A La Carte: The Strand House, HT Grill, Chez Melange, The Counter
The Strand House. Photo by Alexandra Mandekic
Highs and Lows… Last week I had the best and worst meals of the year so far, a pair of experiences that show everything that can go right and wrong with a restaurant. I won’t divulge the name of the place that got virtually everything wrong; the place had very recently changed concept and management, and may get better. They can hardly do otherwise, since they made mistakes we had never seen before; we actually laughed when we saw our server holding our water glasses by the rim as she delivered them, leaving greasy fingerprints right where we would put our mouths. (We decided we weren’t thirsty.) As for the food, the menu might have been created by a focus group – it was an assemblage that was designed to have something for anybody but had no hint of character or creativity. In attempting to please everybody, they created a soulless experience that would be forgettable if it wern’t so badly executed.
Only a few days later, my wife and I attended one of the first meals at the Strand House and saw how well a new establishment can run. To be sure, this one has a budget many times that of the aforementioned disaster, but Strand House has ambitions that are unlimited. Chefs Neal Fraser and Travis Lorton have plenty of ideas about a contemporary cuisine that is sophisticated but not needlessly complicated, about ways to showcase the flavors of quality ingredients. They are supported by servers who know this cuisine and cooperate as if they had worked together for years; there must have been a lot of staff dinners and a big training budget, and it paid off. I tend to excuse minor errors and ignorance by serving staff in restaurants in the South Bay because the talent pool is shallow, with few people who regard restaurant service as a lifelong profession and few business owners who are willing to train them. The Strand House is a reminder that world-class food and service can indeed be achieved in a Manhattan Beach contemporary restaurant. Now we all get to find out if locals will appreciate that achievement and support it with their dining dollars…
In Chef We Trust… Restaurants are always trying to come up with ways to motivate people to dine on the quieter days of the week, special deals to entice people out of the house Monday through Wednesday. I have mentioned the HT Grill’s Monday $20 three-course meals with wine in the column before, and now their neighbor Chez Melange has come up with an even more intriguing offer. On Monday nights you are invited to trust Chef Robert Bell to serve whatever he thinks you should have. The cost is $30.00 for four courses, and if you are an omnivore who appreciates adventure, there’s no better way to dine. I decided to also trust my server and asked him to bring whatever beverage would best suit each course, and over the course of the next hour I tried dishes and drinks that I probably wouldn’t have ordered but that I will look for again. If you like surprises and don’t feel like fussing over a menu deciding what to have, just hand the steering wheel to Chef Bell and enjoy the ride…
We wish the burger you’re smelling was from the picture, but it’s really just your imagination.
Speaking About Choices… The Counter has opened their new location in Hermosa Beach, and if you are one of those people who freezes up when given too many decisions, this may not be the place for you. (Especially if you are the person in line in front of me.) The selection of different breads, types of burger, add-ins, and condiments is mind-boggling, and can cause a mental short-circuit. I was looking at their menu and musing about the change in American dining trends; only a decade or so ago, it was unusual to have even a choice of what cheese to have on your burger; now if a place doesn’t offer four or five selections, along with mushrooms, bacon, pastrami, sprouts, pepperoni, and olives, they’re behind the curve. I can imagine parents telling their kids, “In my day, our burgers had American cheese, and lettuce and onion if we were lucky. And we walked ten miles to school, uphill both ways…”
Silver Oak Exclusive… Most local restaurants stage their wine dinners in the winter season, both because that is when winemakers are available and to keep interest up after the tourist crowd has departed. Fleming’s Steakhouse is leading the list of high-profile events with a Silver Oak dinner on Saturday, Sept. 17, at which wines from that famous Alexander Valley producer will flow. It’s a rare occasion and likely to sell out soon – call 310-643-6911 for reservations…
Coming Soon… There are several restaurants scheduled to open in September, subject to the vagaries of construction schedules, city permits, and the other vicissitudes of life. Downtown Hermosa gets its first Vietnamese restaurant in the space vacated by Cedar Mediterranean Grill, a place that had good food but failed to catch on. The new establishment is a branch of an established place in Long Beach, and will offer an organic and health-conscious take on Southeast Asian food. At the comfort food end of the spectrum, the soon-to-open Hotdogger offers a bravely eccentric concept: a 24-hour restaurant specializing in hot dogs, located in the former gelato joint on PCH in Manhattan Beach. They’ll be the only thing open all night for miles in either direction, so they may have identified a niche worth exploiting…
Prost! In Torrance… Those who understand the history of the holiday know why Oktoberfest is actually celebrated in September; the rest of you can just head for Alpine Village in Torrance any Friday through Sunday this month and ask a random stranger. I have no doubt that you will receive an insightful and clear explanation. Alpine Village offers the largest Oktoberfest celebration in LA, fuelled by Paulaner beer brought in from Munich, and it’s quite a party. Be sure to have a schnitzel, some sausages, and rosti with red cabbage to start, or you run some risk of intoxication…
Department of Shameless Self-Promotion… Some of you out there know that I have been teaching classes in culinary history for the Osher Institute program at UCLA Extension, and begin a new class called 500 Years of American Food in October. I will be giving a preview of that class and a talk on culinary history and other subjects in Palos Verdes on Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to noon – and if you are interested in attending or knowing more about the class, please feel free to send an email to Richard@richardfoss.com. I hope you will attend one or both, and look forward to meeting you.