Banana Leaf and Beach Cities Social has a split personality
Those who read my columns on a regular basis may have noticed I’m rarely the first to review a restaurant. This is deliberate, because as much as readers may want to know about a new eatery, what they’re doing the day they open may not reflect the long term experience. The chef may discover an […]
A LA CARTE: Surprise openings and closings, popup goes permanent, whiskey dinner, and other dining news
Surprises on MB Boulevard: I was sad to see Gallery 208 close because I liked the art on display and the friendly attitude of the staff. I had expected another retail space to replace it. That’s not what’s happening – the building is being remodeled into a restaurant space that will offer three levels, including […]
Noodles in style at Blossom Ramen
I never expect character in a modest strip mall restaurant because most have a very sensible business plan of getting people in and out as soon as possible. That involves not making the furniture too comfortable or the décor too interesting, and possibly getting a subscription to a music playlist called “Mildly irritating jazzy pop […]
A LA CARTE: Big restaurant projects, lost chicken alert, wine dinners, and more
The Empires Expand: There has been much talk about the way some local restaurant groups are becoming increasingly dominant in the South Bay. The Simms Group is one of the most active, and stands apart from most others in opening creative, chef-driven restaurants rather than duplicating previous endeavors. Their newest venture is Attagirl in the […]
Brogino’s is North Redondo’s neighborhood hangout
In the ‘80s I shared a somewhat decrepit old house in North Redondo with a couple of oddball roommates, and as a matter of course we scoped out all the restaurants within walking distance. We had cars, and they even ran sometimes, but it was fun to explore the neighborhood at ground level. We had […]
Fishbar has a fresh look at fresh seafood
Sometimes readers contact me to ask why I haven’t reviewed one of their favorite spots, to my momentary puzzlement. The experience is still fresh in my mind, as is the lead I composed for the article… Let me look that up in my archive. Hmmm, this was published two decades ago, funny how time flies. […]
10 ways 2023 dining informs 2024
The South Bay dining scene is shaped by a mix of forethought and improvisation. Some changes are caused by business plans set in motion years ago, their designs fossilized in permit applications that can’t be altered, while others reflect operators adapting to changing trends as they happen. Entrepreneurs with restaurant projects are looking at 2023 […]
Marina dining revival, change at Mama Terano’s, restaurant mysteries, dining events
A closer south of the border: It was hard to tell exactly when Samba closed, because the once-popular churrascaria had become a shell of its former self. The restaurant scene at the north end of the Boardwalk will get a big injection of energy when the Riviera Mexican Cantina replaces it. It’s an offshoot of […]
Golden age on a side street
Nostalgia is a powerful thing, but not a new one – Romans of the Imperial era lamented that people in their day did not lead as joyous and virtuous lives as their ancestors. The British at the peak of their empire looked back fondly on the days of Queen Elizabeth, the French in the 1950s […]
Mexico City by the Bay
I was puzzled when the new owners of the former Blue Agave restaurant in Hermosa changed the name to Marena, which is Spanish for “from the sea.” It might be an excellent name for a place specializing in Baja or Veracruz cuisine, but that’s not the specialty here. The cooking at Marena is in the […]
Bagel Blues, gingerbread giant, culinary events, and more restaurant news.
Holiday cheer, or lack thereof: According to a survey, the day before Thanksgiving is the busiest night of the year at bars. It’s sometimes called Blackout Wednesday, and there are good and bad reasons people might tend to overdo it that evening. Some folks are celebrating a reunion with friends and family the day before […]
Chickens Gone Global
Fried chicken has been multicultural from its beginnings, a Scottish cooking style married to a West African tradition of battering using a seasoned flour. Those traditions combined in the American South in the 1830s and were an instant hit. Regional styles quickly developed, with cornmeal used in some areas, wheat in others, and seasonings mild, […]
Australian gone global
Ask most Americans about Australian food and you’ll get a jumble of disconnected impressions that have little to do with reality. Top will be “shrimp on a barbie,” a phrase Australians don’t use, because anything big enough to be skewered and grilled will be referred to as a prawn. The bloomin’ onion isn’t an Aussie […]
A restaurant unclosed, Cantina on the Pier, Spanish in El Segundo, dining events, and more
Goodbye, Hello Again: While writing about the South Bay dining scene for 35 years, I have covered many restaurant openings and closures, but very few instances of a place announcing that they planned to shut down but changed their mind. That’s what happened at Brewco, which announced on September 12 they would close, but reversed […]
More than just a steak
Musician Brian Eno once wrote a list of what he called “Oblique Strategies” for solving creative problems, which are valuable for many endeavors besides music. One of my favorites is “Make a blank canvas valuable by putting it in a perfect frame.” I find this advice useful when considering the pros and cons of steakhouses. […]
Asian traditions in motion
The nomenclature of the culinary world has steadily become less precise, to the distress of academics and purists, and yawns from just about everybody else. Yes, tapas used to mean Spanish cuisine, but is now anything served on small plates. Things called martinis contain neither gin nor vermouth, and there is such a thing as […]