Straddling Suburbia
Bartender Eddie Barrett displays a plate of salmon tatami. Photo
Riviera Village has been called “South Bay’s Little Italy,” and the appellation fits. Of the last 10 restaurants to open here, seven specialize in Italian food and all seem to be doing well. When the Blackhouse Group took over a former Italian restaurant, I wasn’t the only one to wonder what region of Italy they would showcase. The name Suburbia didn’t offer any clues, though the term is Latin for “area near a city” and would fit a place serving food from the outskirts of Rome.
Whatever suburb chef Tin Vuong was thinking of, it wasn’t that one. Suburbia is hip and contemporary, the interior sleek, modern, and lacking art in the dining room besides the decorative light fixtures and whimsical paper airplanes painted in random places. There is one lovely mural, though you’ll only see it if you happen to head for the restrooms. The environment is loud when the room is full, though the music is kept relatively low.
Exterior of the restaurant at night. Photo
The menu offerings straddle American and Asian influences, with a smattering of global items like Lebanese lamb with hummus and Mexican-style street corn. Most items are small plates designed for sharing, though a few are designated as “plat principal” – a pompous Frenchism that clashes with the otherwise casual and modern style.
Our server Ecko suggested the three of us should order five or six items, and we decided to start with fried green tomatoes, salmon poke, and a beet and apple salad. We then enjoyed some very good cocktails during a very long wait for the food to arrive. It was at least 40 minutes from the time we ordered, and since two items were salads we had not expected the delay.
The sophisticated Tom Collins variant and the 1301, made with whiskey, port, and bitters, were very good, but the best was a pineapple-infused mescal item called the Birdman. All were variations on standard drinks, but expertly made.
The salad, poke, and tomatoes arrived together, and we started with the tomatoes because they deteriorate quickly after frying. The slices of fruity tomato inside a cornmeal crust were fine by themselves, but even better with the tangy buttermilk dressing, pimento-cheese sauce, and chili sauce provided for dipping. An assortment of spicy pickles completed the plate, and we liked these sides and condiments enough to ask for bread so we wouldn’t waste any. The raisin bread and bagel chips were great with the cheese and pickles, and I’d advise you to follow my lead here.
The apple and beet salad was a good concept with oddly poor execution. The flavors of beets, apple, cress, endive, and walnuts with both yogurt and a honey sherry dressing were fine, but the beet was in large, lightly cooked chunks that needed to be cut while the apples were finely shredded. There was excess yoghurt, so that we ended up fishing the greens out of a pool at the bottom of the bowl. It was interesting, and will be a standout with refinements to the execution.
The poke bowl wasn’t innovative by itself, since it’s no surprise that marinated salmon goes well with edamame, cucumber, chives, masago, and scallions. But the accompaniments of mild ginger sauce, mustard, and mild kimchi took the flavor in different directions. The shiso leaves and sheets of seaweed were also a nice touch, as they allowed you to create your own roll and play with flavors.
The main courses arrived without a holdup, and though all had been described as small plates they were substantial.
We also ordered fried chicken, pan seared sea bass, salt cod fried rice, and curried cauliflower. We immediately noticed some items were not as expected from the descriptions. Instead of being plated with vegetables on the side, the sea bass arrived in a small cauldron atop a stew of rock shrimp, chickpeas, tomatoes, mussels, and fennel. There was a traditionally Southern French dash of Pernod liqueur in the tomato broth, adding to the multiculturalism of this kitchen. It was more interesting than the menu description and either the menu should give more details or servers should be sure to inform diners what they’re getting.
The curried cauliflower was a more subtle dish than we expected, the vegetable lightly sautéed with dry seasonings and then put over a spicy tomato fondue alongside a dollop of labneh cheese. The strongest element was not the curry, but the sweet pickled peppadew peppers that were scattered through the bowl with pine nuts and scallions. It wasn’t a conventional curry by any stretch of the imagination, but I’d order it again in a heartbeat.
The fried chicken showed that this kitchen can play it straight when they want to. This was the traditional American favorite with no curveballs. The crust was crisp and mildly seasoned, and the accompaniments of mac and cheese, pickles, and housemade hot sauce would all have been at home in a particularly good picnic basket. There was aioli too, but I’m not sure why except to remind us what century we’re in.
I ordered the salt cod fried rice omelet with fresh scallops and shrimp because the description sounded interesting: would that funky, salty flavor work with a sweet and sour pork and crab chili sauce? The sauce was sweet, spicy, and took over the dish in the nicest way. Dried codfish can be assertive but here it was a vital yet not overpowering component of the flavor. There are South Asian dishes that use fish sauce for a similar effect, and these flavors wouldn’t be out of place in a Monterey Park seafood house.
At dinner we ordered a bottle of Lost Angel Pinot Noir from their well curated but overpriced wine list. The Lost Angel was a nice bottle that I hadn’t experienced before, but they need to add moderately priced wines so diners will be encouraged to experiment.
Though we had over-ordered we wanted to try dessert so split a piece of carrot tres leches cake that had a nicely balanced vegetable and sugar sweetness. It would be great with coffee and even better with amari cocktails, and both are available.
Our food bill was about $100 to feed three or four people, and the drinks about doubled that. For a meal of this caliber in Riviera Village, Suburbia is a bargain. The restaurant is open for breakfast through dinner daily, and locals might as well get used to seeing a line outside.
Suburbia is at 247 Avenida Del Norte in Redondo. Open daily 9 a.m. – 3 p.m and 5 p.m. – 10 p.m., reservations strongly recommended, street parking, wheelchair access good but some high tables – advise when reserving. Full bar, corkage $15, some vegetarian items. Website at eatsuburbia.com, phone (424) 398-0237.