The Ballet Folklorico of Mexico is coming to El Teatro Campesino in San Juan Bautista, California in September 2025.
For tickets and information about the Ballet Folklorico and other events at El Teatro Campesino, I have linked to their website below:
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
De.Tierra Winery in Salinas, California sells excellent Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wine. These are the two wine grape varietals that also grow in France’s Burgundy region.
We order about two cases per year for delivery to have them on hand for coq au vin, poulet a la moutarde,, and steamed Alaska king crab throughout the year.
They have a tasting room in Carmel for people who would like to sample their wines.
My daughter Florence Paget and I recently snuck a peek at the secluded winery and vineyards in the Corral de Tierra Valley outside town.
De Tierra Winery sits on a hillside off Corral de Tierra Road outside Salinas, California. California magnolias bloom in the foreground. Palm trees of varying sizes line the road up to the winery. Text and photo by Ruth Paget.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Learn to toss horseshoes, dance to Hoedown music, enjoy BBQ, and show off bling at Hidden Hills Ranch’s Hoedown fundraiser on 10-4-2025 in Carmel Valley, California.
Find out about Hidden Hills Ranch’s work to be a model ranch for ponies and miniature horses.
I linked to their website below for ticket information and details:
Hidden Hills Ranch Hoedown Fundraiser
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
The Wagon Wheel Restaurant in Carmel Valley, California still provides hearty Western fare all year round. Thank you Monterey County Weekly for pulling up this review I did out of archives.
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
The Monterey County Youth Museum in Monterey, California is the place where children play to learn. They also rent a mobile museum called the Wheelie Mobilee for birthdays and events.
I posted a link to their website below for exhibit and ticket information:
Monterey County Youth Museum Ticket and Exhibit Information
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Watch the website below for the 2026 Sheep Shearing Shindig in San Luis Obispo, California. The event usually takes place in May after the sheep have grown a thick coat from winter.
The event has hayrides, food, music, and vendors. Click below for information for this event that unites Scottish and Spanish culture:
Sheep Shearing Shindig 2026 in San Luis Obispo, California
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Fusion Seafood Feast at Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California by Ruth Paget
I enjoyed the fried calamari and linguini with clams meal that I ate on a prior visit to Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California so much that my husband Laurent, daughter Florence Paget, and I planned another visit to SLO for another meal at Lure.
The meal I ordered on my recent visit was a great California fusion feast. I started with mussels Basquaise from Spain’s northwestern Basque Country. (The Basque Country extends into Southwestern France as well.) The classic recipe has cooks sauté small chunks of Spanish chorizo sausage with garlic and tomatoes with white wine and parsley added to steam open the mussels. (The Portuguese also prepare shellfish with chorizo sausage.)
Lure Fish House makes this dish a fusion by not adding tomatoes to the sauté and steaming sauce. Instead, Lure replaces the tomatoes with romesco sauce from the other end of the Pyrénées Mountains in Spain’s Catalan region.
Romesco sauce is a purée of sautéed and roasted red peppers, tomatoes, almonds, garlic, and parsley. This is a very upscale steaming sauce and utterly delicious.
I used the garlic toast that came with the dish to soak up the romesco sauce along with bread. Next time I order mussels Basquaise, I might also order a side of rice to add into the leftover sauce, so I can get every last drop eaten.
My main dish was tequila lime shrimp pasta (made with house-made linguini). This dish is like Italian scampi but is made with tequila and lime instead of white wine and lemon. When you cook this dish, you sauté garlic and tomatoes in butter and oil. Then, you add in shrimp till cooked and add in tequila to flavor the sauce and shrimp. The cooked pasta is then added into the cooked sauce and shrimp and tossed before serving. Lime juice is squeezed over the pasta at the table.
I now equally love Italian-American shrimp scampi and tequila lime shrimp pasta. The combination of cooked garlic (which becomes sweet when cooked), citrus juice, and parsley just tastes great with shrimp. The alcohol makes the sauce succulent and makes every morsel delicious.
Seafood lovers willing to experiment with fusion dishes will find much to enjoy at Lure Fish House in San Luis Obispo, California including the city’s sunny, warm weather.
(Note: Lure Fish House has two parking lots located down the street from the entrance. They fill quickly, but there is street parking within walking distance, too.)
(Note: We stayed at the Towne Place Suites by Marriott this trip. The suite we stayed in had a full kitchen, living room, and separate bedroom with the option of reserving an adjoining room. The air conditioning worked with no problem. I like the shower products the hotel offers – Alice and Co Botanicals. Those products make me feel like I have done a spa day when I shower after dinner and sit in the AC room. There is a pool and complimentary breakfast. Marriott also has a good loyalty program that new visitors might be interested in.)
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
