46 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY APRIL 24-30, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com The Paper Wing Theatre & Supper Club is a rare space in Monterey County, in that it combines a restaurant and a stage in one venue. “It’s a perfect date night,” says LJ Brewer of Paper Wing, who happens to be an experienced chef and has been with the theater from its very beginning in 1992. “Especially for one of the first couple of dates, you’re going to impress a girl to death.” The tradition of combining dining with entertainment dates back at least to the Renaissance. Supper clubs featuring big bands and dance were common in the U.S. through the first half of the 20th century. One of the first theaters to offer the package was Barksdale Theatre in Richmond, Virginia. But Paper Wing, which was founded by Koly McBride, Brewer’s wife, does it differently. The dinner is served before the show in a separate dining room, not concurrently. The bar and theater are located in an adjacent room (meaning non-dinner guests are welcome as well at the performance). Another original idea is to offer a different menu inspired by each performance. For A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, an Edwardian dinner is served—a vegan chateaubriand, chicken thighs with cranberry and orange glaze served on top of stuffing with slivered almonds, whipped potatoes, with some familiar touches like rich mac and cheese. For an upcoming run of Heathers, they adopt a high school cafeteria style. And for Evil Dead—coming in June—the menu turns to campsite fare. Think hot dogs, baked beans and roasted marshmallows. Fortunately, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is not on the theater’s near-term calendar. All dinners come with appropriate decor, from elegant china and chandeliers, to camping gear. The food is prepared onsite and served buffet style. “We try to provide value for the $79 ticket,” Brewer notes of the combined dinner-and-show price. “For people who return three times to the buffet, the value is huge.” The dining room can fit 45 guests, and the tables are typically small community tables, allowing theater-goers to connect over the meal. There are other fun features, including a soft serve ice cream machine and a salad bar that doubles as a vegan sushi bar. “It’s very important to us that we have one entree that is completely vegan,” Brewer says, recalling the moment he went vegan because he “fell in love with a cat.” Sushi Chef Jose Brava also prepares vegan rolls to go—not just on show nights, but five days a week through the ticket box window. Both dinner pre-show and sushi to-go have been successful, Brewer observes, adding “We are sold out most of the nights.” Another example of Paper Wing’s comingling fun and food are regular drag brunches. How could chicken and waffles, Champagne and drag queens entertaining each table not be a perfect culinary-performance combination? Brewer began his foodservice career while he was young, bussing tables. Eventually he worked his way up to chef. He and McBride met at her former theater in Salinas after he saw a casting call in the Weekly that promised, “No previous acting experience needed.” He came for the audition and remained in the local theater world. Paper Wing moved and then it moved again, arriving in its Cannery Row location—with an onsite kitchen—in January 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic. Brewer’s cooking experience once again came in handy, and the kitchen enabled the theater to get through the pandemic closures; restaurants were able to keep serving meals to-go, even while the stage was shuttered. The couple at first wanted to offer an old-school dinner theater experience, reminiscent of the white tablecloth era. But preferences have changed. Paper Wing went more casual—at least when it comes to dining. “We want to give people a worldclass experience,” Brewer says. “We want people to say: ‘We went to Cannery Row, we saw the best aquarium in the world, and had dinner-anda-show where both talent and food was amazing.’” Paper Wing Theatre & Supper Club, 711 Cannery Row, Suite I (upstairs), Monterey. 905-5684, paperwing. com. FIRST COURSE LJ Brewer in the kitchen at Paper Wing Theatre & Supper Club, where he merges his passions for cooking and for theater. DOWN IN THE VALLEY…Organizers of the Salinas Valley Food & Wine Festival hit the pause button last week, announcing that the annual event will not happen in 2025. Board members plan to use the summer to reimagine the downtown Salinas gathering for a relaunch in 2026. SVFW has attracted food lovers every August for more than a decade. Future plans for the event will be updated at salinasvalleyfoodandwine. com. FROM THE VALLEY TO THE SEA…Tira Nanza has opened a new tasting room in Carmel. Now, in addition to being able to tour their picturesque Carmel Valley winery by appointment Thursday-Sunday, people can enjoy a flight in their cozy, rustic-chic tasting room in the Court of the Fountains. Stop by Thursday-Monday from noon-6pm. Mission and 7th, Carmel. 250-0584, tirananza.com. FLYING HIGH…The Flying Artichoke hosts a wine dinner on Friday, April 25, starting at 5:30pm with a no-host cocktail bar followed by a five-course dinner at 6pm. Each course will be paired with a wine from Kendall Jackson, with an appearance from their Chenin Blanc that hasn’t been released to the public yet. The meal will feature small bites, a waldorf salad, a classic salmon entrée, and finish with a fudge brownie à la mode. $69; make reservations in advance. 40 Mortensen Ave., Salinas. 759-9096, facebook.com/FlyingArtichoke. GOOD WOOD…The Can’t Stop. Won’t Stop. Foundation is hosting a supper club on Sunday, April 27 from 3-6pm at Woodcarver’s Daughter. To start the evening, stroll through the galleries while nibbling on charcuterie, then enjoy the show with live music by Casanostra. Finally, dig into a dinner by 101 Wine Press. This event will be filled with art, entertainment and food. $40. 8071 Moss Landing Road, Moss Landing. 253-8082, promotingpositivechange.org. COOL SCHOOL…Who taught you how to cook? The Monterey Department of Recreation is answering that question by putting on another Kids in the Kitchen series with Chef Yana Todorova on Thursdays from 5-6pm from May 1-22. Kids 8-12 years old will prepare and cook a different meal each class, and will learn about food safety and nutrition while doing so. $120; $108 for Monterey residents and active-duty military. 777 Pearl St., Monterey. 646-3866, monterey.gov/rec. By Jacqueline Weixel MORSELS eatanddrink@montereycountynow.com “We try to provide value for the ticket.” EAT + DRINK DANIEL DREIFUSS Stage Bite With play-related themes and casual buffet service, Paper Wing makes dinner with a show fun. By Agata Popęda
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