My other fav is Japonica in Redondo.

Chez Melange in Redondo/Riviera Village
HT Grill right down the street in Riviera Village
Aimee's in Redondo
Chef Melba's in HB

My fav is Melba's.

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Chez Melange
1716 Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach, CA 90277

Chef Melba's Bistro on Hermosa Ave in HB. Call for a reservation-it's a small room.

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Chef Melba's Bistro
1501 Hermosa Ave, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254

Went for lunch Thursday at 2PM and joined a line for tables that soon snaked out the door. Seated in about 25 mins. Server was clueless but clearly doing her best in a "deer in the headlights" way. A case of LA Times overwhelm. Ordered a large green salad, Margharita pie and a "yellow fin" tuna panini.
Took ages-35 mins to get salad and panini and another 15 mins for pizza. I thought Marg pizza included fresh basil as a topping? This one did not so I snagged some from the plant that was on the cashier counter (after asking the owner). Made a big difference to our enjoyment of the pie. Agree with some that the crust, while agreeably thin lacked the crisp and chewy quality I prize in pizza. This said, it was still very tasty and at $7 dollars-a bargain. The panini was not as expected-our fault, we should have asked and not assumed it would be a grilled piece of fresh fish, rather than tuna salad-I did not try it but partner thought it was just okay. No gelato while we were there and still not available today when I called. Case still broken and they said they were not serving any. hmmm. However, I did try the choco bigni from the bakery. For ONE DOLLAR, these are a steal and so delicious! Choux Pastry Puffs stuffed with chocolate pastry creme with a schmeer of dark chocolate on the lid. Fantastic! and not just because they are ONLY $1 each. The bread served with our lunch was not bad either. Both white and unbleached wheat. The tiramisu looked very good too and I saw lots of people eating it.

I thought the interior too stark and furnishings bit shabby-the chairs are rickety. The stacks of industrial size tins of tomatoes adds nothing. Are they for sale? I wish they had a larger market section-more products, better displayed would be nice. Maybe that's coming? I like the spaciousness though-hopefully they will improve on the design aspects. It will be good when (I hope not if) the cheese making begins.

Casa Sanchez chips are my fav store bought ones-especially the thick salt-free ones. Costco has a thin chip sold in large brown bags-w/or w/out salt. Cannot remember the name -nice and crispy.

I am wondering if the local Vons/Ralphs/Gelsons-sorry not familiar with what the best grocery stores are in Downey would be the way to go? Prepared sandwiches, cookie platters, salads can be ordered online or via phone and delivered. I think Costco can also do the same thing-although not sure about delivery.

Just a thought: We had a death in the family last year and discovered that most visitors will actually bring food and we had more than we could possibly eat. At least that was our experience.

I too am terribly sorry.

Houston's
The Counter

Try substituting a portion of the sugar called for in the recipe. Use organic raw sugar for the rest? I use agave in a recipe for NY cheesecake and it was the best cheesecake I have ever made...and I get the agave from TJ's.

add some red onion marinated in lime juice and you have Nigella Lawson's famous salad.

Ditto. I had lunch there about 3 weeks ago and he was so dismissive and rude -would not/could not make eye contact with us either. Been there for dinner and never had anything but good attentive service by others.

We take friends to Chef Melba's on Hermosa Ave. in Hermosa. Seafood focus. Union Cattle has a lovely patio with outdoor fires. Only had happy hour there so not sure about the food.

Back in the day my fav Indian was called ANARKALI on Melrose in Hollywood. Could it be the same or the same family? I am excited to try it.
Re: Schezuan or however it is spelled, we think Schewan Kitchen (another bad spelling) next to Red Fort (agree about the salt and the endless wait for service and the loud Indian MTV on the big screen is an unwelcome distraction at least the last time we were there)is okay. There is not much to chose from. There is the place on Sepulveda in MB-forgot the name but has Szechwan in it-my partner loves the Kung Pao Shrimp.

I asked a similar question 2 weeks ago for a early graduation dinner. I think ipsedexit rec'd Malbec . We had a 5PM reservation for 10 including teenagers and a 4 yr old. I reviewed it on the original thread. It was fabulous-we had wonderful service, the atmosphere was relaxed but attentive. Well paced courses. We all had dessert and many had coffee-4 starters and 8 entrees, 2 bottles of wine (excellent Sauvignon Blanc from Argentina) and a bill that was less than 400 dollars! Excellent food-just great. A few weeks before we had a good dinner at Red White & Bluezz-more expensive and less fun. It was good but I'd go back to Malbec in a heart beat and we live in Hermosa.

