“As we formed partnerships with farmers and fisherfolk in the region, we realized that their bounty was being underutilized,” said Meave. There’s also a problem of seasonality - the menu has to reflect what’s available. Most restaurants exist on such thin profit margins that they can’t afford to buy local. Though Ventura County is rich in farming and fishing traditions, some Ojai bistros don’t typically procure raw ingredients from local purveyors. “Something personal and thoughtful and surprising and playful. “We wanted to add a truly elevated dining experience to the local mix,” said Meave. Their plans coalesced in Ojai, which had long enchanted them with its Meditation Mount, its groves of sugary Pixie tangerines and its otherworldly “pink moment,” a fleeting period before sunset when the peaks that frame the northern edge of the valley take on a pastel glow. But if you make a weekend trip to Ojai and stay in another hotel or one of the many Airbnbs in the area, the guest-focused inn probably will not be an option. The upmarket destination resort has made a national splash, enlisting Nancy Silverton to curate seasonal events like last November’s sold-out, beef-centric dinner prepared by celebrity Tuscan butcher Dario Cecchini for $500 a pop (plus tax and tip). On the outskirts of town, the Ojai Valley Inn will celebrate its centenary next year. If the gastronomes are real old-timers, their touchstones may be the Ranch House, which grew out of a vegetarian boarding house in 1950 and is still in operation several iterations later, or Suzanne’s Cuisine, a mom-and-daughter mainstay that persevered for 25 years but closed in 2017. For more information, go to laid-back enclave of Ojai, tucked within the Topatopa Mountains some 80 miles north of Los Angeles, boasts the unofficial motto, “There’s nothing to do in Ojai, and not enough time to do it.” For some culinary enthusiasts, the phrase “nothing doing” has pretty much summed up the restaurant scene of this tiny tourist town, but many locals prefer it that way - which may account for the “Keep Ojai Lame” bumper stickers seen here and there. A performance of “Calliope Rose” will be live-streamed on Aug. Studio Space is located at 112 Woodland Ave. Tickets are $20 in advance on or at the door. “Calliope Rose” is “an edgy, conceptual work suggesting that our civilization cannot survive a total rupture from its past,” according to Hugh Hunter of the Philadelphia Inquirer (review: July 2018), while Mary Crawford of Exit Zero said this of the play (review: July 2018), “Sterritt’s witty dialogue starkly illuminates the conflict between the ancient ideals of beauty and honor versus the grubby materialism of the modern day.” In 2018, the show was mounted at the Cape May Airport during the Cape May Fringe Festival. It was a semi-finalist at the Sundance Institute’s Playlabs. Sterritt will also make a cameo appearance in this production. The ending is left open to interpretation on purpose – we want to make you think.”Īctors Cheney, Brandford-Altsher, and Polgar have been seen in recent SPQR productions at Studio Space such as “Derby Day,” “Magic Flowers,” and a weekend of original one-acts. “There’s a love triangle, a little mystery, some laughs … but best of all, the play is unlike anything else you’ll see here in South Jersey. “’Calliope Rose’ has something for everyone,” said Sterritt. Both mom and daughter are smitten by the handsome man, and the makings of an authentic Greek comedy ensue. “Calliope Rose” is about an eccentric mother, Rose, played by Strathmere’s Ruthellen Cheney, who wishes for her daughter Athena, portrayed by Evie Brandford-Altsher, to adopt the “Greek ideal.” As mom waxes poetic and daughter schemes to turn a lighthouse into a money-making tourist trap, a ship suspiciously sinks nearby causing Dexter, a government official played by Dave Polgar, to investigate. Shows will take place at Studio Space in Somers Point on Aug. “Calliope Rose,” the mythological mystery comedy by Cape May playwright Bill Sterritt, will return to South Jersey for four weekends in August.
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