Usually, when you say you know how a chef thinks, you’re speaking metaphorically; you know what they do and can guess why they do it. It’s not like every customer at a restaurant can actually sit down with the chef at the beginning of a meal and discuss how to plan the flavors and courses of a meal. That kind of experience is reserved for those who can afford private chefs.
Unless you’re at Bar Comida, the new tapas bar at Chez Melange, where a chat with the chef is part of the experience. This would be impossible in a large restaurant, but chef Diane Scalia has only three tables and eight stools to worry about. The menu is posted on the wall in an awkward position – easily visible from all spaces at the bar, but not to diners at the tables – so Diana told us about the menu as well as gave her suggestions on what to have. In some cases we were offered the chance to modify flavors. She offered fregola, a kind of Sardinian pasta, with our choice of ingredients to mix and match. Since all the dishes were relatively inexpensive and we didn’t know what size they were, we ordered a few things and decided we’d order as many more as seemed necessary later.
Bar Comida is described as “A snacks and nibbles bar,” which is also a good description of a traditional Spanish tapas experience. We noticed an unusual fidelity to real Spanish flavors and ingredients. Though the adjacent Chez Mélange probes the wilder edges of California gastronomy, the things we tried here were straight out of a night in Madrid.
[scrollGallery id=256]
The first to arrive was an antipasto platter – olives, lomo (Spanish cured pork), manchego cheese, marinated mushrooms, and tiny Spanish breadsticks. The cost was only $8, a fantastic deal. There was enough that our table of four had tastes of each item. The lomo – dry-cured pork tenderloin – had an intense flavor, a pleasure that reminded me how good this meat can taste. Modern farm pork has lost much of its character, and artisan-cured pork is a reminder of what has been lost. The other items also had real Spanish flavors, bright, rich olives, and mushrooms, and creamy manchego paired with addictive little breadsticks – it was truly a wake-up call for our palates.
We continued with a bowl of fresh cherry tomatoes simply dressed with balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil – something we hadn’t ordered because it wasn’t on the menu. Apparently a producer had delivered a bunch of fresh tomatoes late in the day and they were served as samples. They were delicious and fruity, good just as they were with the simplest of enhancements.
We continued with the Sardinian fregato – tiny shards of pasta that are toasted to give them a nutty flavor. The effect is similar to couscous, and there may be a connection because Sardinia was occupied by the Moors for some time and was at the center of trade routes between Europe and Africa. Since Spain was long under Moorish rule, it fit the theme of the place nicely. We had asked Diane to prepare it as they do in Sardinia, and she sent it out with artichoke, roasted tomato, pine nuts, currants, and garlic sausage. This is not a combination that would have occurred to me, but it worked brilliantly. The currants and tomato were both sweet. Garlic sausage and artichoke lent rich overtones, and the fregato added more flavor and texture than typical pasta.
We had another appetizer that emphasized the simple flavors of good ingredients – figs with goat cheese and candied walnuts, an item so traditional that it might have been served while the Romans still occupied Iberia. It went very nicely with a Plumpjack Syrah, one of several wines we tried over the course of the evening. Bar Comida shares a list with Chez Melange that includes a few Spanish wines, but the hit of the evening was rather more local – a Villa Oneiro Chardonnay from Palos Verdes. I had known that some people were growing grapes on the hill, but thought it was all for private consumption. This bottle showed that there is a world-class wine made right here in the South Bay.
The Chez Melange menu is available in Bar Comida but not vice versa, and my companions had seen some items listed there that they wanted to try. We strayed from the Bar Comida menu for pulled pork lettuce wraps and other delights, but I wanted to try more items from Bar Comida, so I went back a few days later. There hadn’t been a single seat available on my first visit, but the place was relatively quiet on the second trip, and I sat at the bar to talk with Diane and a friendly regular. As I was alone, I didn’t try as many dishes, but the experience was just as satisfying.
First was a cheese tray – Amadeus from Austria, Pimenton from the Canary Islands, and Harbison from Vermont, served with bread, nuts, apples, and honey. I tried this with a Stolpman Syrah on the bartender’s recommendation and found it a fine companion; there was just enough left in the bottom of my glass to pair with the butternut squash soup that arrived next. It had a vegetable sweetness and hints of spice that weren’t the usual cinnamon and sage, combining to make a recognizable comfort food with just a little twist.
The final item of the evening, Moroccan lamb meatballs, were defiantly traditional. Since Merguez sausage became a popular item in the US, most Moroccan lamb preparations are so amped up with spice that the flavor of the lamb is lost. That was not the case here. The four meatballs tasted of intense, moist lamb, mint, and onion with a hint of peppery spices. They were served with a yogurt and garlic sauce that lent both coolness and piquancy. Bar Comida changes many menu items regularly, but I will be watching for them on future visits.
The food bill at Bar Comida will likely be moderate. Most dishes are priced between $5 and $8, so even a party of one or two may taste several items without breaking the bank.
Wines are offered in several increments – 3.5 ounce pours are offered as low as four bucks, so you may experiment without running your bill or your blood alcohol to an unacceptable level. The latest experiment from Chez Melange is uncharacteristically traditional, but it adds a new dimension to the South Bay’s longest running dining adventure.
Bar Comida is at 1611 S. Catalina in Redondo Beach – enter through Chez Melange or via door by elevators. Open daily for dinner only. Valet parking on weekends, self park midweek, full bar, wheelchair access OK. Reservations recommended – call 310-540-1222.
