Maybe We’ll Change The Name To Little Italy… After years of a quiet but diverse restaurant scene, Riviera Village is lively and increasingly looking like a suburb of Naples. News is that Gina Lee’s, which has been serving Asian-inspired contemporary cuisine, will soon become a high-end Italian restaurant. Since Locale 90 and the Bottle Inn opened this year and Bottega Romana is coming soon, this marks a remarkable neighborhood shift toward Italian cuisine, one not mirrored elsewhere in the South Bay. One restaurant bucks the trend – whatever Jed Sanford and Tin Vuong are doing at the former Buona Sera, it is reportedly not Italian…
And Two Anniversaries… Two Redondo restaurants are celebrating: Chez Melange, which hits 37 on November 17th, and Dominique’s Kitchen, which just turned two. It’s impossible to measure how much Chez Melange changed the dining culture of the South Bay – they brought sophisticated dining and high-quality ingredients to an area where both had been in short supply. Many of the best chefs and servers around town have worked here at some time, and they’re as relevant and exciting today as they were the day they opened. As for Dominique’s, it’s great that locals have recognized and supported this restaurant that brings style and flair to French cuisine without running the bill into the stratosphere. Chef Dominique Theval has earned an enviable reputation in a short time, and we wish him many more years of success. The restaurant is hosting a winemaker dinner on November 11th with Santa Barbara’s Cold Heaven Vineyards, featuring four courses for $70.00. Give a call at 424-247-9054 for reservations…
New Openings… The sign hasn’t changed at the former Zina’s on Calle Mayor, but the style sure has. The worn looking bar has been stylishly refurbished and eccentrically decorated and is now called ”Hey 19” after a Steely Dan song. The place is owned by Demi Stevens of Ortega 120 along with some other partners, and the style is New American. Based on an excellent pork steak with bourbon-peach chutney, this is one to watch. The sign has changed at the PV Grill, formerly the Lunada Bay House, but the menu change isn’t as drastic. The prices are a bit lower, the vibe a bit more casual, but some of the signature dishes are still there because customers complained when they were gone. Chef Solorzano is still in the kitchen, with different management at the front of the house…
A First For The Area… If someone had asked me where the first restaurant serving Filipino-contemporary fusion cuisine would be located, the Terranea Resort would not be my first guess. New chef and Patina alumni Chartles Olalia is doing exactly that at Mar’Sel, serving a stylish version of South Pacific cuisine alongside the contemporary small plates that are the mainstay here. It’s an interesting and adventurous choice, and worth investigating further…
Are Steaks The New Big Thing?…We’re all waiting for the new steakhouse to open at the Hibachi space in Hermosa, and news has come of two more beef-centric restaurants. David LeFevre will be opening Arthur J’s in the former Circa space – no timeline yet on exactly how soon that will happen, but given the speed of the conversion to Nick’s Steakhouse at Metlox Plaza, Downtown Manhattan could have two temples of cow worship by next spring. Meanwhile on PCH across from the Manhattan Mall, a new Brazilian place is moving into a former take-out sushi bar. There has been a lot of talk about the virtues of moving away from meat, but these restaurateurs are betting we’ll still be carnivorous as ever…
And A Gastropub Upscales… The Rockefeller opened as a burger-centric place but wisely and successfully diversified after it became obvious that everybody else had the same idea that year. New Executive Chef Cody Diegel is taking things in a new and interesting direction with a menu that offers items like a charred baby octopus salad, crabcakes with pea tendril, and burrata-stuffed mini-peppers. It will be interesting to see if they change the ambiance to suit the new menu, which would seem to appeal to a different crowd. The restaurant hasn’t forsaken their burger past, though – some of Chjef Digel’s signature burgers will be offered on their special Burger Tuesdays for a mere ninety-nine cents…
A Great Name Gone… Fat Face Fenner’s closed at the end of last month, victim of an acrimonious lawsuit with their landlord. Owner Gary Vincent reportedly plans to reopen somewhere else in the area, which is a sound move as the place has fans who would follow him anywhere. This leaves prime real estate on the Pier Plaza with a vacant sushi bar and yogurt shop on the ground floor and a vacant bar upstairs; the property owner could consolidate into one large restaurant or might prefer to rent out the pieces…
Event Alert… I hadn’t heard of Lumen Winery before I heard that their winemaker Lane Tanner will be presenting a wine dinner at Restaurant Chrtistine. I have an excellent excuse for this: though Tanner is a veteran Central Coast winemaker, the first woman in her trade in that region, this is a new venture for her. On November 17th you can try her wines at a dinner and reception with an intriguing fall menu – I don’t have space to give details, but you can see the menu at Restaurant Christine’s website. It’s $89 inclusive – call 310-373-8285 for reservations…
Any new openings I should know about, any events? I’m at Richard@richardfoss.com…
