September 12, 2011
Time to Relax
By Julie Brown
Eating Out in Manhattan Beach, California.
In August, refreshing Pacific Ocean
breezes witnessed the next generation restaurant located at 117 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, Manhattan
Beach, California.
Formerly this location was owned and operated by Mitch McFanti Corporation
famous now for La Paz,
later Sunsets and finally, my personal favorite, Beaches.
The new beachfront dining spot, The Strand House, is made
possible by the combined efforts of
Michael Zisliss and the Zislis Group. The four level-space boasts
stunning ocean views and seats 275 guests. Consulting chef Neal Fraser (Grace),
executive chef Travis Lorton (formerly of Blackbird in Chicago and Gjelina in
Venice) , and pastry chef Seth Caro (a contestant on Top Chef: Just Desserts) are regular patrons of the local farmers’
markets and are serving simple seasonally driven food. Many dishes are cooked
in the kitchen’s wood fired spit and pizza ovens. Appetizers range in price
from $9-$18 and include items such as slow cooked duck eggs with sautéed
greens, forest mushrooms and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano; hand torn pasta rags
with lamb sausage, roasted fennel, tomatoes, white wine and pine nuts. Main
dishes range from $18-$40 and include such items as, crispy air-dried duck with
baby root vegetables and apricot gastrique, grilled wild king salmon with
roasted shitake mushrooms, ginger vinaigrette and sesame seeds. Leave room for
dessert and you can enjoy such delights as cube-shaped butterscotch donuts with
powdered bacon and burnt peach jelly, blackberry caviar and cheesecake.
I have not visited the restaurant yet. But I was please to
see that Food Arts, September 2011 covered the opening of the new venue in
there column, Birth Announcements. For those of you who dine in the south bay,
you probably have eaten at Rock N Fish and have heard about The Shade Hotel. We
have the Zislis Group to thank for both of these fabulous places in Manhattan Beach. Check out the Strand House and email me your
reviews at mesplanners@gmail.com.
