Fishing with Dynamite: Superb Seafood, Sublime Key Lime Pie

With a chef/co-owner who spent six years at Water Grill (which launched such superstars as Chef Michael Cimarusti), and a prime perch by the ocean in beautiful Manhattan Beach, you can rightly expect seafood to be nothing short of super fresh, and incredibly delicious at Fishing with Dynamite.

It's easy to love the cozy, 33-seat space with its beach appropriate laid back vibe, one that still manages to feel like a neighborhood gem - where locals may expect to see familiar faces when answering the siren call of shellfish of all sorts - but is helmed by one of the city's culinary stars.

I love sitting at the raw bar and hoarding giant trays of sea creatures: Chef David LeFevre always surprises and delights not only with the quality of seafood but in their presentation as well. 

Peruvian scallops ($2.50 each) on the half shell, enhanced with grapefruit and cilantro, dazzle not only for their taste, as if fresh-plucked from the ocean, but or the lovely visual fanfare as well. 

The rest of my heart was easily won by the live Santa Barbara sea urchin as well - which Fishing with Dynamite had often sold out of, so I am glad for it every time I'm able to get it.  

The times that I had them, they were not the most flavorful I'd had (I love that clean yet distinct and one of a kind ocean funk in uni!!) - but they were definitely among the biggest and plumpest.  And at $14 each sea urchin (containing 5 pieces) - not bad of a deal at all!  [Poppa's Fresh Seafood's uni is big, plump AND tasty, for $10 each, but they're not cleaned as well as FWD and if ambience is important to you as well, and/or you live in LA and don't want to drive all the way down to SD - FWD is a great option for not that much higher price.]

Dishes that are limited time or off menu will always get my attention as well - and on one of my visits last summer, FWD had a giant roasted scallop ($27.00) served in a giant pearlized half shell, gonad and all.  It was gorgeously presented, but in this case, just like lobster, bigger isn't always better.  Bigger means tougher muscles, so it's more chewy.  And it comes at a price: more than an average entree.  The Peruvian scallops, much more affordable, and to me much more delectable, remained my favorite.

Then there were the Santa Barbara Spot Prawns ($25 for 2): full bodied, split down the middle, beautiful smokey char marking the outside, gorgeous perfect roe adorning the sweetest, tender, juiciness to be discovered inside - this was one of the best preparations of SB spot prawns I could remember.  

On other visits we've had specials like the Maryland Softshell Crab with Chilled Corn Soup, Weiser Melons, Serrano Aioli and Thai Basil ($16), like a deconstructed crab cake with a hint of asian flavor, and Lobstah Dumpling Pie ($25) which was the best lobster pot pie I'd ever had - and this said after being stuffed to the gills with a 1.25lb lobster feast elsewhere earlier in the evening.

Fantastic as the seafood at FWD is - the one unexpected dish that I will never leave without getting TWO of (one for dine-in, one to go), is their Key Lime Pie.  At many restaurants which serve a spectacular meal - often the desserts are sadly neglected.  You hear top chefs say all the time, (especially on shows like Top Chef, actually) - that they don't care about dessert and are at a loss when it comes to that last part of the meal (and you often see great chefs on cooking shows stumble when it comes to dessert, as they've not paid much attention to it, it's not something they would normally need to take care of - it's left to their pastry chef).                 

Which makes FWD all the more extraordinary for putting out such an incredible dessert - hands down the best key lime pie I've ever had.  A sight to behold, with a small ocean of scorched meringue rising in peaks, a fiery but airy cover for the light only in consistency key lime filling (that announces its flavor identity with brazen zest) and a super crumbly, flavor-packed graham cracker crust.  Apparently, to make the lime flavor even more pronounced, Chef LeFevre also added finely chopped kaffir lime leaf to the meringue.

The pie is simply perfect - and I don't go to Manhattan Beach often, but when I do, even in passing - I will always go back for the Key Lime.  Oh and the seafood, too.

