High Concept Edition… I have run across some interesting places for food or drinks that all fit a theme, so I’m going to start by mentioning a few that have unlikely locations, concepts, or are otherwise unusual. First, a back street find in Manhattan Beach: The Schooner is a comfortable old bar on 22nd street, a block south of Marine, a block east of PCH. And if you are thinking that you have driven down the highway and never suspected that any waterhole might be there, you are not alone – most people I’ve talked to had no idea that it existed, but The Schooner does, and it serves unexpectedly good Mexican food, plus prime rib on Mondays. A genial fellow named Hector presides over the kitchen and does an excellent job. If you are in North Manhattan and are looking for a good and inexpensive Mexican meal served in picturesque surroundings, this could be your new hangout…
Meanwhile in North Redondo, Panela’s Brazilian Café makes the Schooner’s location look like the center of the universe. This tiny eatery is at 2808 Phelan Lane, in a small corner of a building many blocks from any well-traveled boulevard. Their specialty is Brazilian chicken or shrimp pot pies, which are delicious, but they also offer sandwiches, empanadas, steak and chicken plates, and the most baroque-loaded hot dog I have ever encountered, topped with tomato, lettuce, corn, peas, parmesan, potato chips, and parsley. I found it weirdly compelling, with so many flavors and textures going on that I kept eating even after I was full just to find out what mix might be in the next bite. There is much to explore on the little menu, including fresh juices and other healthy items, and I will be returning for more…
My nose led me to another place with good food in an unlikely spot. I was waiting at the light where Inglewood runs into 190th, and through my car window wafted the scent of barbecuing beef. A man was working an old-fashioned open air barbecue in the parking lot and I had to investigate. This was part of the kitchen at Lou’s Barbecued Meats in the Super-A Foods market, and he was roasting tri-tip Santa Maria style. I picked up a chunk and took it to a party, where it was received rapturously; it was tender, smoky, and a perfect medium-rare. The sign announcing barbecued meats is not easy to see from the street – if you are paying that much attention to something away from the road, you are probably about to rear-end the car in front of you. I’ll be back to see what else comes out of their smoker and perhaps to try the fried chicken, as the sample at the counter was pretty tasty…
Japanese To Italian To Tiki… A familiar name is back in Hermosa Beach – the lights are on above Mickey McColgan’s on Hermosa Avenue. Banzai Beach replaced La Campana, which replaced… Banzai Beach. Despite the identical name, the restaurant has changed – the previous Banzai Beach was a sushi bar and teppan-yaki room – the style of theatrical tableside stir-frying invented at Benihana of Tokyo. The teppan-yaki chefs are back, but the place has redecorated in South Pacific splendor and is a tiki bar, complete with Polynesian pu-pus. Since chef Manny is still in residence there are Italian specialties and pizza too, so you can get three different cuisines under the same roof. I had a teppan dinner last week and enjoyed a good meal, the flash juggling of the chef, and a tasty and strong mai tai. It’s a concept unlike any other in the South Bay, and worth a visit.
Another opening introduces an even more unusual cuisine – Doma Café in Redondo is the South Bay’s first Ukrainian and Uzbek restaurant and bakery. The cottage that has been a coffee place, Australian meat pie shop, and architectural tile sales location is now a kitchen turning out savory cheese turnovers, lamb and chicken sandwiches on freshly baked bread, and other delights. Other specialties are plov, rice cooked in stock with herbs and vegetables, and hot borscht soup with lamb and cabbage. It’s an exotic and delicious taste of the place where Europe meets Asia, served on a beautifully decorated patio. Parking is awful, but this place is worth a bit of a walk…
Event Alerts… Austrian cuisine is rarely seen around the South Bay, but we’ll have a chance to taste high-style Viennese when Executive Chef Bernhard Mairinger of Bierbeisl in Beverly Hills cooks at Shade Hotel on August 11th. It will be an evening of classics – Mairinger will present salad, homemade sausage, schnitzel, and the famous sachertorte, with optional pairings of selected beers. It’s $56 without beer, $84 with, inclusive of tax and tip – call at (310) 546-4995 for reservations… And just around the corner, Chez Soi will be presenting a wine dinner at which chef Mark Gold will welcome Ernie Vandegrift of Tantara Winery for a four-course dinner. The menu hasn’t been announced yet and Chez Soi’s website is uninformative, but the price has been announced at $75 per person before tax and tip – phone them at (310) 802-1212. In other Chez Soi news, they’re open for weekend brunch and offering free kids’ meals and bottomless mimosas (but not for the kids). The menu looks interesting and has a fair number of items under $15, so this could be your chance to try high style cooking on a budget…
…A Few More Events… Barsha wine bar in Manhattan Beach has been welcoming in food trucks on Wednesday evenings – you just missed the Maine lobster truck, but next week is the rolling Creperie, and the famous Kogi Korean barbecue truck will be in on the 21st. This is a fun place to visit even when they don’t have the guests on wheels, so stop in soon. Besides wines they now offer draft craft beer – pints will be drawn on August 8 at a celebration at the store… August is also beer month at Japonica, where they will be serving Japanese craft brews as part of what they call the Kanpai Festival… And Avinash at Akbar is having another wine and appetizer event this Saturday – try four different wines from Pietra Santa Vineyards that pair well with Indian food. Time is 1 to 3 p.m., cost is $40, and reservations are not required – but if you do reserve, you save five bucks per person. Phone number is (310) 937-3800…
Openings… The local restaurant scene just accelerates… Pizzarev opened this week in El Segundo with an idea that will appeal to do-it-yourselfers: they make pizza dough and roll it out; you add toppings as you choose, and then they bake it… Pressed Juicery is opening next door to Leafy Greens in Manhattan Beach, and just down the block from Jamba Juice – they must be very sure of themselves to go head-to-head with such a well established business. Fresh juice is a big thing in the health-conscious South Bay and lots of places are doing well, so the decision may be a good one… It’s not an opening per se, but Palmilla Cocina will serve brunch as of next week. Their press release announced “skillet sensations and authentic senora style classics” – I think they meant Sonora, but it sorta works either way… And in Rolling Hills, Café Cego closed due to ill health on the part on the owner, but a familiar face will be in the space. Chef Giorgio who lost the place named after him after a fire several years ago will be back – no word about exactly when, but the sign on the door says “opening soon.”
And closings… There has been much speculation about what will replace Café Boogaloo, with rival groups of investors vying for the high-profile downtown Hermosa space. From what I have heard, none are likely to keep the tradition of live entertainment here – a shame and a blow to the already struggling local music scene. We’ll let you know who emerges victorious as soon as the deal is final… No word yet what will go in to replace the branch of Catalina Coffee that moved out of Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore on Artesia – it is a nice space and I hope that a new tenant is in soon, because I miss my latte while I browse the new science fiction releases…
And a request for assistance… I’m looking for any pictures of or information about Howe’s Barbecue, which used to be open in Hermosa Beach in the 1960s. I have heard that they use to prepare food for some airlines flying out of LAX, and I’m working on a book about the history of in-flight dining. If anyone has old menus and photos, or any odd memorabilia about dinners at 20,000 feet, I’d like to see it – please contact me at richard@richardfoss.com with that or any other news about more local dining… ER
