Tag Archives: manhattan beach

Love & Salt (Manhattan Beach, CA)

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Love & Salt
317 Manhattan Beach Blvd
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Dining date: 1/19/15

exterior

Love & Salt opened in November in what is a renewed and thriving dining scene in Manhattan Beach (M.B. Post, Fishing with Dynamite, Strand House, Little Sister and Akatora are other notable openings in the past few years). Michael Fiorelli, previously of mar’sel in Palos Verdes’ Terranea, is the chef behind the concept – Italian with Californian accents, made with plenty of love and salt.

The space is beautiful with an open kitchen, a mini chef’s counter, and a large communal table at center.

kitchen

bar

The menu has plenty to offer from a bread, cheese, and salumi selection to a handful of savory snacks, small plates, pizzas, pastas and large format proteins. We made our way through each section of the menu, ordering one or two from each (except the large plates).

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M.B. Post (Manhattan Beach, CA) (3)

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Manhattan Beach Post (M.B. Post)
1142 Manhattan Ave
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Dining date: 7/19/14

exterior

I’ve visited chef David Lefevre’s M.B. Post a number of times since it opened three years ago. Along with sister restaurant Fishing with Dynamite, the restaurant has consistently served up a reliably good meal. While I dislike the drive, Manhattan Beach just feels like a completely different place compared to my downtown LA dwelling. My last visit was almost a year ago, so a return was definitely due.

While a few years old now, the restaurant still packs tables nightly. I’ve checked OpenTable for reservations a number of times over the past six months, but never felt enough desire to commit to a reservation far in advance. However, I stumbled upon a 7pm Saturday reservation just one day prior; someone’s cancellation was my gain!

interior

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Charles Phan @ M.B. Post (Manhattan Beach, CA)

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Charles Phan (The Slanted Door)
M.B. Post
1142 Manhattan Ave
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Dining date: 8/12/13

Manhattan Beach Post (M.B. Post) has been a hot spot in the area since opening over two years ago (helping to spawn another restaurant, Fishing with Dynamite, earlier this year). Chef David LeFevre hosts a recurring guest chef series called “Can You Dig It?” that benefits partner charity Common Threads. For this iteration, he teamed up with chef Charles Phan of San Francisco’s The Slanted Door.

mb post exterior

Charles Phan is one of the old school notable Asian chefs in America; he’s best known for his flagship modern Vietnamese restaurant, The Slanted Door, which opened in the mid-1990s. His mini-empire now spans 7 restaurants in the San Francisco area. I don’t think he can be found in The Slanted Door kitchen as much nowadays, so this was an opportune chance to sample some of his cooking straight from the source. Chef LeFevre’s food has a lot of Asian influences and I was curious to see if he could adapt his cuisine to seamlessly fit in with Phan’s.

mb post interior

kitchen window

The menu for this evening was a collaborative effort, with 5 dishes being prepared by Phan and 3 by LeFevre for $75. Phan brought a couple of notable The Slanted Door plates as well as a few new ones. As far as I know, LeFevre’s dishes were making their first appearance here at M.B. Post.

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Timothy Hollingsworth @ The Strand House (Manhattan Beach, CA)

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Timothy Hollingsworth
The Strand House: Culinary Masters Series
117 Manhattan Beach Blvd
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Dining date: 5/20/13

hollingsworth menu

Considering he spent the past 12 years at The French Laundry (the last 3+ years as Chef de Cuisine), represented America in the Bocuse d’Or (placing sixth in 2009, the best American placement to date), and won the James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef in 2010, there are few chefs as young as Timothy Hollingsworth with such a strong resume.

On the heels of Douglas Keane’s (Cyrus) dinner at The Strand House, Hollingsworth was the next guest of the monthly Culinary Masters Series. Having just recently moved to Los Angeles, Hollingsworth will act as a consulting chef on The Strand House and sister properties (The Zislis Group) while figuring out what his own concept will be.

