Blue Moon Over Avila — A Wonderful Homecoming
The return to SLO is always a wonderful celebration after one has experienced the world. A return to SLO via Avila Beach is ecstasy.
World acclaimed and award-winning Chef Jose Dahan has returned to our tiny hamlet at a culinary destination to sing about in Avila Beach called, Blue Moon Over Avila.
My thoughts have always been that those restaurateurs embedded with a stunning ocean view, often do not try as hard to have the menu that compliments the view. Blue Moon Over Avila has a perfect view and setting (even when it’s dark), a stunning wine menu, spectacular service, and food prepared with exceeding care and expertise.
At its culinary helm is Chef Jose, the genius behind Et Voila, that left our sandy shores for Europe and has now returned. We dined as a family, from 10 to 70-years old, each a foodie and each enchanted upon sitting in the white and blue wicker chairs.
The children’s menu was as alluring as the main, so we giddily ordered a couple of dishes including potato chip encrusted chicken with a magical ranch dressing with a hint of Dijon mustard.
We all tried this and went as Zen as the waves crashing on the shore. The chef came out say “Bonjour” and explained it was his children’s favorite dish. We shared all the remaining plates, for the family that shares food together is more bonded than most.
The ladies shared a bottle of Sinor-LaValle Pinot, while Gary ordered the chocolate moose and ice cream sandwich combo. Rich, thick, chocolate in black shot glasses melted as the fresh raspberry on top delighted your taste buds.
Pistachio and vanilla ice cream was sandwiched between chocolate brownies and dusted with cocoa powder. It was a table pleasure.
Next, we had my favorite dish, country pâté. Pâté is a mixture of cooked duck liver and fat, then minced into a spreadable paste. This was encrusted with herbs and served with sliced cornichons and grilled baguette slices.
I was all at once in Paris, but the crashing of the waves brought me back. Our next shared plate was French garlic bread and a fresh, tomato sauce for dipping. It was quickly devoured and reordered. After, came the organic red quinoa salad with red and yellow peppers, cranberries and roasted pepitas.
Later we shared the steak tartare with cornichons and grilled baguette slices. Our favorite was the grilled flat iron steak, ordered rare with peppercorns and a cognac sauce laid over gratin dauphinois (fancy potatoes au gratin), which was the pinnacle of dinning. This impeccably prepared steak with the comfort of sliced potatoes and Gruyere cheese blew all our minds.
We moved on to dessert, for the ladies, another bottle of Pinot and the chef’s cheese platter. It was a delightful combination of savory and mild cheeses served with fresh raspberries, grapes, and dried fruit. The chocolate and raspberry Grenache tart was cut into four pieces and made its way around the table twice. The mango sorbet with exotic fruit salad inspired and filled us all.
Chef Jose joined us and we toasted to his return and bringing fine dining choices to Avila. Having been in the kitchen since he was 6-years-old, he inspired our special young guest Lucy, as he inspired our palettes, that this is as special as a Blue Moon Over Avila.
At Blue Moon Over Avila, guests will enjoy a rotating menu of seasonal and signature dishes along with imported beers and wines designed to impress and satisfy the most discriminating tastes.
Located steps from the sand, Blue Moon Over Avila is seaside dining at its finest. It is located at 460 Front St., in Avila Beach; call them at (805) 595-2583. They are open Tuesdays-Sundays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ — James Bond Meets Austin Powers
They don’t make spy movies like this one — filled with male bonding and emotion, all while shooting up the bad guys in a most spectral way.
The sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service boosts a style halfway between the seriousness of James Bond and the absolute ridiculousness of Austin Powers. And it was a pretty good balance.
In one sense, quite amusing, and yet filled with the machismo that makes the spy movies entertain both sexes. While not being too serious, it certainly is entertaining, engaging, and certainly fits the mold of a comic book gone mainstream.
The sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, is a fun and action-packed sequel delivering on the success of the first film. The film combines British style with American swagger and certainly doesn’t pull any punches both updating the spy genre and being a parody of it.
The plot: Nobody is going to want to do drugs ever again; the whole idea was to force the governments to make drugs legal. The film begins with a brilliant and heart-pounding action sequence that immediately sets the tone of the film.
The action sequences are very consistent throughout the movie and I would expect nothing less from English action director, Matthew Vaughn. From the Italian Alps to the streets of London, each scene is more saturated with cool weapons and even cool ways to bandage up the victims.
Golden Circle is enjoyable and an excellent movie, if you want to sit back and watch a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. However, I would say that the film has been highly Americanized for a mass market.
This is positive and negative; Positive because we get a lot of excellent American/Englishman banter. However, that being said an aspect of the original film’s charm is lost.
The acting is good with Taron Egerton returning as Eggsy, and once again delivering an assured and confident performance. Old favorites return to the cast along with a few new members each giving first-rate performances.
Julianne Moore stars as a megalomaniac villain called “Poppy.” The character is a caricature of an archetypal villain but because of the film’s light and humorous tone, this enhances rather than distracts.
The American Statesmen, with Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, and Jeff Bridges, gives us the swagger and snickers for the entire time they are paired with the British counterparts. My favorite was Pedro Pascal, as a lasso-toting Burt Reynolds look-alike.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle has fantastic action sequences, very funny comedy, surprisingly emotional scenes and performances with fantastic acting that manages to be a consistently interesting and fun spy movie.
Teri Bayus is the Host of Taste Buds, shown on KSBY Ch. 6 at 3:30 p.m. Sundays and The C-W Ch. 7 at 11 a.m. Sundays, and are available online at: www.tastebuds.tv, and Taste Buds Channel on YouTube. Dinner and a Movie is a regular feature of Simply Clear Marketing & Media.
