Category: California

Well here I am again, writing about Rock N’ Fish for a third time. This is one of the best places I have been to in Manhattan Beach. Even with a third visit I enjoyed some new dishes plus my favorites.

I started with my favorite appetizer – the coconut crusted Mahi sliders. The crunchy Mahi is covered with a mango slaw, avocado, and sweet chili aioli. The Mahi itself was flakey and fell apart as I took a bite. It did not have an overly coconut flavor. The sweetness came from the slaw. The sliders were just as good as the first time I had them. They are very consistent.

This visit I decided to try the fried calamari. It was pretty classic, fried nice and crispy. The calamari was fresh and tender. The breading was a little bland; it did need a little salt. The homemade cocktail sauce had an extra kick of horseradish. It added the needed flavor boost to the calamari.

For my main meal I splurged a little and ordered the twin Maine petite lobster tails. The dish was reasonably priced especially compared to other fish dishes. The lobster was soft, sweet, and tender. It melted in my mouth instantaneously. It was even better once I drizzled some of the melted butter on the meat.

My lobster tails were accompanied by two sides of my choosing. I got the grilled asparagus that had a nice salty taste. I also enjoyed the Brussels sprouts. They were chopped very thin. It was more like a slaw. I felt the Brussels sprouts were slightly more bitter this way.

The table saved room for dessert. I made sure to order my favorite dessert, the sticky toffee pudding. It is a wonderful cake soaked in a butterscotch sauce. Then the outside edges become crunchy. It is sweet but that is toned down when you eat it with the ice cream that come with it.

The second dessert we ordered was the chocolate lava cake. This moist cake had a gooey chocolate ganache center. The cake was extremely rich. It also came with some vanilla ice cream, which helped soften the richness of the cake. This ice cream and cake combo reminded me of an Oreo cookie. If you love chocolate then get this dessert.

So I will continue to recommend visiting Rock N’ Fish if you are in the Manhattan Beach area. They are consistently delicious.

Plus their view is amazing.

Visit their website at http://www.rocknfishrestaurants.com/htm/MB/home.shtml

Enjoy!

T

I have written about so many restaurants in Manhattan Beach. It is one of my favorite areas to hang out. I found another little place called Little Sister. After checking out their menu and seeing it was full of Asian fusion dishes, I knew I wanted to stop by.

I had made it in time to enjoy happy house, which they called “Spice Hour”. I glanced at the drink specials. I went for the “Tom Hardy”. They called it citrus and fizzy – white wine, passion fruit, and cocchi blanco. To me this tasted like a sangria, just not as sweet. I could definitely taste the passion fruit.

The best about being there for happy hour is they had all the small plates I could try without having too much food.

I started with the char sui pork steamed bun. It came with homemade pickles that were a little spicy. They were a nice garnish. The pork was thinly sliced and stacked on a soft bun. It reminded me of a pork BBQ sandwich; extremely sweet and tender.

Next up were the salt and pepper prawns. They came on skewers with an herb and cashew curry sauce. They were crispy. The curry sauce is what made these prawns stand out. Without the sauce they would have been a standard fried shrimp.

Then came out the lemongrass chicken banh-mi. This mini sandwich had crispy chicken with crushed cashews, mint, basil, and scallions. The sandwich was a little messy to eat. The flavor was amazing. The tangy toppings added so much zest to the chicken.

An interesting dish came  up next, the Balinese fried meatballs. It came with a cilantro-mint chutney. The meatball was covered in breadcrumbs and fried. The meatball was extremely flavorful, full of spices. The dipping sauce added sweetness. It was a unique way to have meatball.

The last little plate ordered was the Imperial rolls. These were a cross between an egg roll and a spring roll. The filling was a combination of shrimp, crab, pork, taro root, and glass noodles. The pork added the most flavor to the filling. On the side came roasted peanuts and a chili lime sauce. I did not use any peanuts but did dip a few bites of the roll in the dipping sauce. It had a tangy taste.

Since the dishes I enjoyed were small bites I was able to save room for dessert. They do petite desserts which allows you to select three choices.

My first choice was the honey lavender crème brulee. There is definitely a food trend that incorporates lavender into food. This crème brulee was lighter than a traditional one. It was also extremely creamy. I could taste the subtleness of the lavender. It gave the whole dessert a sweet taste.

