Posts by Richard Foss
The Purple Orchid blossoms in El Segundo
It’s another Friday night at the Purple Orchid, and an Australian instrumental trio fusses for a while with their instruments before deciding they are ready to start playing. When they do, it’s worth the wait – the flamboyant guitar is electrifying, and the audience is riveted. Among the crowd is a middle-aged couple wearing bright…
Read MoreSouth Bay restaurant news: Barsha’s anniversary, Tin Roof’s Bangers and Casks, Sunday by the Sea, Jonathan Benno at Strand House, Stone at Jackson’s….& more….
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…
Read MoreDoma Kitchen: Central Asia by way of Redondo Beach
The vast area between Central Europe and China is empty for most Americans – show them a blank map and ask them to fill in the countries and they will probably get Russia right. They’ll know that one of the others is Ukraine, but probably not which, and after that things will get hazy. Ask…
Read MorePitfire Pizza becomes Manhattan Beach mainstay [RESTAURANT REVIEW]
I find the Pitfire Pizza name strange – there are cuisines that are actually cooked in pits, such as Hawaiian luaus, traditional Brazilian barbecue, and the Early California bull’s head feasts, but the pizzas here are quite obviously cooked above the ground. I have seen the domelike oven, flames flickering merrily along the sides and…
Read MoreA La Carte: the return of the Ragin’ Cajun, the closing of Chez Soi & Pinkie’s BBQ, & much more
Worst Restaurant End in South Bay History?… Chez Soi opened four and a half months ago as an edgy modern bistro. Over the course of its brief life it became more French, then went farm-to-table Californian, tried a family-friendly concept, offered design-it-yourself salads, opened for brunch, and offered all-you-can-eat fried chicken with all-you-can-drink beer. It…
Read MoreRestaurant Review – Mickey McColgan’s: an Irish pub, California-style
There are people who don’t understand the deep, complex emotional relationship between an individual and their drinking establishment. It is more than a place to purchase a beverage; it is a venue for entertainment, a place to interact with a community of like-minded folks, and a connection to a tradition and culture. This is somewhat…
Read MoreBamBiBu: hidden Japanese delights in Redondo Beach [RESTAURANT REVIEW]
“If you were trying to make sure nobody could find your restaurant, you might hide it here,” I remarked to my wife as we arrived at a pleasant little café in south Redondo. Obviously some people do find BamBiBu and the adjacent dry cleaners, but it’s a mighty odd place for any business – invisible…
Read MoreFrom Top Chef to Tripel: Chef Brooke Williamson creates a culinary destination in Playa del Rey
Brooke Williamson is one of the South Bay chefs who has had a taste of media stardom – after her stint on the show Top Chef aired, people who had never tasted her food before came from all over greater Los Angeles to try it for themselves. Brooke has an amazing resume that includes stints…
Read MoreA La Carte: Banzai Beach changes concept, BBQ on 190th, hidden bars in Manhattan and Redondo Beach….
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,…
Read MoreChez Soi in Manhattan Beach: modern American culinary ideas executed with classic French technique
The people who open new restaurants are usually seeking a perfect balance of the familiar and unusual – not something so odd that it attracts only those seeking novelty, or so similar to what is already there that nobody has a reason to visit. This can be surprisingly difficult to achieve, and until the restaurant…
Read MoreAn office tower hideaway: R.E.D. in El Segundo [RESTAURANT REVIEW]
As we wander through a nearly deserted and mazelike parking structure trying to figure out how to get to a restaurant called R.E.D., my companions are looking progressively more suspicious about what I’m getting them into. The adjacent buildings are corporate towers; can a restaurant worth visiting be concealed in one of these? I started…
Read MoreA baker’s homecoming: Hermosa Pie & Cake Company
A baker returns to the South Bay after a decade abroad, bringing European baking techniques with him.
Read MoreRestaurant happenings in Hermosa, Redondo, and Manhattan Beach
Some Action in Hermosa…After several months in which most openings have been in Manhattan and Redondo, Hermosa is getting some new restaurants. The former Hibachi has been purchased by the owners of Rok Sushi next door, and word is that they will offer Spanish food and charcuterie. It’s possible to get a sneak preview of…
Read MoreMangiamo Manhattan Beach [RESTAURANT REVIEW]
Ask people to recommend a restaurant in downtown Manhattan Beach and they’re likely to mention one of the high-profile new places. This is understandable – those places have been in the news, and we look hipper if we recommend them. Ask those same people where they dine and you might get a different answer; they…
Read MoreMoney on the table: success and failure in the emerging South Bay restaurant scene
Fifteen years ago, the South Bay barely registered on the regional dining scene. There were several good restaurants and a few excellent ones, but major media critics ignored the area, and it would have been laughable to suggest that people would soon be coming from the West Side and Beverly Hills to dine in Manhattan…
Read MoreA La Carte
The Optimism of Restaurateurs…The building on the northeast corner of Artesia and Inglewood has changed ownership again, and now has been three different Mexican restaurants in three years. The newcomer is La Paz Jr., offshoot of a successful operation in El Segundo, and they hope they have the magic that the previous tenants lacked. One…
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