Escape from the foodies: Fonz’s, Manhattan Beach
Fonz’s offers fine food without the hype of the neighboring downtown dining scene
My out of town guests often marvel at the liveliness of Manhattan Beach by night. The ones who have never been here before take it all in calmly, while the ones who grew up locally but haven’t been here in 10 or 20 years tend to be boggled by the energy in what was once a quiet town. Sometimes, after we walk past aggressively loud places with furniture that looks like it came from outer space, I am asked, “Isn’t there someplace in downtown that just serves good food in a comfortable setting without a lot of hype and attitude?”
There are several, though it’s not easy to find them amid their attention-demanding neighbors. One of the best is a place with roots that go back far beyond its founding in 1997. Fonz’s was started by local beach volleyball star Mike Dodd, and when the place first opened as a beachy eatery it had some volleyball memorabilia displayed proudly. Dodd sold the place to his partner seven years ago, and it has expanded and changed décor since then. The ambiance is now comfortable and resembles an old Chicago or San Francisco steakhouse. The unfinished brick walls, high ceilings, and dark lighting make the place look like a historic building. Which in fact it is – the buildings on this block date back to about 1915, which might be the dawn of time by California standards.
Thankfully, the menu is not a fossil, though there is a backbone of steak and seafood items that are subtly updated versions of old favorites. We were attracted by tequila-sugar glazed tiger prawns, braised Portobello mushroom, and a Caesar salad (called Sid’s salad, and how many of their customers are likely to remember who Sid Caesar was, anyway?), but we decided to start with seared scallops topped with flash-fried leeks and baby bok choy, followed by a pear, pecan, and blue cheese salad.
The scallops were cooked just to doneness, the crust not seared to crispness so that the interior was meltingly soft rather than flaky. What made this dish sing were the crisp vegetables on top, which had assertive flavors and a contrasting texture that paired nicely with the scallops and the soy-ginger sauce. There was a bit more of that sauce than I wanted – I would have preferred it on the side or served beneath the scallops rather than on top of them so I could have just enjoyed the seafood and leeks, but the idea was sound.