Being a huge fan of The French Laundry, I was excited to be a part of Hollingsworth’s first post-TFL meal. I wasn’t the only one; the dinner sold out in just a few hours – we were lucky to be one of the first ones off the waiting list. The menu was five courses, inclusive of wine pairing by B Wise Vineyard, for $200. A brief look around the dining room clearly indicated that plenty of wine would be served this evening – a solid indicator of a good evening ahead.

wine glass setup

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M.B. Post (Manhattan Beach, CA) (2)

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Can You Dig It?
Manhattan Beach Post (M.B. Post)
1142 Manhattan Ave
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Dining date: 7/16/11

M.B. Post chef David LeFevre turned 40 earlier this month. To celebrate, he organized a dinner at his restaurant this past Monday featuring a rather strong cast of chefs from around LA. Animal, Mozza, Sotto, and Rustic Canyon/Milo&Olive/Huckleberry are some of the more popular restaurants in the city, and they’d all be represented in this meal. Each chef (or chef team) teamed up for a course to bring together this 5-courser. Proceeds went to benefit Common Threads.

can you dig it menu

While our party originally had a reservation to Angelini Osteria’s iteration of the 5×5 Collaborative Dinner (featuring guest chef Michael Tusk of Quince/Cotogna), we opted to make the trip to Manhattan Beach. It was my third trip to the restaurant (I’ve been once for dinner and once for brunch and enjoyed both).

bacon cheddar buttermilk biscuits, maple butter

bacon cheddar buttermilk biscuits, maple butter

It wouldn’t be a celebration without M.B. Post’s ever-popular bacon cheddar biscuits. Given it was the first time at M.B. Post for the rest of our party, I was slightly worried I’d talked them up too much. No worries here. Everyone loved the warm smoky, cheesy biscuits as much as I did. And the maple butter is ridiculous. Can’t go wrong with these guys.

gem lettuce, pickled beets, bread crumbs, green garlic crème fraiche – Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo (Animal, Son of a Gun)

gem lettuce, pickled beets, bread crumbs, green garlic crème fraiche

This dish was a little bit of a departure from some of the heavier dishes the Animal guys seem to be known for. Crisp lettuce and sweet beets were complemented by some crispy breadcrumbs and fennel fronds; I found the clumps of creme fraiche to be too unevenly distributed though.

hamachi grilled over white oak with tomatoes and bitter greens pesto – David LeFevre (M.B. Post)

hamachi grilled over white oak with tomatoes and bitter greens pesto

The hamachi was cooked beautifully; it was a bit of a denser fish yet still pretty juicy. Grapes, tomatoes and bell peppers provided a sweet flavor dynamic to counteract the bitter greens pesto. Waxy green beans topped it all off. This might’ve been my favorite dish of the night.

orecchiette with sausage & swiss chard – Matt Molina (Mozza)

orecchiette with sausage & swiss chard

I had high hopes for this one given that I enjoy Osteria Mozza’s pastas. The housemade orecchiette was quite chewy, smothered in a hearty sausage ragu. The salt and spice were slightly heavy-handed, though I liked the breadcrumbs.

beef short rib alla vaccinara, bitter chocolate agrodolce, semolina gnocco – Steve Samson & Zach Pollack (Sotto)

beef short rib alla vaccinara, bitter chocolate agrodolce, semolina gnocco

This dish was originally to feature veal cheek, then beef cheek and finally a late-game change brought short ribs to the plate. I would’ve loved to have had the cheek, but found this short rib to be very well done. It tore apart easily, and was so tender and flavorful, pairing with the rich sauce (though I didn’t get so much of the sweet-sour flavor combination). The gnocco was a fun addition too, being a sort of crushed, creamy version of gnocchi. A little bit of what I thought was shaved celery was a nice touch too, adding a fresh crispness.

fresh corn cake with sweet rose creamery corn ice cream and strawberry rhubarb compote – Zoe Nathan (Rustic Canyon, Huckleberry, Sweet Rose Creamery, Milo & Olive)

fresh corn cake with sweet rose creamery corn ice cream and strawberry rhubarb compote

I had heard about this dish (or something similar) at Rustic Canyon and was eager to try it here. The cake was moist, light and sweet from the corn. Nice. The strawberry rhubarb compote was really good too, as was the corn ice cream. This may have been the best dish of the night too..

assorted cookies and pastries served with spiked milk

assorted cookies and pastries

spiked milk

A serious bounty of sweets came last, presumably from Huckleberry. If that wasn’t enough, it was paired with a glass of spiced, spiked milk. I was pretty impressed with these sample-size treats which included lemon bars, macaroons, homemade twix, chocolate cupcakes, sugar cookies, and whole wheat chocolate chip cookies.

