by Richard Foss
Whenever I mention visiting a restaurant, the first thing people ask is “How was the food?” That’s a reasonable question, but unless a restaurant is take-out only, it may not be the most important thing to ask. At some places the food is just a little better than average, but the environment is pleasant, the servers friendly and helpful yet efficient, and the overall experience makes you want to return.
These thoughts are on my mind after two experiences at Stecca, the restaurant in the former Sosta space on Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach. I was intrigued to hear about their arrival because they feature the cuisine of Piedmont, a region not well-represented on the Los Angeles scene. Piedmont borders France and extends from sea level into the Alps, so it is culturally and ecologically different from most of the rest of Italy.
The building that houses the restaurant has three areas that were once separate establishments, which makes service and seating a challenge for the management. On our first visit my wife and I dined in the small room by the door, a cozy space packed with small tables and enlivened with tasteful artwork. It was loud but not excessively, and we were able to hear our server as he went through the specials and explained the menu. This was good because the menu was printed in gray in a barely readable font, and the light level was low. We ordered a panzanella salad, eggplant parmesan, and a housemade sausage called luganica, and asked him to suggest wines to pair with them.
Panzanella salad is a rustic Italian specialty that probably cameabout as a way for a poor family to use leftover bread – toast it into croutons and mix it with tomatoes, red onion, and olives. The version here also has pinenuts and fresh anchovy filets, and is mixed with an olive oil, vinegar, and herb dressing that is zesty but not heavily garlicky. The portion was on the small side by American standards, but about what you would get if you ordered this in Italy.
I ordered the luganica sausage thinking it might be similar to the Greek sausage with a similar name, loukaniko. Though both are pork based, the seasoning and texture are different – the Greek version includes orange peel and fennel seed, while the Piedmont version includes wine and parmesan cheese, along with nutmeg and pepper. The sausage was served atop a board in a tight coil topped with rosemary and mixed herbs, along with roasted potatoes and grapes. And yes, both the grapes and potatoes were roasted, and if you haven’t had roasted grapes before, you should. The sausage and potatoes would be better served on a plate instead of a board – it’s a pretty presentation, but awkward to eat.
That portion was a good full meal, which is more than I can say for the chicken Parmesan. It was delicious, but so small we thought the server might have delivered someone else’s appetizer. This is one of my wife’s favorite dishes so it’s meaningful when I say it’s one of the best I’ve had in a long time. We might order it again as an appetizer, but not as an entree.
We filled in the cracks with a tiramisu (light and creamy, not much marsala in the cake) and a blood orange infused crème brulee that I preferred. The light dinner for two ran $145, and was an interesting enough experience that I returned with another couple the next week. On this visit the music inside was very loud, so we dined outside. I was surprised when our party of three was seated at the same size table that had been barely adequate for two people, which had comical results later. After we had been waiting for 15 minutes, a server arrived to take our first drink order. He also quickly recited eight daily specials that were not on the menu, which reset our decision-making process. These should have been written down and given to diners on arrival rather than have a new set of options suddenly thrown into the mix. Had it been just one or two then we could understand, but with that many we were left asking each other, “What did he say was in that lamb dish again? Wasn’t there another fish choice?”
We were ready with our appetizer order, but the server refused to take it – he said we had to order the whole meal at once. I have been to other places with this practice, and don’t know why they do it, because it delays the first order getting to the kitchen.
As we were to find out, anything that could have speeded up the meal would have been an improvement. We had plenty of time to sit over our drinks while waiting for our starters – prosciutto with melon and crostini, and an arugula and pear salad with crisped prosciutto. Melon with prosciutto is an Italian classic, but this stood out thanks to a garlic, parmesan, and herb spread was an unlikely but perfect match to the fruit and meat. The melon had been accented with herbs and pepper that brought out the fruit flavor, a nice touch. Only two things would have improved it – the meat was in a giant sheet rather than being sliced smaller and was unwieldy, and they only brought two crostini for a table of three. The salad with pear, prosciutto and Reggiano parmesan with a dash of balsamic was simple and perfect, good quality ingredients well enhanced.
We ordered pastas as second dishes on the assumption that they would be small plates, based on my experience with the eggplant parm at the previous meal. That turned out to be an error, as the portions were somewhat larger than expected. At this point the size limitations of the table became apparent – the server delivered these while our salad plates were still there, and there was no place to put them. I held an empty plate waiting for him to take it, but he walked away, and I eventually put it on the ground next to our table. The battery powered lamp that had been provided soon joined it, along with other used dishes, because there was no room for them.
There was a delay in actually tasting our pastas because the silverware with our starters had been picked up and no replacements were delivered. I went inside to ask for more and someone came out with it, and then another server came with more and put it on the table even though we told him it wasn’t needed. Now armed with multiple forks each, we tried the pastas – lemon fettuccine, wild boar with tomato and olive, and spaghetti with anchovies, n’duja sausage, olives, and capers. All three were superb, the lemon fettuccine a sunny Mediterranean flavor, the boar delicately spicy, the spaghetti richly peppery and full of umami. One of my table companions who had been grousing about the wait decided it had been worth it. We packed half of our pastas to go, figuring the mains would be out soon.
They were not. Various staff members came out to refill our water, and about every 10 minutes, our server stopped by to tell us things were almost ready. This continued for over 50 minutes, when our mains finally arrived – tuna steak, rack of lamb, and a venison chop special. All were delivered on boards, and since our table wasn’t completely level, I had to mop up sauce that was headed for my lap. It was a delicious sauce, but I preferred to have it in my mouth. The venison was incredibly tender and moist, difficult with this lean meat, the rack of lamb similarly delightful. The lamb came with an elderberry confit that had a gentle tartness, a nice touch. As for the tuna, it had been poached with a Piedmont rosemary-garlic sauce so there was no grill finish or caramelization, a very un-Californian way of treating this fish. It was completely successful, and I’m going to have to see whether I can come close to this at home. All were served with the potatoes and roasted grapes, the latter a new and delightful experience for my companions.
We might have stayed for dessert but couldn’t face the prospect of another long wait. It had been an excellent meal but a pricey experience – the food described plus two non-alcoholic drinks and two glasses of wine ran just over $400.
As it happened, one of my companions and I had visited Italy recently, and the food at Stecca Taverna brought back memories of dining at waterfront restaurants overlooking the Mediterranean. If the service was of the same caliber, I’d be back in a heartbeat, but after this visit it will be a while before I return. The problems are all fixable. Better coordination between the serving staff and the kitchen may take a while, but larger outdoor tables and better menus can be addressed immediately. They have the food down, and if they get the service to match, this will be a high point for South Bay Italian.
Stecca Taverna is at 439 Pier Avenue in Hermosa. Tues. — Sun. 5 — 9 p.m. Street parking only. Some vegetarian items. Corkage $45. (310) 504-0865. SteccaTaverna.com. ER
Calling it like it was! For 400 bucks, no less. What’s wrong w/ these people ?