper that starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
in 1965.
The Phoenix Café has great brunch and a stunning view over
the Pacific Ocean with cliffs dropping down into the ocean below. You have to order at the counter, but waiters
bring out your order.
Florence and I ordered Eggs Benedict, which is a poached egg
over a thick slice of ham on top of toast.
The whole thing is covered in Hollandaise Sauce. When I make Eggs Benedict at home, I melt
grated Swiss (Emmenthal) cheese on top of them.
Florence can make these, too, even without an egg poacher just by
sliding the eggs into boiling water.
At home, I serve Eggs Benedict with prosciutto or San
Daniele ham from Northern Italy, if I can get it.
The restaurant upstairs is more expensive, but they have a
deck where you can sit at a counter overlooking the Pacific Ocean and eat meaty
Angus burgers with coleslaw and mounds of fries. They will even bring you mayonnaise, so you
can eat your fries with mayo like the Belgians do. (The French do this too, but hide the mayo in
cute tubes.)
I love the store at Nepenthe – the Phoenix Shop. In the past, they used to carry French
vanilla-scented perfume that I liked, blank-page journals in large format where
you can paste brochures about historical monuments, wildlife, and wildflowers. I would put purchases like this in one of
their distinctive, purple bags to advertise the store.
Nepenthe also used to carry science and economics books for
visitors from Silicon Valley. Today the
bookstore carries various books about other religions including many Asian and
Native American beliefs, cookbooks, and poetry.
On my last visits to Nepenthe, I have bought books about
Saint Hildegarde von Bingen from Germany, travel as pilgrimage, and books about
the “Nordic” lifestyle written by a Finn.
(Most Scandinavians from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway do not consider the
Finnish to be one of them. Their
language, for example, is completely different from these other three
languages.)
Florence always got something for her journal here or
Putamayo music recordings from around the world. I have always felt that you can find
something cute to feather your nest at home with at Nepenthe.
By Ruth Paget - Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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| Ruth Paget Selfie |
