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| The Strand House in Manhattan Beach...Captain's Daughter cocktail |
All hail Michael Zizlis! Between consulting chef Neal Fraser (known for BLD, RIX, and Grace, also winner of Iron Chef in 2005), executive chef Travis Lorton (known for
Gjelina in Venice Beach), and pastry chef Seth Caro (from "Top Chef: Just Desserts")...Mr. Zizlis has formed one heck of a team at The Strand House in Manhattan Beach. This new establishment is an obvious labor of love.
This past Sunday my husband and I walked in just 15 minutes after the doors opened for dinner. Since they are on a walk-in only basis until after Labor Day we figured it might be the only way to avoid the swarm of people that can only be expected from such an anticipated event. Within an hour we realized our assumption had been correct...as we looked around and the entire room was filled with excited patrons.
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| Best seat in the house! |
We started off with an absolutely mind-blowing "Hamachi Crudo"--Garcia Farms avocado, tomato seed vinaigrette, red alaea salt, chives
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| Hamachi Crudo....MUST ORDER |
The flavors in this hamachi plate came in multiple waves of deliciousness! The pickled onions aren't in the description on the menu but I can't imagine this dish without them. This whole experience from start to finish is just simplicity at it's finest.
Along with the Hamachi we started with the steamed mussels, which is a dish that my husband loves.
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| Steamed Mussels |
Though I usually prefer clams to mussels I thought these were great. This version was different than most mussel dishes I've had and the broth was zesty and fresh.
Next up was the best heirloom tomato salad I've EVER had...with burrata that tasted like a stick of warm butter. Unbelievable.
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| Heirloom Tomato Salad--greens, balsamic onions, Burrata, avocado...MUST ORDER |
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| This dish mixed with the ocean view...heaven |
My husband's main dish was the Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin. One word for this...WOW. The Cider Sage Sauce is too good for words. The best pork dish I had ever tasted before this one was a pork chop at Mario Batali's Babbo in NY City. The Strand House pork loin dish is on the same level...could never choose between the two.
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| Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin--rustic mashed potatoes, escarole, cider sage sauce...MUST ORDER |
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My main dish was the House-Made Chicken Sausage Pizza. Holy cow this was a treat. Our waitress had suggested it and since I knew that pizzas were a big thing at Gjelina (Travis Lorton's past restaurant) I went for it.
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| House-Made Chicken Sausage Pizza--asparagus, Midnight Moon goat cheese, fennel...MUST ORDER |
Just so you know, I don't usually have as many "MUST ORDER" captions...the food is just that good.
We decided to go all out that night...so in addition to the 5 dishes that we had we also targeted 2 sides. The Roasted Brussel Sprouts and the Potato Gratin. Deeeeelish!
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| Roasted Brussel Sprouts--brown butter, maple, caraway seed...guess what? MUST ORDER |
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| Potato Gratin--caramelized onions, bacon, gruyére...and again...MUST ORDER |
The cocktails are designed by the pastry chef Seth Caro. Very inventive list...can't wait to try more. The two that we had were the Captain's Daughter and the Tom Hudson.
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| Captain's Daughter--Snow Leopard vodka, Persian cucumber, thai basil, lime juice |
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| Super refreshing Captain's Daughter...before the masses arrived |
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The Tom Hudson--Tanqueray gin, fresh young coconut water, lime juice,
aromatic bitters...cheers to our front row seats staring out at the MB pier! |
As if I haven't been enthusiastic enough about this new haunt...there's more praise coming. Our waitress Alexis (who was extremely knowledgeable and basically ordered our entire meal for us) recommended one last thing. She referred to this as the pastry chef's "baby". I had been studying the dessert menu earlier and had my fingers crossed that this suggestion would be the intriguing "Butterscotch Donuts" item. Indeed it was.
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| Butterscotch Doughnuts with a hot, liquid butterscotch center, served with powdered bacon and toasted peach jelly...MUST MUST MUST ORDER!!! |
This takes the top spot as THE BEST DESSERT EVER...for me at least. If I could insert a picture of the heavens opening up and shining upon this dish I would...I did the best job I could (above).
I have been dreaming of this plate of heaven every night since.
For an obvious summary...run don't walk. The Strand House has only been open for less than 2 weeks and they are already hitting it out of the park.
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| Our walk home...gorgeous! |
