The artwork and scholarship of Amalia Mesa-Baines has had significant impact on the Central Coast of California.
Information about her presentations and how to purchase her artwork are available on her website below:
https://renabranstengallery.com/artists/amalia-mesa-bains/
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
First Night Monterey is a family friendly New Year’s Eve Celebration featuring 50+ performances plus hands-on art to make from 3pm to midnight in Monterey, California.
Information about First Night follows on their website below:
https://www.firstnightmonterey.org/
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Taiko Drumming Japanese Performing Artist Ikuyo Consnt can be reached through the organization below:
https://actaonline.org/region/central-coast/
Ikyuo Conant and her troupe have performed at various venues throughout Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties and encourage active audience participation.
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Rumsien Ohlone artist Linda Yamane, who does workshops in the Monterey Area, can be reached through the organization below along with other artists who practice traditional art forms on California’s Central Coast:
https://actaonline.org/region/central-coast/
Reposted by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Sardi’s – like Birthday Party at Pèppoli Italian Restaurant in Pebble Beach, California by Ruth Paget
When I was a teenager, I religiously read Shirley Eder’s column in the Detroit Free Press about local, national, and international celebrities from all art fields, many of whom performed at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit.
I especially like reading about casts from Broadway shows celebrating successful theatre runs by dining at Sardi’s in New York.
For a Sardi’s – like birthday, my daughter Florence Paget and husband Laurent Paget took me to Pèppoli Italian restaurant in Pebble Beach, California, which has earned a highly coveted Michelin star for its food, wine list, service, décor including colorful and elegant Italian maiolicha ware, comfort, and details like having a fire going in the fireplace, white tablecloths, and muted light for nice photos.
The scene was set for a delicious and leisurely meal for my birthday.
We started with fritto misto, a mixture of lightly fried calamari, shrimp, thinly sliced leeks or what may have been cardoons, and thinly sliced, small Meyer lemons with a slightly peppery marinara dipping sauce on the side. I felt as if I were in Amalfi, Italy munching on fried lemons.
Pèppoli has an extensive wine list, but I chose to drink a Peroni beer instead. Peroni is a pale lager made from spring barley, Italian corn, and hops. The Peroni website says it has a citrus flavor, but I liked the taste of grain that tasted nice with the fritto misto. It would also be a good choice for charcuterie.
Laurent and Florence ate Caesar salads as a first course. I ordered polenta to go with my main dish and enjoyed sipping the Peroni beer as they ate.
Florence and I ordered lasagna as our main dish, and Laurent ate pasta carbonara. The lasagna at Pèppoli is what I consider Bologna-style, because it is made with balsamella sauce (béchamel) and a ragù sauce made with tomato, chopped sirloin, and fennel-flavored Italian sausage. It is made to order with a perfectly crunchy topping of melted Parmesan cheese. Our waiter told us the lasagna was a signature dish at Pèppoli. I thought it was sumptuous and delicious for birthday mom me.
Laurent is always happy with pasta carbonara made with pancetta, Parmesan, eggs, and salt and pepper. I made Laurent this dish weekly when we lived Stuttgart, Germany. It is easy to find great bacon in Germany. Pèppoli beats me, though, because they use house-made pasta in the dish.
As a contorni, an Italian vegetable dish, I ordered polenta made from fine grain corn meal that has been stewed, cooled, and fried. The polenta arrived as elegant triangles standing up in a small pool of marinara sauce. The polenta was light and dainty, a definite mom treat for her birthday.
Pèppoli is a great venue for birthdays, anniversaries, end of talent show parties for singers, wrap-up parties for theatre productions from Ariel Theatrical for young actors to Western Stage and Pacific Repertory in neighboring Carmel. Family reunion organizers might enjoy planning a catered meal here, too.
My birthday with my family at Pèppoli Italian restaurant in Pebble Beach, California was marvelous in all aspects and a splurge as you would expect at a Michelin restaurant. It was worth every penny. Thank you Florence.
 |
Peppoli's Sleek Menu Display Outside the Main Entrance Pebble Beach, California |
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Shout out for origami paper and a folding book as a small Christmas gift! You can usually buy these for less than $20.
Doing origami projects together is a fun, family activity.
You can buy these at Michael’s or online at Amazon.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France