Showing posts with label redondo beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label redondo beach. Show all posts

Saturday, December 3, 2016

21 Square Bar + Kitchen (Torrance, CA)

by @bstunoda

21 Square, named because the city is approximately 21 square miles, is the latest addition to the Torrance food and beverage landscape. It is located inside the Torrance Marriott Redondo Beach. A lot of attention was placed on creating a cool coastal vibe. I liked the uniqueness of the interior decor - the walls featured the city of Torrance in a creative way. The venue extended outdoors with a beautiful fire pit and adjacent seating.

The “21st Mule” is their version of the ever popular cocktail with Tito’s® vodka, ginger beer and fresh squeezed lime. I enjoyed both the presentation and the taste of “El Dude”. This is their house-made creation of Fugu Horchata vodka and Kahlua.
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In addition to the their cocktails, they feature wine and ten beers on tap. They’ve partnered with Absolution Brewing to create their own exclusive brew and that’s only available at 21 Square. It is a smooth ale and probably a great beginner’s entry into craft beer. In fact they make their delicious fish & chips using this very brew!
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The LYB (Loosen Your Belt) is a shareable dish consisting of tater tots, capicola, mortadella, salami, sausage, cheddar, mozzarella, chopped scallions and topped with a poached egg. It’s is the perfect item to share with a draft beer.

Friday, January 16, 2015

New Menu at Baleen Kitchen (Redondo Beach, CA)

With the coming of winter, it's time for new menus. Such is the case with Baleen Kitchen at the Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach. Here's what you can look forward to on the new menu:

You can start with a light grain salad like the Baleen Garden (baby beets, farro, tomato, quinoa, avocado, pea shoots, almonds, lime vinaigrette)

Baleen

Or for a more substantial salad, there's the Dungeness and soft shell crab salad with avocado, haricot vert, and lollo rossa
Baleen
Lollo rossa is a particular type of lettuce and it works nicely with the sweet dungeness crab hidden at the bottom. 

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Breakfast to Dinner at Doma Kitchen (Redondo Beach)

by: guest blogger Bryan Tsunoda @btsunoda

Doma Kitchen is a fairly new restaurant located in South Redondo Beach as it has been open less than one year. Recently I had the opportunity to experience their new spring menu.
While I’ve dined at Doma Kitchen a number of times, it was primarily for breakfast. They've now extended their hours into the early evening and I was curious about their offerings.
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Doma Kitchen occupies a very small lot. In fact, the kitchen takes the entire space of the building. A beautifully stained wood fence surrounds the perimeter to create a patio-like setting. Dining is exclusively al fresco and Doma Kitchen has set up colorful tent canopies and heaters to keep diners comfortable during cool evenings. Colorful artwork from local artists adorn their walls.
Co-owner Angie Corrente gave us an overview of the evening’s menu. She explained that she and co-owner Stan Mayzalis have traveled the world and as a result, they wanted Doma Kitchen to reflect their love for global cuisine.

We were blown away to learn that we would experience breakfast, lunch and dinner in a matter of only 2 hours. Fortunately, the portion sizes were small, but that was still a lot of food to consume in one sitting.
Breakfast
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Our “breakfast” was served promptly and efficiently. Doma Kitchen’s Pancetta Scramble with home fries arrived to our table first. Unlike some that use a pancetta that is more ‘ham-like’, Doma Kitchen uses a very good quality pancetta which is full of flavor. This combined with the scrambled eggs and scallions made for a tasty dish.
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The others at my table were definitely drawn to the sweet offerings. Fresh Belgian waffles were served with a homemade chocolate sauce and fresh fruit, nutella and bananas and vanilla creme. The waffle was ultra crispy and I was surprised that it wasn’t dense.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Valentine's Day Menu + A Revisit to Baleen Kitchen at PortofinoHotel,Redondo Beach

While Baleen Kitchen, hidden inside the Portofino Hotel, is relatively unknown to those not living in the South Bay, it tends to be to go-to special occasion restaurant for Redondo Beach locals. I personally had only been for lunch more than 2 years ago but remembered liking it. For Valentine's Day, they've put together a 5-course menu for $85 ($115 with wine pairing). I got to taste three of the menu items as a preview.

There will be an amuse Bouche of Shaved tuna, chili tapioca, lime sorbet
Tuna
The lime sorbet added a really nice texture and temperature contrast to the dish.