The second dessert was the lemongrass coconut pannacotta. It tasted like a coconut pudding. I could clearly taste the coconut but not the lemongrass. It had small crushed pineapples on top. Having that made this dessert very tropical.

Lastly was the homemade Ding Dong. When I cut into it I was not expecting it to be red velvet cake. That was a pleasant surprise because I love red velvet. The cake was very moist. The chocolate on the outside was rich and smooth. Chocolate and red velvet are a wonderful pairing.

I had a wonder visit to Little Sister. This was a great find and would recommend this place to everyone. Make sure you get there in time for “Spice Hour”. Visit their website at www.littlesistermb.com

Enjoy!

T

When I visit the Los Angeles area one of my favorite places to go is Manhattan Beach. There are so many restaurants to choose from. Many of them have a great view of the pier and the Pacific Ocean. The Strand House is one of those restaurants.

Unfortunately the day I visited the weather was not the greatest. It was really foggy over the water.

I started off with a Moscow mule as I looked over the menu. They served it in a copper cup so it stayed nice and cold.

There was one appetizer that they are known for called Hamachi Crudo.

It was thinly sliced yellow fin tuna with avocado and drizzled with a tomato seed vinaigrette and red alaea sea salt.  The tuna was extremely fresh and melted as I took a bite. The avocado added a creaminess.

The table shared the squid ink campanelle pasta. I never had squid ink pasta before. It is a little shocking when you see this jet black pasta but it only color. The taste of the pasta was like any other regular pasta.

This pasta dish came with chopped up Maine lobster and English peas ( just like regular peas just very large in size) and garnished with herbs and a lemon sauce. The lobster was tender and the lemon sauce made the dish light and refreshing.

A meal would not be complete without some sort of bread. We ordered the buttermilk Parker House rolls. These were mini size rolls that came in a cute wooden box. This was definitely a first for me. These rolls were a cross between a traditional bread roll and a biscuit. It was a little crispy on top and had a sweet taste.

For dinner I ordered the Hokkaido scallops, which are Japanese scallops. They came with sunchokes, salsify (similar to parsnip), beet beurne blanc, and pink pepper. The scallops were very large; they were extremely tender, sweet, and slightly creamy in texture. The sunchokes (which have a similar texture to artichokes) did not add much to the flavor of the dish but they did add some crunch.

The side dishes were meant to be shared among the table. The first one we ordered was the wood fired Brussels sprouts. They came with a black garlic aioli drizzled on top. I love Brussels sprouts, especially when they are charred on the outside. The aioli really did not add a lot of extra flavor to them. I tasted more of the smokiness from the fire oven they were cooked in.

The second side we ordered was the mac and cheese. You can never go wrong with this classic comfort food. It was served in a cast iron pot which kept it nice and warm. The mac and cheese was good but it was not creamy. They used more gourmet cheeses that do not melt the same way as creamier cheeses.

I enjoyed my dinner at The Strand House. It is a very popular place so if you are interested in going, make sure you have reservations. Check them out at http://www.thestrandhousemb.com/

Enjoy!

T

 Well I promised myself if I was ever able to visit Manhattan Beach, California again I would head back to Rock N’ Fish.

I was glad I got there in time to see the sunset. It was so beautiful to see the sun fade into the Pacific Ocean. This visit I was able to sit on their outside patio. It was the perfect weather for it too, not too hot and not to cold.

Instead of ordering an appetizer and a main dish I went for an appetizer and a salad. Their portions are pretty large so I knew I would be satisfied with just this.

I started with the jumbo coconut prawns. The prawns were covered with panko breadcrumbs and shredded coconut. The coconut had a subtle flavor that was not overpowering with sweetness. The prawns came with a pineapple dipping sauce that complemented the coconut. Also included on the plate was a side of slaw. It had an Asian flare to it with a sesame dressing. This slaw would have been great just by itself.

I was excited to try the shrimp and avocado Louie salad. It was a wonderful chopped salad tossed in a Louie dressing. On top were slices of fresh, creamy avocado, tomatoes, olives, and a hard-boiled egg. The shrimp decorated the side of the plate. They did not have any dressing on them so I asked for some cocktail sauce on the side and ate the shrimp with that. The Louie dressing was sweet and was great with the salty flavor from the olives. The salad was huge so it was the perfect meal.

I cannot recommend Rock N’ Fish enough. I was so glad that I got to visit them for a second time. For great flavors and fresh ingredients check them out at www.rocknfishmb.com

Enjoy!

T