by Richard Foss
Many restaurants operate on one of two strategies: going out of their way to satisfy customer preferences, or expecting them to show up for what you want to serve. The place that offers a chicken, fish, vegan, and gluten-free option in every category is doing the first. You may not be ecstatic about the choices, but you know you’ll find something you can eat. On the other side are specialists who make one thing exceptionally well to attract customers with a craving for that item. You know what you’re going to have when you walk through their door, and you’ve been anticipating it all the way there.
Consider two restaurants that embrace a narrow focus, Redwood Pie Pizza in Hermosa Beach and Smashed Wagyu Pasta in Manhattan Beach. Both are mostly take-out – there is one table with six chairs at Smashed Wagyu, and a counter that might seat eight people inside Redwood Pie. The latter has an outdoor seating area that is only for the most determined on winter evenings, but will probably be a destination in summer. We’ll take the two in turn, starting with Redwood Pie.
On my first visit to Redwood Pie I was curious about the reason for the name – redwood trees aren’t native to Italy, though a few California specimens have been planted there and have surprised botanists by thriving. A specimen in a park near Florence is over 150 feet tall, though still small compared to a nearby Douglas Fir that tops 200. Even so, there’s no obvious connection to pizzas, and the person at the counter just shrugged when asked for an explanation.
The sign outside offers pizzas, salads, sandwiches, and ice cream, but after over a year in business they have yet to serve a single sandwich or ice cream confection, and they only offer one salad. You are at Redwood Pie for the pizza, and your choices in that category are also somewhat narrow. Most suggested combinations are classics, like margherita, pepperoni, and the usual vegetables. They also have a build-your-own option, though with an unusual selection. Whoever owns the place obviously enjoys spicy foods – they have hot sausage but not mild, pickled serranos, Calabrian chili, and peppery soppressata, but not spinach, bacon, anchovies, or pineapple.
On our visits we tried classics: soppressata and olives the first time, on the second a veggie pizza with hot Italian sausage on half. We also tried the only salad they offer, arugula and fennel with a lemon dressing and parmesan cheese. The salads are not made to order and are obviously an afterthought. The arugula is in huge pieces that makes it awkward to eat, and should be rough chopped so you can get at least some mixing with the other ingredients. The dressing is actually good, but you would not come here because you have a craving for this salad.
You would if you’re looking for an exceptional pizza, because the crust and sauce here are first class. Someone has figured out the thinnest that a crust can be while still holding together when you pick it up, and how to make it crisp on the bottom while still allowing a New York fold without cracking. They put the right amount of gently spicy and herbal tomato sauce on it, enough cheese to make it a little stringy, and then add a judicious amount of toppings. It is a pizza to be reckoned with.
I should note that when they say it’s a hot Italian sausage, you should believe them. It’s not burn your mouth on the first bite spicy, but there is a cumulative heat, and my spice-averse wife preferred the side of the pizza that was simply vegetarian. The mix of roasted bell peppers along with broccoli and basil was simple and hit the spot.
Those great pizzas have attracted a following, and it seems that they’re doing enough business to just keep pumping them out. I had waited to do a review on Redwood Pie for a year because I was waiting for them to serve the full menu, but for all I know that may never happen.
The selection is a bit wider at the oddly named Smashed Wagyu Pasta, which opened in May in a tiny space on Rosecrans Avenue. The restaurant is operated by the couple who ran Pisces Sushi for over two decades, and the focus here is completely different. You’re here for spaghetti in one of four sauces: bolognese, umami marinara, garlic alfredo, or spicy Japanese curry. You have a choice of proteins, shrimp, chicken, or the wagyu burger that gives the place its name. The only sides are garlic bread, a meatball by itself, or either chicken or a meatball fried katsu style.
We tried the chicken katsu and it’s as good as I’ve had in restaurants where that is the specialty, moist inside with crisp panko crust. The focus here really is the pasta, which is offered with the usual preparation of boiled noodles in sauce or baked. That’s a slender thread to depend on because there are plenty of places to get spaghetti, but what they serve here is out of the ordinary. The umami marinara is thick and so rich that I thought there had to be some cheese in it, but the owner said that there are ground vegetables but no dairy. The other sauce we tried was the spicy Japanese curry, which was surprisingly zippy. The Japanese approach to curry, even a spicy version, is usually timidly seasoned, but while this doesn’t have a serious burn there is a depth of flavor and a cumulative heat.
As for the smashed wagyu, those meatballs that are the reason for the puzzling name, they’re mildly seasoned and have a velvety, buttery texture. I’m not a big fan of wagyu because there’s a tradeoff between tenderness and flavor, and wagyu is all about that softness. They work here as a meaty foil for the textures of pastas and sauce, and that’s undoubtedly exactly what the owners intended. The portions of our pasta did not look impressive, but we were quite full and my wife took some of hers home. Our finances were not much damaged by the experience – nothing on the menu was over 20 bucks.
Ordering at Smashed Wagyu Pasta is via a touchscreen, but the personal touch arrives when the owners come out of the kitchen to greet you and inquire about whether you are enjoying your meal. We did indeed, and they seemed sincerely delighted that they were pleasing their customers. When I asked about whether they plan to serve other items, they volunteered that udon is sometimes available, and I’m going to ask for that on another visit.
Redwood Pie and Smashed Wagyu Pasta show the virtues and limitations of specializing – there is limited flexibility for restricted diets or tastes, but what they do, they do extraordinarily well. You may not visit every week or even every month, but when that craving hits, you know where you are going.
Redwood Pie is at 511 Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach. 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Wed. — Sun. Street parking, patio dining. No alcohol. No website. (310) 921-8029.
Smashed Wagyu Pasta is at 314 Rosecrans Ave, MB. Street parking. No alcohol. No website. (310) 504-0791. ER
One Response
Thanks for the great reviews, RF! Minor correction regarding the second picture caption: Redwood Pizza is not where Henry’s Gem Cafe used to be. The Gem was a few doors west, at the crosswalk. Buona Vita remodeled the place after Henry left.