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CC Life Dinner and a Movie

Dinner & A Movie

Whale of a Time With BJ’s Seafood

This week we all stole away from drudgery, meetings and work, to view a spectacle of nature, as we had exchange students visiting and they wanted to see a whale.

For our viewing pleasure, a pod of humpback whales were jumping, eating and frolicking in the water just off the pier at Avila Beach. They were following a bait ball. A bait ball occurs when small fish swarm in a tightly packed, spherical formation, about a common center. It is a last-ditch defensive measure adopted by small schooling fish when predators threaten them.

The predators in the water at Avila included harbor seals, sea lions, dolphins, brown pelicans and magnificent whales. We watched as the whales breached at least 30 times, showing their majesty so close to shore, everyone was awed, as this is a sight few witness. After 2 hours of watching the sea churn with life, we moved over to the beach for a bonfire and banquet.

The baker brought bread, the winemaker shared her favorite vintages, and the farmers picked fresh delicacies from their bounty. I brought the seafood.

When I’m in Avila and want to impress with the freshest seafood, I turn to BJ’s Fresh Fish Market. Looking more like an aquarium than a market, as most of their inventory is still swimming, every visit is a pleasure here on Avila’s Harford Pier.

I always first try dropping a fishing line in the water, but in 14 years, I have never caught a fish. I caught an octopus once, but he crawled around in my hand and then squirted away. So, when it was time to fire up the bonfire sea feast, I tendered over to BJ’s to buy the live fish of the day.

BJ’s has been a staple on the pier for over 35 years. Being a true family run business, his children (now young adults) learned to walk on the rickety pier. BJ’s and his wife usually have over 20 different varieties of fish to choose from. You can pick out a live fish, have them filet it and have sashimi the likes of which you can never compare. Huge busloads of smart Japanese tourist do this daily and I learned to have soy and ginger in my pockets to share in this classic occurrence.

This time I picked out four dozen live oysters. To prepare, I had Gary shuck them, rinse in a Spanish Cava, then add fresh lime juice, horseradish and a dash of Tabasco or a mignonette sauce consisting of raspberry and balsamic vinegar with a touch of red onions.

It is my favorite treat and I alone can eat a dozen in one seating. We also purchased some huge California spider crab to boil over the fire in a pot of seawater. This sea arachnid is a rare treat, but the shells are made of titanium, so hacksaws are needed to get at the delectable meat. It is worth the effort and no lemon or butter was needed.

We bought a live, 7-pound halibut, wrapped it in butter and herbs, made a cocoon out of foil and sat it on the fire. We ended the meal with thinly sliced Ahi tuna with a ponzu sauce, wasabi and ginger. Poseidon’s celebration was prevailing as the pelicans dive bombed, dolphins leaped and the whales moved over in front of our beach.

Sitting around the bonfire and tasting vintage wines, our new friends were officially in love with beach living, as we watched humpback whales breach in the sunset.

BJ’s market in on Harford Pier in Avila Beach about half way down the pier, but there is parking right in front. They are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily but Sunday, when they close at 5:30. The live fish changes daily. You can call to reserve your bounty at (805) 680-5143. It’s worth the trip just to see crabs trying to escape their rather bleak future or what a living halibut looks like.

‘Baby Driver’ Among The Best Films This Year

Baby Driver albeit the insipid title is my favorite kind of movie and it is the most unique and wonderful film to come out this summer.

The plot is about a sweet, underdog with seemingly super powers, big car chase scenes, all set like chorography to the best music. I was in Heaven for 2 hours.

Here is a film that painstakingly syncs each scene with each appropriate needle drop song to make it look like the most audacious musical ever, but it offers so much more than that — like shameless glee of earnest romance, over-the-top car chases, and effective gun-to-gun thrillers of decades past.

It’s a top down genre mix taping, courtesy of an inspired and precise auteur of Edgar Wright who did the same idea with video games. With little to no CGI or green screen used to film the car chase sequences. The driving is all practically done, and you can tell, it’s breathtaking.

The reason for this title is that the main character is called “Baby,” who has constant music playing in order to drown out the ringing in his ears (and a childhood trauma), due to an injury that was caused by a car crash that also killed his parents. He’s now a getaway driver.

A stunning and professional one, that moves in the car with such effortless grace as if it was a dance. He tries to make music out of the conversations he has with his boss (Kevin Spacey) and acquaintances that are all robbers (Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, and Eiza Gonzalez), literally taking a negative thing and trying his best to give it a positive spin. His intentions are always good, as he was pulled into this at a young age against his will and has been working to get out ever since.

All of the characters were fantastic for the screen time they were given. My personal favorite was Buddy (Hamm). When it comes to playing an intimidating character, Hamm can do no wrong. He had the right level of charm and don’t mess with me, that made Baby feel safe and uneasy at the same time.

This film is a work of art and tenacity from writer/director, Edgar Wright. Worried he would lose communications link with his actors or cameras, he had himself strapped to the shooting car, rather than being in a following car.

Hamm joked that he had to perform while looking at a “sunburnt Muppet” flopping about — referring to the passionate director.

Wright had been sitting on this idea for a film for many years. His first use of it was a music video he directed for British electronic duo, Mint Royale, and their track “Blue Song.”

The video stars a music-loving getaway driver for a group of bank robbers. A clip from the video is featured in the film when channels are being flipped through on a television in Baby’s apartment.

Baby Driver is not only a testament to Wrights craftsmanship, but also a testament to how any genre film far from the Hollywood dreck can still be as successful.

The action is amazing, the music rocks, the performances are pronounced, the cinematography and editing are pitch-perfect, and it all offers a bravura of thrills without sacrificing a true artists vision.

It is pure cinema and one of the best films of the year.

Teri Bayus is the Host of Taste Buds, shown on local cable TV stations, and 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.

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