Grilled maitake salad, avocado, haricot vert, heirloom tomato
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I like how the focus on the dish is still the salad, with maitake accompanying each bite. The crisp vegetables combined with the earthy mushrooms get your appetite going. The other appetizer option is the Peekytoe crab cake.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Hands On Tamale Making Class at Ortega 120 (Redondo Beach)

I LOVE tamales but I have a hard time to find ones that are just right for me. I want them filled with things I like, for example I'm always looking for a blue corn tamale but the ones here are usually only filled with cheese. So, when Ortega 120 offered me to attend one of their tamale making class, I thought it sounded fun. The tamale class is only held in December since tamales are apparently a holiday tradition. The chef said that his family would always say that way you will always have something to unwrap for Christmas!

The hands-on tamale class was completely full (and they were all women, which was kind of expected)
The $40 class also includes a glass of their house margarita and food 
Ortega has their own masa, made with Canola oil so it's healthier but still moist. You can buy their masa to go at the restaurant, or you can also buy traditional masa at Mexican bakeries. They had prepared the masa for us and the filling which included chicken and beef tinga, chili and cheese. They provided the recipes for these fillings, but during the class all we had to do was assemble them.
Spreading the masa on the corn husk was harder than I expected at first, since you don't want it to be too thick, though eventually I got used to it.


Friday, August 5, 2011

Dock for Lunch at Baleen, Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club (Redondo Beach, CA)

Not so long ago, Redondo Beach in my mind consisted of a crowded beach and the pier (which has Izakaya Bincho and Quality Seafood, both great). Enter Baleen Los Angeles at the Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club, a much quieter, less touristy spot away from the pier.

The Chefs Burger at Baleen
The Chef's Burger
The restaurant's layout seems a strange one when you walk in. Instead of a big dining room, there's only one row of tables, all of them provide a view of the marina and yachts.
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Baleen recently launched a new lunch menu. I wasn't able to come to their media lunch so they invited me over on another day - a beautiful Saturday afternoon, perfect for dining al fresco by the water. Judging from the customers coming in while I was there, seems like this is the spot for local residents to have their casual lunch and family reunions.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Fresh & Cheap Seafood on the Pier

Walking through the Redondo Beach Boardwalk, every whiff of air you take smells of the ocean. Yes, I meant "fishy" but I thought this might be a place of euphemism. You're right by the ocean surrounded by seafood restaurants, so it's no wonder it smells fishy. But ... you smell more ... could it be ...? Yep, there they are! Live tanks of fish and shellfish at Quality Seafood.

Quality is the place for cheap fresh fishy treats.
They have fish, crabs, etc, but we went straight to this tank here:

Live uni. They opened it up and the spikes were still wriggling as the guy put the uni on the plate. One live uni served on a styrofoam plate, $5.60. Oh yeah.
They also have a pretty big selection of fresh oysters, I remember about 10 types, ranging from $1.50-$1.90 each! I got three oysters, including two Kumamotos at $1.90.
It's so fresh, all you need is a squeeze of lemon and slurp it!


Quality Seafood
130 S International Boardwalk
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
(310) 374-2382
www.qualityseafood.net
Quality Seafood on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Reviews: South Bay

**** EL SEGUNDO/MANHATTAN BEACH****
American Farmhouse Tavern - CLOSED
Cafe Pierre (Manhattan Beach)
Darren's Restaurant
Fishing with Dynamite 
Grimaldi's Pizzeria (El Segundo)
M. B. Post (Manhattan Beach)
Sashi: Sushi+Sake Lounge (Manhattan Beach)

**** GARDENA/TORRANCE/etc ****

Baleen Los Angeles (Redondo Beach)
Chianina Steakhouse (Long Beach)
Doma Kitchen Cafe (Redondo Beach)
El Rocoto Peruvian Restaurant (Gardena)
Gaja (Lomita)
Gonpachi (Torrance)
Hakata Ramen Shinsengumi (Gardena)
Hey 19 (Torrance)
Hironoya (Gardena)
Ichimiann Bamboo Garden (Torrance)
Lazy Dog Cafe (Torrance)
Michael's Pizzeria (Long Beach)
Mochi Cream (Torrance)
Patisserie Chantilly (Lomita)
Playa Amor (Long Beach)
Quality Seafood (Redondo Beach)
Siem Reap (Long Beach)
Simmzy's Belmont Shore (Long Beach)
Spoon House (Gardena)
Sushi Nozomi (Torrance)
Torihei (Torrance)

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