I was thinking Pavlova-which is similar in ingredients to todao's recipe-not rolled and with the addition of fresh berries/fruit. It's delicious and springy. Travels very well too if you pack the three components-meringue, filling and berries separately and assemble just before serving.

Thank you so much for the input. We ended up at Malbec. Wawaweewa! Six adults and one child ate like 18 adults and 14 children. Plates were shared and licked!

NY Strip was deemed the best cut of meat my sister chef has tasted in a long time. Roasted potatoes were fought over by the English side of the family
Rack of Lamb (perfectly rare) with asparagus risotto was wonderfully fragrant and al dente.
The salmon was perfectly cooked -seared and crispy on the outside; moist and flavorful on the inside.
The appetizer of grilled shrimp and calamari a la plancha in a paprika tomato sauce was scrumptious.
Very generous portion sizes too.
We ordered and devoured 3 appetizers, two soups, 7 main courses, 7 deserts and 2 bottles of a delicious, crisp and suitably chilled Sauvignon Blanc-oh and we all had coffee drinks- $350 plus tip. !!!

The service was wonderful too. Wonderful. Now that our son has graduated, we have a new reason to visit Pasadena -all the way from Hermosa Beach.

Looking for a good Restaurants near Wads and Coalmine that is not a chain can be any type just want to have good food near home and not have to go all the way down town to get it. Thanks for the help

why why is there no trader joes in denver co I have to travel to la just to get my fix

We are a party of eight and need a table at 5PM on Sauturday

The short list is:

Yujean Kang's
Bistro 45
Malbec
Anne and Mike's

Leaning towards Yujean Kang's for the communal eating experience but are not clear about worthiness of the food and the expense (no $ on menu).

Any input greatly appreciated.

TIA

I've ben to Ortega 120 2 or 3 times. The chips and salsa are awful but the three shrimp taco appetizer is very good. That is all I have eaten there. It has an upscale decor and a huge bar. I think it has a bit of a bar scene at night. I don't care for Pancho's either. I've heard good things about Riviera (?) in RB.

A lot of people go the place on Pier Plaza-great location-terrible food IMO.

You can get cream tea in Manchester. Huge Indian/Pakastani restaurant district. Like the Vegas of Indian food.

CJ's Pantry on Catalina in Redondo
Cozy Cafe (very tiny) on PCH in Redondo
Ocean DIner on Aviation and Ocean in Hermosa-people say the coffee is good , it's from Java Man.
Rocky Cola Cafe on PCH at Aviation-the only thing I've had there are the buckwheat pancakes. They were good. They offer healthy body builder menu as well.
Creme de la Crepe-two locations-Catalina (?) in the Riviera and on Pier in Hermosa
Uncle Bills on Highland in Manhattan
Panns on La Cienega (do I have that right) in Ladera Heights.

Re: long waits-Uncle Bills is always packed. Depending on how early you are, the others are not too bad. Ocean Diner has chairs and free coffee while you wait.

Let's see at Melba's I invariably get the shrimp and scallop with pasta in a lemony cream sauce. I think it has some fennel too. Very rich but that is controlled by the smallish portion size. I like the grilled bread they serve as well. The tuna tower is really good. We like the steamed mussels too and the cioppino (I cannot spell today!). There is a spicy shrimp hash (I think that's what she calls it) that I really like when I tear myself away from the pasta. I do not eat meat or fish (except for rare or raw tuna) but it seems they are popular as well. I like to go for an earlyish (7PM or so ) dinner on Friday before it gets too crowded. It's a small room. Try it-I am interested in what you think.

We like Gina Lee's too-especially because they do some dishes vegetarian and have a vegetarian menu. I like the korean style lettuce wraps there. I do find the food a bit too sweet and saucy though. Agree service is great. It's relaxing.

