The Rodeo is coming to Salinas, California. The Monterey County Weekly online has more details - see ad.
StubHub.com is selling Salinas Rodeo tickets.
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Princeton Review’s AP English Literature Reading List posted by Ruth Paget
Princeton Review has the following suggested works listed for preparing the Advanced Placement Examination in English:
Princeton Review AP English Reading List
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Skyline Dining at the InterContinental San Francisco, California by Ruth Paget
Skyline Dining at the InterContinental San Francisco, California by Ruth Paget
On a weekend trip to San Francisco (West Bay), my family stayed at the InterContinental San Francisco, an IHG hotel, at 888 Howard Street.
It is important to know the number 888 as it is the name of the hotel’s Bistro 888 that provides room service as well.
The floor-to-ceiling glass windows in this luxury spa hotel made me want to eat in the room and admire the sunset and twinkling building lights as I ate like I did when I was younger and lived in Marina City in Chicago (Illinois) on floor 22.
I ordered a very American meal with flair for dinner – an 888 Burger. This is really a cheeseburger made with an 8-ounce cheese patty that comes with a thick slice of melted aged white cheddar cheese, house-made pickles, lettuce, tomato, and Parmesan cheese “secret” sauce instead of mayonnaise on a large brioche bun.
I asked for medium cooking on the burger, and it was slightly pink the way I like it in the center. The meat was juicy and delicious with the salty and creamy Parmesan sauce.
The burger came with a large helping of crisp double-fried French fries and vinegary strands of purple cabbage slaw.
The next day, I woke up early and took my spa shower. The hotel water was soft and the InterContinental offers free Byredo Bal d’Afrique cleansing and conditioning products. (Bal d’Afrique perfume sells for $230 for a 1.07 ounce – 50 ml bottle, so I lathered up in luxury.)
As I let my hair dry, I ordered breakfast from Bistro 888 again for in-room service again.
For breakfast, I ate an 888 Omelette with three slices of whole wheat toast. The omelette was ¼-inch thick all around and amply filled with sautéed spinach, mini shiitake mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, and melted Monterey Jack cheese.
Fried fingerling potatoes came with the meal along with two small bottles of Tabasco sauce for extra seasoning. These tasted great with the double latte I ordered to go with breakfast.
I forgot to order bacon, but my husband Laurent brought back some from breakfast downstairs. The bacon was thick cut with mostly meat and deliciously salty. (San Francisco is hot during the day with unexpected gusts of cold wind. Perfect weather for salt depletion.)
The InterContinental San Francisco weekend trip was a great success. I ate two great meals, felt invigorated by the Byredo Bal d’Afrique spa shower, admired the San Francisco skyline 12 stories up, organized a writing project in my head (Tasting Rome blog), and had fun on the way home admiring the scenery along I-280 as we passed the airport and Palo Alto real estate on the way to Highway 101 to Salinas, California.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Monday, June 23, 2025
Spicy Crab Salad at Roy's in Pebble Beach by Ruth Paget
Spicy Crab Salad at Roy’s in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget
The unexpected presentation of ordinary dishes at Roy’s restaurant in Pebble Beach, California make ocean side dining there a pleasant and memorable experience.
On a recent visit to Roy’s, I ordered spicy crab salad. I like stringy masses of crab with spicy mayonnaise, but Roy’s has a much more elegant way with this salad.
The chopped crab with a hint of mayonnaise came as a large disc in the bottom of a large flat-bottomed salad bowl. There were about 4 ice cream scoops of crab all together. Spread on top of the crab was a thin layer of spicy, hot wasabi horseradish paste.
On top of the crab disc, there was a mound of organic Monterey County baby greens with two pink Hawaiian flower petals (plumeria?). I assumed the flowers were edible and ate them along with the salad.
The dressing was a yuzu-pineapple juice vinaigrette. Yuzus look like prickly lemons and taste like grapefruit. They give the sour tang to the tropical vinaigrette.
That salad was delicious for light spice lovers and certainly qualified as a spa lunch.
For dessert, I ordered a chocolate banana cream pie, which arrived as a 3D swirl of bananas and thick whipped cream in a flaky pastry cup topped off with a thick chocolate syrup.
As I ate this delicious food, I thought of chef Ferran Adrià whose meals at his El Bulli Restaurant in Barcelona, Spain were described as theatre – great food, great beverages, great view, great comfort, and great service.
Roy’s restaurant at Pebble Beach, California provides all this and offers a varied menu for diners who would like a burger or BBQ après golf.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Saturday, June 21, 2025
Seafood Simple Reviewed by Ruth Paget
Seafood Simple Reviewed by Ruth Paget
Seafood Simple by Eric Ripert is an all-inclusive reference for all things fish. Ripert begins Seafood Simple with several pages of explanation and photos about how to skin, debone, and fillet different fish body types.
After the preparation technique chapter, Ripert provides recipes organized by cooking method as follows:
-raw, cured, and marinated
-steamed
-poached
-fried
-baked
-sautéed
-broiled
-grilled
-preserved
Some of the recipes I consider outstanding include:
-oysters mignonette – raw oysters on the half shell with a red wine and shallot served on the side for dipping
-halibut en papillote – baked white fish with tomatoes, onions, white wine, and basil that is wrapped in foil
-moules marinères – steamed mussels with shallots and white wine
-halibut mushroom casserole
-linguine vongole – steamed clams with linguine pasta
-salmon and tomato à la Gilbert – poached salmon in tomato and cream sauce
All of these dishes remind me of the food I ate in Parisian bistros when I lived there and are items that I can make in my home now.
Readers who might enjoy Seafood Simple by Eric Ripert include:
-France lovers
-young professionals like accountants and lawyers
-musicians
-artists
-marketing workers
-caterers
-dieters
If you like fish, Seafood Simple by Eric Ripert should be in your kitchen library
(Note: In Salinas, California, you can buy fresh seafood at Star Market and Safeway. Close to Salinas, you can fresh seafood at Phil’s Fish Market in Moss Landing.)
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Friday, June 20, 2025
MENSA Book Review Writing for Kids posted by Ruth Paget
Tips for book review writing for kids by MENSA follow -
MENSA Book Review Writing for Kids
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Thursday, June 19, 2025
MENSA Budget Basics for Kids posted by Ruth Paget
MENSA Budget Basics for Kids including a monthly worksheet - click below:
Posted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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