One Down, One Renewed… Two local Italian restaurants closed recently, one permanently, the other briefly. Calamari’s in Redondo opened strongly a few years ago but declined after a while. I stopped going there when a server became belligerent when we pointed out that she had delivered a pizza with the wrong ingredients to our table. The transfer notice on the window shows that the new owner is a pizzeria, so presumably it will remain an Italian restaurant. Meanwhile in El Segundo, Deluca Trattoria closed for what was described as a remodel. Not much has been done to the layout of the place, but the new paint and décor are lovely – this is now one of the prettiest restaurants in the area. The menu has expanded slightly, and they have a new vertigo-inducing webpage – I’m a fan of one change, but not the other…
Event Alert (And There Are Many)… As summer ends and the tourist tide recedes, the events are coming in battalions. One of the worthy ones is the Bluewater Grill’s Sustainable Seafood Feast, to be held September 9th. As many of the most popular fish will be extinct soon if we don’t change our habits, it is timely and appropriate to explore what tasty things can be done with other wild and farmed species. You can taste for yourself at a dinner on September 9th for a mere $35.00 – Call 310-318-3474 for details and reservations. While you’re on the line, you might also ask about their roasted oyster roundup on October 12th, which features a dozen oysters in various sauces and preparations. Purists may love them raw, but the rest of us can delight in preparations like Thai green curry, Provençale breadcrumb and herb, or good old-fashioned barbecue sauce…
Slightly Delayed, But On The Way… It was originally anticipated that Love And Salt, the successor to Café Pierre, would open in summer, but the season is slipping away and the boards are still up on Manhattan Beach Boulevard. There has been a lot to do, since the new place will have a completely different layout with an open kitchen and lots of natural light. Exactly how that will be achieved in this space will be IS an architectural challenge, and I’ll be interested in both the food and the architecture when they open. The best estimate now is the beginning of October, so start watching then for the scaffolding to come down and the kitchen to heat up…
More Events (With Fins and Scales)… The wine known as Gavi dei Gavi is stunning with seafood, and one of the South Bay’s most adventurous Italian restaurants will be hosting a dinner to celebrate the combination. The Soldati family of La Scola Vineyards is credited with saving the grape after World War II, and Chiara Soldati will be in Redondo Beach’s Hostaria Piave on September 11th to host a six-course dinner. The price is $85 including tax and tip, modest for an event of this type. Call 310-374-1000 to reserve…
The Reason Your Coupon Doesn’t Work… I was at a restaurant recently and noticed that they have a sign posted announcing that they don’t accept coupons from a certain service that sells two-for-the-price-of-one dinners and other deals. I was curious about this, as I had recently heard from readers who had been receiving good service that suddenly turned indifferent or hostile when the coupon was presented. When I asked the manager about the reason for the sign, he said that that particular service that is supposed to remit the coupon’s value to the restaurant does so extremely slowly, and his business has been waiting for months for thousands of dollars. Servers don’t like the coupons for a different reason – diners usually tip based on a percentage of their bill, so when a two-for-one is presented, they do all the work for half the reward. A request to you all – if you use any kind of coupon, please let them know when you arrive and tip based on the undiscounted price. You got a good deal, but don’t penalize your server. Whether the restaurant will accept your coupon at all is another story – watch for that sign so you don’t get an unwelcome surprise, and don’t be harsh toward a restaurateur who has to make a living and can’t wait forever for money he earned…
Goan Out For Dinner… Redondo Beach has Addi’s Tandoor, for a long time one of the very few restaurants serving Goa-style Indian food in California, and with the recent opening of Mandovi in El Segundo we NOW have two. For one night our area will have three – Chez Melange is hosting a Goa-style dinner with guest chefs Suman Kashup and Ela Jhaverei on September 15th. Could Goan cuisine be the Next Big Thing in Asian food? The Portuguese influence makes it distinctively different from cooking elsewhere in India; you can try it and come to your own conclusion. Mandovi and Addi’s will welcome you any day – for Chez Melange call 310-540-1222…
Any events I should know about, any new openings? I’m at Richard@richardfoss.com.
