Bucket lists (I call them, “To Dos Before I Die”) are a very serious endeavor. I’ve had a bucket list going since 1990, and I am amazed at the things I have done.
The act of writing down your wildest dreams brings the universe conspiring with you to make them happen.
My first example, I wanted to meet Jimmy Buffett. Growing up in a snowbound desert waist land (aka, Nevada), I longed for the island fever in his songs.
He grew to be a friend that understood my longing to live at the ocean. Gary’s parents lived in Florida and we flew down to see them. One quick day trip down Highway A1A and I was in Key West, the stomping grounds of my two favorite men — Hemmingway and Buffett.
In the middle of the day, I followed the music into a small tavern where a band was practicing. They were fantastic. I went up to the balcony to check the view and acoustics, while Gary stayed at the bar.
A beach bum came in and sat by me and we discussed music and life, as we shared a couple beers. Gary kept looking up at me and giving me the thumbs up, but never joined us.
That was weird, but I was having fun talking with this strange guy. He left and then Gary joined me grinning ear to ear. “Are you beyond jazzed?” he asked.
“Why? I just had a couple of beers with a sailor.”
“That was Ji
mmy Buffett.” Then it hit me. It was him and I didn’t even know it at the time. I was glad I didn’t know, because I would have not been so free to discuss “bikini mishaps” with him.
The point of this story is I got to check off another bucket list item last Friday night at a wonderful Diner/Concert venue in Pismo Beach — the Shell Cafe. I was a back-up singer for the band, Risky Whippet, and it was the most terrifying and wonderful thing I’ve done to date. But first we ate.
Shell Café is one of the oldest continually running restaurants on the Central Coast, with live music most Thursday-Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. They are open for breakfast and lunch daily and dinners every night but Mondays and Tuesdays. What I like best is that they serve breakfast all day, because sometimes I need to have pancakes for dinner.
The night of my performance, we started with the clam chowder in a bread bowl. Big chucks of clams told me that this was a serious seafood venue. I also tried the ale battered sidewinders, which was a basket of deep fried potato rings loaded with bacon and cheese. I dipped mine in ranch dressing and was happy with this take on potato skins.
For our main course, Gary had the penne pasta jambalaya. It was one of the specials. It was a large dish with big shrimp, spicy chicken sausage stuffed with garlic, roasted bell peppers, and provolone cheese over a bed of penne pasta. It was topped with a homemade white sauce and served with garlic toast.
I had the Shell Café original a polenta eggs Benedict. It contained grilled and homemade polenta topped with artichokes, tomato slices, poached eggs, and was drizzled with pesto Hollandaise sauce and chives. Served with country potatoes, it was a satisfying breakfast-for-dinner option.
Our friends and other band mates shared the flaming Tiki hamburger. It was a 1/3-pound patty with grilled pineapple, pico de gallo, fried jalapeños, chipotle mayonnaise, avocado and pepper jack cheese, all served on a toasted bun. It was huge and they ate every bite.
They also had the shell dunker with barbecue tri-tip. The Shell Café has special, Santa Maria-style tri-tip seasoned to perfection and slow-roasted over a wood fire out on the patio; which is also a great way to enjoy the beach lifestyle and food.
They use a proprietary seasoning recipe and aging method that makes the meat incredibly delicious. It was served with pepper Jack cheese on French bread with au jus for dipping. As we got ready for our “gig,” we shared a slice of the apple pie a la mode that was the perfect balance of tart and sweet.
The Risky Whippet Christmas show is a special treat lead by the intrepid authors, Wendelin Van Draanen and Mark Parsons. Their equally talented children, Colton and Connor Parsons, accompany them on bass and lead guitar. Van Draanen is the author of the Sammy Keyes series of children’s mystery novels, a movie called Flipped and many other fun books (my favorite is Runaway). Mark Parsons is author of, “Road Rash,” a new young adult novel about a teenage drummer who finds out what life on tour with a rock band is really like.
Their family band is called Risky Whippet and they get together at Christmas time at the Shell Café. They give three lucky slugs the opportunity to sing backup, otherwise known as the “Whip-ettes.” I was called upon because Wendelin had heard it was on my bucket list. My other performers where Wendy Thies Sell, culinary writer for the Santa Maria Sun and Ryan Miller, executive editor of New Times and the Santa Maria Sun. Because we all tap keys for a living, we were dubbed “The Press Posse.”
We practiced at the Risky Whippet headquarters several times learning the correct “oohs and ahs.” I was surprised how challenging this was, as I knew most of the songs, but had never paid attention to the backup parts.
I was both thrilled and terrified to sing in public. Wendelin and Mark assured us if we just had fun, the rest would fall into place. For a whole month, I practiced day and night, in the car, while I wrote and walked the beach.
The time came for us to join the band on stage and I forced my shaky legs to walk to the bandstand and under the blinding lights. The three-stand microphone made it so the Press Posse was close enough to guide each other, but I could not hold still.
The minute the first note was played, my nervous energy was coming out in hops, and hip twirls. I only missed a couple lines and can honestly say it was an absolute blast experiencing what it is like to be in a live band with a very lively audience.
It went by too fast and I was sad when it was over. I was proud that I had subdued my fears and could cross off this bucket-list item. Thank you to Wendelin and Mark, Colton, Connor, Wendy and Ryan for an amazing experience.
Shell Café is located at 1351 Price St., in Pismo Beach. Call (805) 773-8300. Open Sundays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Mondays-Tuesdays from 8-3, and Wednesdays-Saturdays 8-10.
Teri Bayus can be reached at: [email protected] or follow her writing and ramblings at: www.teribayus.com. Teri is also the host of Taste Buds, a moving picture rendition of her reviews shown on Charter Cable Channel 10 or at: www.centralcoastnow.tv. Dinner and a Movie is a regular feature of Tolosa Press.
