MB Post: LeFevre Raises the Bar in Manhattan Beach

Manhattan Beach had been in need of a destination restaurant that reflected the informality of the upscale beach community.  Chef David LeFevre, formerly the Executive Chef of the Water Grill in Downtown Los Angeles had been wanting to open a restaurant in his own neighborhood to fill that void and he has succeeded in both delivering a quality experience and pleasing the masses, as the food was quite good and the restaurant was packed on my visit.

I recently met up with Daniel from ThirstyinLA, Fiona of GourmetPigs and Tony from SinoSoul for a media dinner at MB Post and I had the opportunity to try the full gamut of the menu.  Although known for his fish dishes, LeFevre also excels at meat and vegetable dishes, such as the lamb belly and fried chicken.

Pomegranate Cous Cous

I particularly enjoyed the Salt Roasted Baby Beets served with chevre goat cheese and pistachio and beet green pesto.  The presentation was attractive and the beets still had their stems which made them appear freshly picked.

Salt Roasted Baby Beets

There is an extensive bread selection and the Fleur de Sel Pretzel served with horseradish mustard is the way to go.  The mustard is legitimately spicy and the pretzel was just the right consistency.  Hans Rockenwagner better watch out.

Bacon Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits, Fleur de Sel Pretzel, Grilled Naan Flatbread

Cured Meats and Cheeses

The cheese selection includes some unusual choices, such as the Mycella Blue from Denmark.  Some marcona almonds are just the thing to accompany an order of cheese.  MB Post also offers a selection of honeys.  I had not seen this before and it is worth ordering for the novelty alone.  The honeys are comb, chestnut and truffle.  My favorite was the simplest, the comb, as the truffle could be overly intense.

Honey Selection, Mustard Selection and Fruit Spreads

Marinated Cucumbers

The Marinated Cucumbers with kalamata olives, peppadew peppers and chick peas is an unusual flavor combination with the salty of the olives with the sweet spiciness of the peppers and the neutral canvas of the cucumbers.

My favorite dish, hands down, was the Steamed Tai Snapper with bok choy and sudachi (Japanese citrus).  It was delicate and flavorful and the broth was just wonderful.  This was the dish I wanted to keep all to myself; it is not surprising that LeFevre is a fish expert.

Steamed Tai Snapper

For the lumberjacks in your party, the Fee Fi Fo Fum Fries are just the thing.  They must come from enormous potatoes as they are almost a foot long.  These thick cut fries with salt and herbs also retain much of the potato skin.  You may need a wheelbarrow full of ketchup to properly dunk them.

Fee Fi Fo Fum Fries

Moroccan BBQ Lamb Belly

The Moroccan BBQ Lamb Belly with creamy semolina, and weiser farms tiny carrots was as soft as short ribs.  The meat was unctuous and rich.  This felt like more of a winter dish for a cold night.  The Meyers Farm "Never Ever" Skirt Steak with grilled ramps and chicichurri was tasty and had some chew.  A crisp red wine would be just the thing to drink with it.

Meyers Farm "Never Ever" Skirt Steak

Three Point Tart

For dessert, I found the Three Point Tart to be the most successful as it combined macerated strawberries and rhubarb inside the pastry and was served with a buttermilk panna cotta.  The tart looked very much like an over-sized Hamentaschen, the traditional dessert at the Jewish holiday of Purim, which is made to look like a three point hat.  The fruit tasted fresh and the combination of strawberry and rhubarb was a pleasing way to end the meal.

Chef David LeFevre

LeFevre is excited that the neighborhood has taken to MB Post so strongly.  This is the rare South Bay restaurant that is worth the detour from the Westside.  It doesn't run away or condescend to its neighborhood; rather it provides an experience that feels organic, like it should have always been there, but better.  With its comfortable vibe and accessible quality, MB Post lives up to its moniker, a Social House.

MB Post: 1142 Manhattan Avenue, Manhattan Beach.  Phone: (310) 545-5405.  Website: www.eatmbpost.com

Sashi Puts the Sizzle in Manhattan Beach Japanese Cuisine

Sashi Sushi + Sake Lounge, the Japanese sushi and small plates restaurant in Manhattan Beach from Chef Makato Okuwa, has a reputation for being as much about the scene and the booze as about the food, due to its location, size, crowd and menu.  Call it the Koi of the South Bay, with more approachable prices.  I was pleasantly surprised on a recent visit by the quality of the food.

Several friends and I worked our way through a healthy amount of the menu and enjoyed what we ate.  There were several innovative takes on traditional dishes, beginning with the often ordinary edamame.  At Sashi, the edamame is served two ways: with Indian spices and with sea salt.  The edamame is served in a serving dish with two bowls, which made for an attractive plating. The Indian spices was my favorite of the two as had a little kick.  This little touch signaled to us that Chef Okuwa was looking to put his own stamp on dishes we were familiar with and was comfortable being creative.

The Shishito Peppers (above) were sauteed in a Schezuan sauce topped with dried bonito.  While not up to the level of Josef Centeno's shishito pepper dish at The Lazy Ox Canteen, this was a fun and tasty dish with several textures.

The Yellowtail with Jalapeño (above) was a winner. Thinly sliced yellowtail sashimi was topped with sliced jalapeños and Sudachi soy sauce. The jalapeños were a strong flavor component to this dish (when are they not?) and the sashimi was of high quality, with a silky texture.

The robata dishes we had were the weakest component of the dinner.  The spicy tuna and crispy rice was a pleasant iteration of a dish that I've had many times in different restaurants.

The standout dish of the meal was Spicy Miso Chilean Sea Bass, which was steamed Chilean Sea Bass with Moromiso served on sauteed baby bok choy and shaved ginger (below).  The fish was perfectly cooked and the sauce had some of Chef Okuwa's signature spice.  Ever since Matsuhisa put its miso black cod on the menu at his eponymous restaurant two decades ago, versions of the dish have appeared all over the world.  The chef took the traditional trope of miso marinated fish and made it his own with the spicy broth.  Okuwa does not shy away from heat and this dish was well composed with all the ingredients: fish, broth and bok choy, playing their parts in making a cohesive dish that was superior to the sum of its parts.

One of the last dishes we had was the Hot Rock “Wagyu” made with Snake River Farm wagyu short rib and cooked "Tableside" on a sizzling hot stone (below).  High end bbq indeed.  The meat cooked very quickly on the intensely hot stone and it was fun to have tableside preparation.  This dish was more fun than noteworthy flavorwise.  It was fine, but not memorable tastewise.

All in all I was very pleased with my meal at Sashi and would return when in the South Bay. I had previously judged the restaurant based on its appearance as all about the scene and while that it is still a large component of Sashi, Chef Okuwa is turning out some high quality dishes and it would be a shame to miss out just because  it looks like more of a place to begin an evening of South Bay revelry than a spot to have thoughtful cuisine.

Note that Sashi is having its 1st Annual Hanami (Cherry Blossom) Festival on Sunday March 27th from 4 - 8 pm.  Tickets are $40. Info here.

Sashi Sushi + Sake Lounge: 451 Manhattan Beach Blvd, Manhattan Beach. Phone: (310) 545-0400.  Website: www.sashimb.com