I was so excited about Catalina and the first and second times were good-after the sixth time, It's just over for us. The menu is stagnant. The last few times we went have been busy though. It was awkward in the beginning-I agree. They even had live music last time we were there in December. Maybe it's my palate-I cook mostly everything I eat and use salt sparingly. I find most processed food and restaurant preps to be way over salted to my palate. Now if I can just get the same effect with sugar!
I live walking distance from Brix-have not eaten there-a few happy hours though. A 28 dollar glass of wine did not make me happy though. I heard it's on LA Magazines best new restaurant list though...
Christine -just can't get into it. Everything is over sauced it seems to me at least and it feels sort of 80's continental.
Have you tried Chef Melba's? I really like it. Same old menu as when she started-maybe a few new things but fortunately there are a few dishes I can order over and over again and the quality remains consistent.

I hope you will report back when you go again. I too have wanted to try it since it moved. Checked it out online and was disappointed and bored by the menu (prices and meat heavy selections). What a bummer! We need some better "adult" options around here! I am so over Catalina-175 bucks for two entrees (the same two I can eat-scallops (SALTY!!) and halibut), two glasses of wine and one dessert?!

My french great grandmother's recipe:

I just eyeball quantities-we like it vinegary.

White wine or champagne vinegar in a bowl
To which I add some tarragon or whatever herb I like-sometimes I do thyme or oregano or even rosemary
Finely chopped garlic (or just rub the salad bowl with garlic before adding greens)
Let it sit for 10-30 mins
Add a dollop of dijon and a drop of brandy, salt and pepper.
Whisk it all together and then whisking, drizzle in olive oil-not EVO to taste until emulsified.

When I have lemons and it's summer, I use lemon juice instead of vinegar.

Cool thanks. We are planning on a Mar Vista excursion very soon.

I posted on Monday and Tuesday about my experience at the Inglewood location. We had the same dish and it was not spicy and very very greasy. Yours sounds better . We had rice-it was actually pretty good. There was a long discussion on this board about coctels and other dishes-looks like it all deleted. Not sure why. It was very edifying.

I assume you went to the Mar Vista location. I hear that the chef there is Sergio and he is the one you want to be cooking. I would like to try it again if I could be sure who is cooking.

I live and work in Hermosa and feel your friend's pain. I love it here but....more places to avoid then to frequent.
Here is where get lunch on a rotating schedule

Malibu Fish Grill-PCH and Herrondo-good fish cooked with your choice of seasoning with sides like coleslaw and hummus, fries, salad. I get the shrimp skewer plate. Good for eat in or take out.

Veggie Grill-mentioned above. Steamed Kale and sweet potato fries with lots of fake meaty meals and salads. I like the bbq wings.

The Spot-2nd and Hermosa. Old school vegetarian/vegan. Steamed veggies, chile, tofu,burgers, whole rice, beans, etc. I get one of their Specials-about 8 bucks. They serve this amazing creamy tofu sauce over the steamed veggies. I love it!

Thai Top-Pier Ave. They do some things very well. The spinach/tofu with peanut sauce. Spicy squid salad. Spicy noodles, shrimp wonton soup are some of my favs.

Paisanos-Hermosa at Pier-good for a slice and salad. I also get the eggplant parm (extra sauce) -hold the pasta. My fav pizza around here is Valentinos on Aviation just west of Manhattan Beach Blvd.

Crepe de la Crepe on Pier-good for a little French lunch.

Is Chef Melba's open for lunch? Is so that would be lovely for a nice treat.

For oysters on the marina-try Blue Water Grill in Redondo-on Harbor.

There is deli on Hermosa-near 10th I think. Very expensive and as a mostly non meat eater can only say I went once and never again. Most expensive lousy salad ever. I have heard others say the sandwiches and soups are good though.

There are more places if he has already tried these....

Sounds like what we had at the Inglewood location.

The oyster cocktails at the Inglewood location are made with ketchup too, so not sure how the "cheap" seafood application fits in that case. Is ketchup a cheap or blue collar ingredient? They use fresh oysters and shuck them per order-at least that what I saw done today. In addition, I thought the quality of the shrimp and octopus was outstanding-even if "cheap". I expect the oysters to be of similar quality. Maybe next time we go, I'll ask for no ketchup and add hot sauce to the broth and lime juice. One more thing I forgot to mention-they also asked if we wanted the cocktail hot or cold. Interesting.