South Bay Ramble

My best friend Julie has been visiting from the frigid East Coast the last few days.

I love it when my far-flung family and friends come to town and I particularly enjoy sharing with them my favorite South Bay attractions. It’s also a great opportunity to discover new ones during our travels.

While our weather isn’t anywhere near as awful as it is in other parts of the country, it didn’t cooperate enough for us to take a Strand cruise – every time we geared up, it looked like it was about to pour! – but that didn’t stop us from having a rockin’ good time!

Thursday night we attended the monthly Riviera Village Mixer at Zazou. It was a crush and all anyone could talk about was the upcoming election and Measure B. Passions are running high on this one and whatever the outcome, we’ll all be glad it’s over come Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of Kim D. West Photography

After the mixer, we Ubered to the Grand Opening : STOP BEING BORING! of the new Choura Events space in Torrance. Ryan Choura and his team sure know how to throw a party and everybody was there. The event was held in the warehouse and featured several of the new event planning and staging options available to their clients. The evening featured VOX DJs, non-stop dancing, fantastic appetizers, Mojito bar, food truck and fire dancers. This party was anything but boring!

The Mojito Bar

On Friday we did some shopping at the Hermosa Beach Farmers’ Market on Valley (Farm fresh eggs! Cara Cara oranges! Horseradish hummus!) and ate a couple of juicy, Rovey turkey burgers. Delish! Afterward, we strolled up and down Pier Avenue, but it was so chilly we had to pop in several shops. You know, just to warm up….

We stopped in the new Steak & Whiskey located on Pier Avenue right next door to Sushi Rok. They weren’t open for dinner service yet but I just wanted to see the space and grab a menu. It’s an intimate room with exposed brick, a speak-easy vibe and interesting bar arrangement. It’s an adventurous menu and as the name implies, centered on red meat. It all looks really good – I’ll be making a reservation soon.

Photo courtesy of Zagat

Driving south, we came across a fabulous new shop located at 705 PCH in Redondo. Artistic Habitat is a furniture and home goods retailer featuring the most incredible woodwork and spectacular glasswork. A Grand Opening is planned and as soon as I have the info I’ll post it, but don’t wait – go check it out now.

We had planned to have a bite at Bar Comida (the back bar at Chez Melange) and discovered they are no longer offering the tapas menu. I was told the concept wasn’t working well due to the constrained cooking set-up behind the bar. That’s too bad – I really enjoyed the food and the new young chef – but we ordered off the full menu and had a terrific meal.

On our way to a friend’s birthday party Saturday night, we stopped by Destination: Art in Torrance to celebrate February Featured Artist, Richard Stephens. Richard was the steward of Cannery Row Studio for years, took off for a while in search of new adventures and recently landed at this new art enclave. The space features a gallery and individual studios where you can see works in progress. Oh, and they also rent the space for private functions! Be sure to stop by when you have a chance.

We spent several hours in El Segundo on Sunday. First stop – the new, Experience 15: SPARK at El Segundo Museum of Art.

Photo courtesy of ESMoA

SPARK reflects the stages of creativity with inspiration from the Mirrorworld collection of bestselling children’s author Cornelia Funke and Los Angeles magic storytellers Mirada Studios (of Pan’s Labyrinth fame).

I was unfamiliar with the author and her books and had no idea what to expect. One of the Educator Specialists walked us through the installation, explaining the concept. Mirada collaborated with Funke to bring scenes and characters from the stories to life. The final phase of the exhibit was an app they created – tablets and headphones are set up for guests to watch, listen and experience the stories.

Funke writes fables in the Grimm tradition – dark morality tales – and they’re wonderfully creepy. There is a chapter dedicated to witch’s recipes for cooking children and a complete illustration of the various ogres inhabiting the tales.

Photo courtesy of ESMoA

The installation contains a room to replicate Funke’s writing space complete with storyboard, desk, character illustrations and unnerving curio cabinet; an alehouse; a couple of costumes; illustrations; ‘pieces’ of characters; and a spooky mirror ‘box’.

I listened to two of the stories and make no mistake – they are disturbing enough to have you checking under the bed before you go to sleep – but I thoroughly enjoyed them and the app is a fantastic tool on its own or to accompany the book. The installation runs through June 21 so be sure to stop by and check it out. There’s much more detail at this link: http://southbaybyjackie.com/esmoa-experience-15-spark-opens-february-22-2015/.

We then spent an interesting hour picking our way through Studio Antiques located at 337 Richmond Street in El Segundo. This place is just like those stuffed-to-the-rafters barns you see on American Pickers. There is no order that I could detect, which makes it all the more fun, and you mustn’t miss the ‘Ghost Town’ out back.

Photo courtesy of Studio Antiques

On our way south, we were hoping to get a bite at Fishing with Dynamite in Manhattan Beach. My friend Julie is a real foodie and whenever she comes to visit, I enjoying showing off the best South Bay restaurants. I’ve heard and read great things about this eatery and had tried making reservations both Friday and Saturday with no luck. We were heading into Manhattan Beach about 4 o’clock and I thought we might be able to get a table at that hour. We were seated immediately and 20 minutes later, the place was packed. Good timing on our part!

Everything I ordered was melt-in-your-mouth, I’ve died-and-gone-to-heaven, good. The Cape Cod Squash Rolls with rosemary butter are unbelievable; sweet, salty, savory all rolled into petite baked goodness. The Roasted Beets salad with goat cheese and pistachios was so ridiculously fresh and light and the flavorful Mediterranean Sea Bass had a perfectly crunchy skin served atop pumpkin gnocchi. We topped our fabulous meal off with a scrumptious Key Lime Pie. Uh, yum! The menu changes at the Chef’s whim so you’ll never know what surprises are in store!

As I mentioned earlier, the stormy weather hampered some of our plans but it all worked out in the end and we had a ton of fun roaming around the South Bay all weekend!

I dropped Julie off at the airport this morning…..what a snarl. LAX is undergoing a huge renovation that is already affecting the South Bay and local traffic. They have a website with traffic, news and updates here:http://www.laxishappening.com/.