On a 7 point scale:
Flavor - 6 bites
Presentation - 6 bites
Originality - 6 bites
Ambience - 6 stars
Service - 6.5 stars
Overall experience - 6.5 bites
Price - $ (1 bite mark)
Probability of return visit - 100% 
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Fishing with Dynamite
1148 Manhattan Ave Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Ph: 310.893.6299

Website: eatfwd.com

Look for reservations (and rewards points!) at OpenTable.
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Manhattan Beach Post: Brunching by the Beach

The lure of Chef David LeFevre's by now infamous Bacon Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits at MB Post

was near irresistible - but the 'long' drive from the SFV (when I had to do a Valley to West LA commute 5 days a week already) curbed my foodie cravings...until a few weeks ago, when my brunch lovin' friend Curses reminded me just how long this has been on our To Do list.

So we made the trek down - and the 'tagline of "a social house" is very appropriate - the sunlit dining room was upscale yet very laid back, with a 'neighborhood gem' vibe - though of course the place is by now very well known - and there was a long communal table for those open to making new friends.

For us of course the Bacon Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits ($5, 2 biscuitsper order) were our first order of business!  They definitely lived up to the hype - buttery, flaky mounds of cheesy, salty, bacon-y deliciousness taken over the top in a good way by the lightest maple butter.

MB Post also has a great craft cocktail selection, even for brunch. I got the Old George ($12) salty dog with chopin, grapefruit, basil and raspberry pepper jam as I was intrigued by the addition of the tart/sweet/spicy jam.  A bright, cheery looking drink despite the name - I loved the refreshing interplay of flavors that definitely was not a run-of-the-mill brunch drink.

I can never turn down poached eggs and/or polenta any time of day, and MB Post delivers a lovely version with a sort of surprise twist: Poached Egg, Tomato & White Bean Ragout, Creamy Polenta, Bianco Sardo ($13) It goes without saying that the liquid sun of runny yolk and rich, smooth polenta were made for each other - but the tomato added a nice bright burst of acidity and splash of bold color to the dish, while the white bean and other veggies in the ragout provided textural interest.  The sheep's milk cheese also lent a nice richness to the dish.

For a side, Nueske's Bacon with rosemary, brown sugar and chili ($8) came in an adorable mini Staub pan.  It's commonplace to see sweetened bacon, but we loved the addition of chili for a bit of heat that made the interplay of flavors much more interesting (and addictive)

Curses was the one who spotted the Truffle Honey Laced Fried Chicken, kholrabi slaw ($15) and knew they had me at truffle.  We thought the honey was fantastic, but the chicken was disappointing - we expected it to be juicier, more tender and flavorful meat inside with crisper batter outside, but it was just passable in texture and flavor.  (Plan Check's fried chicken is still my fav...)
 

The Pineapple Lemon Skillet Cake with vanilla maple syrup ($11) was essentially a thick pancake in a skillet - with a lovely spread of fruit on top that made it very photogenic.  We loved the first few bites when it was steaming hot - and it may have been that we just ordered way too much food, and had filled up by the time we got to this one - but we thought it was just a little too thick and too much batter with too subtle flavor, and the dish overall did not have enough texture contrast, to hold our interest to the end.

All in all though, a great brunch and the biscuits alone were worth the trek.  But the bonus came after brunch: since MB Post is literally 2 very short blocks from the perfectly manicured, tourist-free gorgeousness that is Manhattan Beach - we had a great time walking off our brunch along the sunny path, and admiring the architecture of multi-million dollar homes along the stretch. (Although parking can be a pain in the area, and MB Post does not offer valet, once you do find a spot though in the lots 1 street above or below the restaurant, you can stay for 2 hours up to 5 hours depending on the lot, so that's convenient for those who want to stay and make an enjoyable afternoon of it on the beach or shopping at the boutique stores along the main stretch of Manhattan Blvd.)

Just wish that we had brought down bikes - as there are no rental spots along or near the path (which I think makes a difference in a good way versus Santa Monica or Venice - in keeping the vibe very local / community versus commercialized and touristy).

Will look to come back next time I'm craving beach time, which I'm sure I will this Spring/Summer!

On a 7 point scale:
Flavor - 5.5 bites  
Presentation - 6 bites
Originality - 5.5 bites
Ambience -  6 stars
Service - 6 stars
Overall experience - 6 bites
Price - $$ (2 bite marks)
Probability of return visit - 90% 

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Manhattan Beach Post
1142 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach,CA 90266
Ph: 310.545.5405
Website: eatmbpost.com

Parking: public lots available on Ocean or Highland (no valet parking :( )

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