Zinc essentials [restaurant review]
Zinc chef Graham Norton. Photo courtesy of Zinc Some places chase trends, some start them, and some ignore them. Any of these strategies can be successful depending on how well they’re executed and how well they fit the local clientele. If you look at the 300 block of Manhattan Beach Boulevard there’s a coffee shop that has gradually upscaled with the neighborhood, a bar and grill that hasn’t changed much since they opened decades ago, and a place that is at the cutting edge of dining trends. They’re all doing well on any given night. Right around the corner in Shade Hotel is a restaurant that has slowly transitioned to fit its environment. Zinc at Shade opened with a lounge atmosphere and high concept food, mostly California modern small plates. They did offer a somewhat conventional breakfast, but after that it was all eclectica, all the time. When Chris Garasic took over the kitchen in 2015, he organized things in a slightly more conventional manner, including actual dinner entrees. You could still get sashimi and follow it with Thai curry and churros, but that was still a step toward something resembling the style in which most Americans dine. About a year ago a new chef…
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