By Angela Rocco DeCarlo

Thanksgiving conjures multitudes of memories and impressions in our minds of stupendous family meals.  There is the enduring image of going to grandma’s house where she spent all day in the kitchen cooking up homemade ravioli and other special holiday dishes – a feast for her eager family.  While the adults snuggled around the dining room table, the kiddies caused a ruckus in the kitchen.
These days I’m no longer the young mother with small children, but the grandmother, who has never made homemade ravioli. The shame of it haunts me – but only for a little while. Times change. This year I engineered our Thanksgiving dinner, but did not cook it, as we dined in comfort and charm at the splendid Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, California. I’m sure my mother never enjoyed such luxury back in Chicago.
The BBC provided the ideal venue for an elegant family Thanksgiving dinner, serenely soothing with tinkling piano in the background, and I knew every song being played, including the lyrics. It wasn’t just recorded noise…it was authentic music. The four-course menu offered several choices ($75 adults; $37 children) – and all were declared “delicious.”  Though I am the only person who actually ate turkey – the others opted for prime rib, sea bass, and, in the case of the youngest, peanut butter and jelly, even though it was not on the menu…
Every one of our family of nine enjoyed the beauty of the bayside scenery just beyond the wall of mullioned windows. The children liked watching the magnificent yachts gliding past or moored just beyond the glass. The BBC is perfect for watching the famous Newport Beach Christmas boat parade, Dec. 14-18.
This was the best Thanksgiving dinner in recent memory – great food, excellent service, all amid what is possibly the prettiest dining room on the water. It is not overdone, with gaudy appointments – it is a symphony in creamy tones with touches of terra cotta. Tables and comfortable rattan chairs are spaced at distances, which make for a secluded sense. For those who value a dining experience which leaves one happy and content, this is the place. There are many opportunities in the next month to savor the season’s festivities at the beautiful BBC.

Balboa Bay Club Holiday Events

Wed., Nov. 30th6- 7 p.m. Complimentary
HolidayResort Lighting Ceremony – cookies& hot beverages.
Featuring the 1st Marine Corps Band, Camp Pendleton
Please consider donating a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys forTots program.

Thurs. Dec. 1 –The Four Preps Holiday Concert
Grand Ballroom 6p.m.
Tickets $25 949-630-4120

Dec. 14-18 Christmas Boat Parade
Starting at 6:30p.m.

Dec. 1st-23rd  Holiday Afternoon Tea
Two seatings – 2 p.m.& 4 p.m.
The Library
Traditional Tea  $34
Governor’s Tea – w/champagne $39
949-630-4145

Dec. 23rd The Night Before Christmas Eve
Featuring the All-American Boys Chorus
6 p.m. & 9p.m.
The Grand Ballroom
Please considerdonating a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys forTots program.
$68 adults; $34 children
949-630-3120

And these special evenings -
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Dinners
New Year’s Eve Black Tie Gala
New Year’s Eve in Duke’s Place

Balboa Bay Club
1212 West Coast Highway
Newport Beach, CA 92663
949-645-5000
For details visit http://www.balboabayclub.com/
www.balboabayclub.com
Reservations - 949-630-4145

Angela Rocco DeCarlo  copyright 2011

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