Restaurants

Mamacita's guacamole

A stranger named Jimmy is my new best friend.

Back in June, when I wrote about Cancun Mexican Grill in Hollywood, Florida, Jimmy suggested I also try Mamacita’s Mexican Bar & Grill on the Broadwalk. I agreed to stop in the next time I was in town.

I’m not a gal who takes such written commitments lightly, so finding this place was on my first night’s agenda. And since I had my husband along on this trip, he enthusiastically endorsed the idea after he heard the words “Mexican food” — even if I did have to talk him through how to drive a mile straight down Ocean Drive, turn right on Johnson Street and find a parking space with a meter. Duh.

I was excited to see the location: all tables at Mamacita’s have a wonderful view of the Atlantic Ocean, and we were ahead of the crowd so we could take our pick. Chips, salsa and the sea are really all it takes to make my soul content. My husband, however, contained his excitement until they handed him a menu, and then his eyes bugged out of his head.

Read More »

Ah, Malibu! It’s one of the most upscale, yet completely mellow and casual beach towns in Southern California. One restaurant that perfectly encapsulates the dual nature of Malibu is Geoffrey’s, right off Pacific Coast Highway. A meal here is accompanied by some of the best views a restaurant can have.

Pull into the driveway and parking lot of Geoffrey’s Malibu, and you know you’re getting a special meal. A valet will quickly take care of you, parking your car carefully amid a sea of shining BMWs, Mercedes, Audis and even a Bentley or two. These mega-deluxe autos belie what awaits inside: Jeans, t-shirts, and California casual attire along with a relaxed, happy atmosphere. Geoffrey’s reflects Malibu in other ways, as well. Subtle mirrors panel the rear wall, bringing the ocean views from the front to everyone (reflects Malibu, get it? Well, I like it anyway). There isn’t a “bad table” in the restaurant. Read More »

Much of the time, choosing a restaurant is a simple mathematical formula for me: I had Mexican Saturday, a hamburger on Sunday, and so it’s time for Italian on Monday. My destination this evening is Johnson Street and Hollywood’s Broadwalk — add the two and you find yourself checking out the menu posted at Florio’s of Little Italy. (Apparently it’s the former Angelo’s Corner now under new ownership, but tourists rarely catch on to nuances like this.)

Delicious gnocchi on the beach

To be honest, I never actually read that menu. My eyes hadn’t adjusted to my glasses yet when Cassidy, a red-headed waiter looking as un-Italian as you can, aggressively invited me to have a seat and he’d provide top-notch service. Well, the rule about formula dinners is not to waste too much energy on the decision, so I sat down in the plastic chair at an outdoor table where I could see the ocean and the families passing by on the Broadwalk.

True to his word, Cassidy acted more like I was dining in a candlelit corner and paying prices twice as high. (Shhh, don’t tell my husband, but you could also call the banter between us flirting. <grin>) I knew I would have left overs but I ordered the bowl of pasta fagioli along with a serving of gnocchi because I was on a business trip and you tend to get more careless about dollars under these circumstances. Besides, I had plenty to entertain between watching kids play in Charnow Park and ride their rented bicycles up and down the sidewalk. And always, there’s that ocean in motion to add ambiance.

The Broadwalk view

So I truly wasn’t expecting great food, just something edible. Which is probably how that first spoonful of pasta fagioli blew my socks off. I thought nothing could top Olive Garden when it comes to my favorite soup, but Florio’s sure schooled me in what a stupid assumption that was. And the gnocchi — homemade, covered in cream sauce and spiced with pine nuts and basil. It was the far more flavorful (and fancy) than I was expecting from a shorts and tank top kind of place.

If this is what simple math gets you, I really should have knuckled down to conquer algebra.

Florio’s of Little Italy

200 Garfield St.

Hollywood, FL

954-925-0004

Photography: Julie Sturgeon

View from Sutro

In San Francisco we are fortunate to have many fine dining choices that include spectacular views of the bay and our landmark bridges. Last month I gave a  suggestion for ocean and park view dining near the end of the Golden Gate Park.

Recently I returned to the Cliff House for a mini-celebration lunch and to take part in Dine About Town. Though the weather was very stormy, we had a wonderful window seat at Sutro’s, the upscale restaurant in the lower portion of the Cliff House. Sutro’s is a restaurant run by Chefs George Morrone, Brian O’Connor and their team.

