An outpost of East Coast resort style cuisine arrives in Manhattan Beach
Let me describe a place to you – a string of small towns with an upscale lifestyle and beachy atmosphere, but close to a major business and financial center. Numerous films have been shot there (and written, because there’s a literary and artistic community, too), and house prices in the area are among the highest in the nation. Locals may grouse about the summer traffic and other inconveniences of living in a tourist area, but they enjoy the variety of restaurants and nightlife that have come along with the moneyed visitors.
Sound like the South Bay? It could also be the Hamptons, a line of small towns at the opposite end of Long Island from New York City. A new Manhattan Beach restaurant seeks to capitalize on the similarity by offering East Coast and New England specialties in an atmosphere resembling the beach house style of those eastern summer resorts.
The attention that the owners put to recreating that atmosphere is commendable – the premises that were cramped and dark as Sun & Moon Café are now bright and welcoming, and designer Jocelyne Borys has created one of the prettiest and most comfortable casual spaces in town. South Bay natives are unlikely to appreciate the whole effect – in an admittedly unscientific poll due to the small size of the sampling, not one local correctly identified the Hamptons as a New York beach resort region. Some seemed unaware that New York had any beaches, and one thought the Hamptons were mountains somewhere near the Catskills. Luckily you can enjoy the space without grading it for authenticity – beach style in both places emphasizes light and space.
The menu at Hamptons is heavy on seafood, which makes sense, and gives other items cutesy Disneyland-style names, which does not. An East Coast native who dined at Hamptons with me took one glance at the “Block Island Pulled Pork” and snorted, “Who do they think they’re kidding? This is a joke on Californians.” Indeed, Block Island is part of the state of Rhode Island, and pulled pork is from the Carolinas, hundreds of miles south. Calling a burger with chipotle sauce a Montauk burger is similarly incongruous, and relabeling their pizzas as flat breads is just likely to cause confusion, especially since an actual flatbread – a cracker-like thing freshly baked and topped with Parmesan cheese – arrives at every table shortly after you are handed menus. That flatbread is tasty and it’s a nice gesture, but when we asked our server about the identically named entrée she explained with weary practice that the items called flatbreads are better known as pizzas.
We decided to start a recent meal with cups of clam chowder and lobster bisque, crab cakes, and an “East Hampton” Caesar salad. The salad was served in the “deconstructed” style, a stalk of lettuce drizzled with dressing and a few wisps of Parmesan cheese with some croutons on the plate next to it. I don’t prefer a Caesar salad served this way, and have never met anybody who does – it’s pretty, but a challenge to cut the hard lettuce and mix the dressing evenly without spraying bits on the table. The dressing this case was weak and oddly sweet, with none of the garlic and cheese robustness that makes a good Caesar. Perhaps someone actually does serve this dressing in East Hampton, but I would not expect it to spread from there.
The kitchen was much more on point with the soups, both of which were excellent. Using bourbon and vanilla instead of the usual dash of cognac or sherry in the bisque was an inspired idea – the touch of sweet, woody flavor was excellent alongside the creamy seafood notes, and there was an abundance of lobster meat. As for the chowder, it was New England style rather than the tomato-based Manhattan style, and it had the traditional creamy texture and hint of bacon along with potato and clams. Whoever created this recipe knows the virtues of patience and letting ingredients speak for themselves – it wasn’t over-peppered or fancied up, just served as it ought to be. Cups of both soups are offered for just $3 each, a deal on something this kitchen does very well.
The crab cakes are $13 for two good-sized cakes, but there’s a reason – good quality crab is expensive, and there is a fair portion of it used in these. They were cooked to an exquisite crispness and seasoned Maryland style, with just enough red pepper, mustard, and other seasonings to perfume and enhance the seafood flavor. The lemon-caper remoulade that came with them was tasty by itself, but I used it on my main course because those crab cakes were fine as they arrived.
For main courses we selected fish and chips, grilled swordfish, and something that didn’t come out of the ocean, fried chicken. That chicken arrived beautifully presented over good mashed potatoes, the huge breast encased in tempura-type batter and topped with fried onions. It was marvelously light, crispy, and greaseless, but alas, rather bland. A dash of seasoning in the batter would take a dish that is so close to excellent the rest of the way. A small container of gravy was provided and it did help, but a little more oomph would be welcome.
The other fried item at out table, the fish and chips, was in a different batter (possibly a beer batter, though that wasn’t specified). The portion was generous – three large filets with a small bucket of crisp fries and cole slaw for $12 – and the fish was real cod instead of whatever was cheap that day. The homemade tartar sauce had nice touches of capers and dill that enhanced the natural flavors, and I’d order this meal again.
The main element of the swordfish dinner was perfectly done, moist yet flaky with a slight smokiness from the grill. The sharp mustard sauce that came with it was thankfully served on the side, because it did nothing for the fish – I tried the leftover remoulade from the crab cakes and liked it much more. The plate looked rather bare with just the fish and a small portion of French fries, and we wondered at the decision to include no green vegetables with anything. They are offered as sides, and on future visits I’m likely to order them, but a small serving would dress up the plates and also add some palate-cleansing variety to the experience.
No dessert is offered here – an odd decision, since there are certainly items that would go well and fit the New York theme (cheesecake anyone?). Wine and beer are served, and at reasonable prices, though at this time some staff members don’t know much about the list. One server brought a red wine when I had ordered an Albarino, and seemed unconvinced when I told her that it couldn’t be what I had asked for. Hampton’s is a relatively new restaurant and it often takes a while for everyone to learn the menus, so this will probably be addressed soon.On another visit I tried their house special pizza, prosciutto with wild mushroom, crispy shallots and arugula. This was surprisingly good, the thin crust crisp on the bottom, toppings well calibrated to go together. I’d chop the prosciutto a bit finer so that you don’t get tastes that are all chewy pork, but that’s a minor quibble – it’s worth getting as a substantial meal for one or appetizer for two or more. Better yet, get two cups of soup and one of these and have one of the best moderately priced lunches the beach has to offer.
On the whole, Hamptons is a good restaurant that could mature to a great one, a welcome outpost of East Coast resort style to add to the Manhattan Beach restaurant scene. It doesn’t make me want to move to the end of Long Island, but nothing could – our winters are milder, and I have what I like about their cuisine right here.
Hamptons is at 1131 Manhattan Avenue in Manhattan Beach – open daily for lunch and dinner, beer and wine served, street parking only. Wheelchair access OK, children’s menu, website at hamptonsmb.com. Phone 310-545-2096.
