Summer has ended, and restaurateurs can turn their attention from the tourist onslaught and focus on their local clientele. They’re doing it like never before – I can’t remember a week when there have been one or more food and wine events every night, but there’s one coming up.
This coming weekend offers a pair of noteworthy events – first, Barsha’s anniversary on Saturday, at which Made By Meg will serve a variety of finger food, gourmet jerky will be sampled, and wine and beer will flow. An evening of food, beverage, and fun is only $35.00 – phone 310-318-9080 for more information. On Sunday you can get a sneak peek at the new restaurant to be opened by Timothy Hollingsworth, former chef at Napa’s famous French Laundry restaurant. After years of creating twenty-course tasting dinners, Hollingsworth wants to open a tacqueria serving Mexican cuisine “with an elevated twist”. The $75.00 plus tax price includes food and four different “Baja-inspired libations,” and it will be exciting to see what this talented chef will be doing. Call 310-546-4995 for reservations…
You have four days after the Hollingsworth dinner before the events really start flying. Lido di Manhattan starts things off on Friday the 20th with a winemaker dinner featuring Tamber Bey winery owner Barry Waitte. Among the offerings are a grilled seabass salad – the full menu is at lidodimanhattan.com, and the price is $85.00 plus tax.
After fine wine and Italian cuisine you might feel like a beer, and you have two pairing choices the next night – British food from Tin Roof Bistro, or eclectic sausages at Barsha. Tin Roof calls their event “Bangers and Casks,” and there will be trays passed of the British sausages, along with fig and stilton crostini, curried beef pies, and other Anglophile bait. Five local beers will be tasted, all for $35.00 – call 310-939-0900 for reservations. The Oktoberfest party at Barsha will feature craft beer from The Dude’s Brewing Company in Torrance and sausages by craftsman Adam Gertler. These aren’t your standard bratwursts – pork cheddarwurst, Thai red curry, and pastrami dogs are on the list. Reservations aren’t required – just drop in and sample brews and eclectic variations on the tube steak…
You’ll want to pull something nice out of the closet for Sunday By The Sea on the 22nd. This charity event in a luxurious Palos Verdes home has been going on for 23 years, and it’s a marvelous to stroll the grounds of a mansion and enjoy samples from some of the top restaurants in the South Bay. The proceeds benefit Trinity Hospice, and it’s $150 toward a good cause – call 310-543-3440 for reservations. I respect the chefs and winemakers who volunteer their skills and product, plus the homeowner who lets 150 strangers walk all over their estate…
We’re now at the 23rd (for those who lost count), when chefs Jonathan Benno and Richard Capizzi are guest chefs at Strand House. Benno was formerly at New York’s famed Per Se and now works with Capizzi at the Lincoln Center restaurant. I hope they’re allowed to attend shows in between cooking lavish meals, but they’re performing for us this evening. Dinner is $100, with wines from Terra Valentine for an additional $50 – call 310-545-7470 for reservations…
If it’s beer time again, head for Jackson’s on the 24th to raise a glass of something bitter and frothy in honor of their first anniversary. I say bitter because the brew will be from Stone Brewing, makers of beers that proclaim “You’re Not Worthy” on the label. We’re worthy enough to appreciate five courses of fine food paired with three different IPA’s, a porter and a stout. Maryland lump crabcakes with Belgian-style ale sound heavenly together, don’t they? If you agree and want to reserve, call 310-606-5500.
The Week’s Not Over… The action moves to Redondo’s HT Grill for a tasting of Gloria Ferrer sparkling wines on September 25th – $45 gets you tray passed nibbles followed by a three course meal that includes a flat iron steak with bourbon sauce. It’s a very modest price for a stylish night – call 310-791-4849 for reservations. The next night go south where the Lunada BayHouse will offer pan seared scallops and veal ossobucco as centerpieces of a dinner featuring San Felice wines, all for $45. You may have to pace yourself to have room after dining out for six consecutive nights, but it’s worth it – call 310-544-1704 for more info.
And after all that… If you’d like a rest from all that fancy stuff and a good Mexican meal, you can stop in at the new Cantina Real, which opened on PCH in Manhattan Beach. The former American Farmhouse Tavern has been redecorated and looks great, and we assume the food will match. Or you might drop in at the not-new-but-renamed Sesame Moe’s, formerly Open Sesame. The name change has concerned some people, but don’t worry – it’s the same Middle Eastern food you’ve been enjoying for years… ER