If you are lucky enough to go out to the occasional business lunch or dinner, you will certainly recognize the name of Chef Morrone, due to his earlier fame at Aqua, a wonderful restaurant in the Financial District.

Famous Ahi Tuna Tartare

Chef Morrone created his signature Ahi Tuna Tartare at Aqua – and lucky for me – he serves this appetizer at Sutro’s.  It was as spicy and delicious as I remember! He uses pine nuts, asian pears, habanero infused sesame oil, mint and a quail egg with the Ahi. Fabulous.

The Cliff House has a few dining options within its historic walls and Sutro’s is definitely one of the nicest for a special occasion. They have the amazing team in the kitchen, attentive wait staff, a killer view and lots of parking out front. Those are perfect ingredients for a wonderful lunch and that is what we had.

Steak Frites

Unfortunately I discovered belatedly that Sutro’s does not participate in Dine About Town on Fridays and Saturdays. We did not get to try their special menu but we still had a great meal, including one of the most mouth watering steak frites.

The truffled fries, the red wine onion compote along with the bordelaise sent my husband over the moon and back. I had a wonderful fresh and locally caught rock cod fish that was served with cucumber & fennel salad.

We watched while others ate the other highly recommend seared day boat scallops – I would definitely get those next time.

Old Sutro Baths

This special occasion restaurant is a wonderful choice for first time visitors to San Francisco. The Cliff House and its history is pure San Francisco and not to missed. If you are early for your reservations, take time to enjoy the stunning views of both the brave surfers and walk down the stairs to the Camera Obscura below.

After all of the tasty food and dessert, if you need a little help with your digestion, the green (and newly restored) trails close by are a great way to see the old Sutro Baths footprint and the more unusual views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Sutro’s
1090 Point Lobos,
San Francisco, CA 94121
415-386-3330

Lunch weekdays from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm
Dinner weekdays from 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Saturday & Sunday 11:30 am to 9:30 pm

Photo courtesy of boasteak.com

There are three BOA Steakhouses; one in Las Vegas, one in West Hollywood, and the third in Santa Monica. This last BOA has, beyond a doubt, the most fun and lovely setting of the collection. It is kitty-corner on Santa Monica Blvd and Ocean Avenue – the last street in Santa Monica before you’re in the ocean.  Outdoor dining here provides some great sunsets and people-watching. It’s one of my two favorite steakhouses in Santa Monica – the other, Houston’s, being just a few minutes’ walk away.

BOA is a wonderful steakhouse restaurant, due in no small part to the perfect setting mentioned above. Any tourist wanting a fun yet classy dining experience in Santa Monica will be happy here – the Santa Monica beach is iconic to Southern California, the cute young people roller-blading by or carrying on loud cell phone conversations are amusing, and the outdoor dining helps add to a quintessential Los Angeles vacation.

For an appetizer, I recommend trying the goat cheese baklava. The black truffles and pistachios create an interesting combination of textures, and the cheve is creamy and fresh. Of course, this IS a steakhouse, with the seafood appetizers you’d expect: Try the oysters on the half shell if you want to go the normal steakhouse dinner route.

Photo courtesy of boasteak.com

Main course specialties include a great porterhouse, and a succulent filet mignon. Someone in my dining party ordered the Japanese wagyu – this is commonly known as kobe beef – and said that while it was good, it wasn’t the best kobe he’d had. We ordered sides of fries and macaroni and cheese for the table (as befits a steakhouse dinner), and they were fine accompaniments. Really, though, the fun at BOA is, as with many top-notch steakhouses, the combination of steak choices and rubs and sauces. Of these, I can’t recommend highly enough the foie gras butter; it helped raise my petite filet mignon to an amazing, absolutely superior level. The creamy horseradish and the bearnaise are also standouts.

Chances are, you’ll be too full to really enjoy a heavy dessert after dinner at BOA. But cotton candy is served…one little bite, that can’t hurt, right? Fine dining, people watching, and enjoying the sun set over the Pacific is a great way to spend an evening in Santa Monica.

Photo courtesy of boasteak.com

BOA Steakhouse
101 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA
(310) 899-0066