To make up for the fact that I had pizza with my family on Valentine’s Day, my wife and I recently dined at Manhattan Beach Post (or MB Post) in Manhattan Beach. MB Post has now been open for two years. I first became aware of the restaurant when it was reviewed by LA Times food critic, S. Irene Virbila. Thinking about the types of restaurants she usually reviews, I originally cataloged it as a place to celebrate a special occasion.
Probably the best known dish they have is their bacon cheddar buttermilk biscuits with maple butter. Served warm they are incredibly delicious. However, having tried them in a previous visit, we decided to pass.
Glancing at the menu, I decided that an interesting white wine was in order. Chardonnay was immediately ruled out. I scanned the sauvignon blancs and the Isabel sauvignon blanc caught my eye; mostly because it was from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. It ended up being very crisp and had a lot of fruit. It was definitely not like a California sauvignon blanc.
We opened with pomegranate couscous and diver scallops. The couscous was quite a surprise both in presentation and in taste. The couscous was topped with lavender feta cheese, marcona almonds, grapefruit slices and fresh mint. Marcona almonds are slightly sweet and are becoming a favorite with chefs. In fact, you can find them at Trader Joes. The diver scallops were seared and cooked to perfection. They were topped with slivered shiitake mushrooms.
I then selected the blue lake beans and my wife ordered the skirt steak with red chimichurri sauce. I felt that the ‘blistering beans’ with Thai basil and chili sauce paired really well with the sauvignon blanc. My wife loved the skirt steak as it had an Argentinean twist to it but it was ‘sandwiched’ between fresh grilled broccolini. MB Post made their chimichurri unique by adding paprika giving it a dark red hue.
My wife sacrificed dessert by ordering something else because she knew I wanted to try one of their new dishes – confit pork belly, grilled asparagus, chicharrón, fried egg with béarnaise sauce. I knew she was apprehensive about trying the dish, but she was surprised that all of the flavors worked very well together. I wish they had provided more béarnaise sauce; otherwise the dish was excellent.
MB Post markets itself as a ‘Social House’ and it succeeds as the restaurant was completely full by the time we left. While I had cataloged the restaurant as a place for a special occasion, many seemed to be grazing on charcuterie, sipping wine and enjoying good conversation. We were both impressed at the kitchen staff’s ability to execute on dishes with diverse ingredients. If you don’t know about MB Post already, I strongly recommend that you give it a try.
- MB Post
- 1142 Manhattan Beach Ave. Manhattan Beach CA 90266; (310) 545-5405
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ManhattanBeachPost
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChefDLeFevre
One Response