I thought this meal was good, though it had its up and downs. I always like dinners like these where notable chefs come together for one meal. My favorites were the biscuits, hamachi, short rib and corn cake. I will be back to M.B. Post; I’ve been craving a proper dinner visit.

Brunch @ M.B. Post (Manhattan Beach, CA)

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Manhattan Beach Post (M.B. Post)
1142 Manhattan Ave
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Dining date: 1/7/12

MB post signage

I visited M.B Post in May of last year and walked away both completely stuffed and impressed. Since then, chef/owner David LeFevre has racked up the accolades, being one of LA Times critic S. Irene Virbila’s best meals of 2011 and seemingly on everyone’s “best new restaurants” list for 2011. And, the restaurant’s bacon cheddar buttermilk biscuits have become somewhat of an L.A. phenomenon, a must-order for sure.

I’ve wanted to return but scheduling and lack of proximity have kept me away. However, this past weekend the restaurant launched brunch service – a perfect reason to pay a visit.

MB post interior

The menu is fairly brief with a number of fresh baked breads/sweets, a few meat/potato side dishes and around nine more substantial composed plates. Similar to dinner service, the full wine/beer list is available as well as a selection of cocktails. Being a little under the weather, I passed on any alcohol but Wes did order this Asian-inspired mojito.

Mo-Pho-Jito mojito with starr rum, kaffir lime, mint, ginger, coriander honey

mo-pho-jito

Sticky Buns pecan and brown sugar

sticky bun

While pondering what to order, I saw one of these go to another table. I had to get one. Coming out on a still-hot cast iron skillet, it was quite the sight, especially with the rich sugary glaze dripping and pooling at the bottom. The dough was soft and pillowy, while the pecans added crunch to these sweet bites. Quite delish!

Benedict bacon cheddar biscuit, arugula, la quercia prosciutto, hollandaise

benedict

benedict2

The much-talked-about bacon cheddar biscuits were the base of this benedict. Slivers of proscuitto and arugula topped the biscuit, as well as a soft-poached egg and hollandaise sauce. I liked the combination of flavors, with the arugula standing up to the bacon and prosciutto, and the rich runny egg yolk adding a rich creaminess to the dish.

Nueske’s Bacon rosemary, brown sugar, chili

bacon

The brown sugar lended a maple-y sweetness to the bacon while some fresh rosemary brightened things up a bit. For me, not as memorable as the other plates we tried.

Weiser Farm Fingerling Potatoes lemon buttermilk ranch

fingerlings

Fingerling potatoes were prepared “French fry” style with fresh herbs and garlic. These were fried to a crisp, and I thought the herb flavor definitely came through (aided by herbs and garlic being fried in the oil with the potatoes, as well as a dash after cooking). It came with a zesty citrus dipping sauce.

Truffle Honey Laced Fried Chicken kohlrabi slaw

fried chicken truffle honey glaze

This all-white-meat serving was surprisingly moist and juicy. It was elevated by the honey glaze (reminded me of honey’s kettle) with a subtle truffle essence. The sweetness and the earthy truffle flavor were an ideal accompaniment to the crusty fried chicken. Nicely done.

Fritatta weiser farm potatoes, sprouting broccoli, white cheddar, piperade

frittata

A kitchen favorite; the scrambled egg, potatoes and cheese combined to make a very filling dish that would be great for absorbing all the alcohol from the night prior. Rich and hearty, the peppers and tomatoes of the piperade added a lot of the depth of flavor.

Similar to my previous visit, M.B. Post delivered with its version of elevated comfort food; it was one of the better brunches I’ve had in some time. While the food isn’t as refined as what he was doing at Water Grill, LeFevre’s cooking is now an entirely different beast showing a lot of thought and full of varied flavors; it’s both interesting yet comforting at the same time. This meal confirmed my belief that it’s one of the top restaurant openings in LA last year. Selfishly, I just wish it was closer to where I live/work, but I’m glad the South Bay has something like this. Judging by the crowds, I’m sure they’re glad too.

MB post exterior