After only being open for 9 months, Dominque’s continues to be one of the most popular restaurants in the South Bay. Bryan recently had an opportunity to sample items from their summer menu.
The first offering was a smoked trout rillettes with green beans and shallots appetizer. If you’re not familiar with rillettes it’s similar to pate. Trout rillettes is a staple in the Southwest region of France. I happen to be one of the few that I know that dislike trout. However tasting trout rillettes, it did not have the same trout taste that I dislike. In fact, this dish is probably worth learning how to prepare because it would make a great appetizer for a dinner party.
I’ve never had grilled watermelon before and the taste was a complete surprise to me. The grilling process must somehow remove the sweetness and moisture. Instead of eating fruit, it was very “meaty” in texture. In fact, it was natural to slice it with a knife much like you would a steak. Included was California goat cheese, dried cranberries, arugula, honey, lemon and olive oil topped with baby calamari. All of the flavors and textures worked extremely well together.
Think Nicoise salad with a large seared ahi steak. Everyone was blown away when this dish was served. It was a huge ahi steak with mixed greens served with fresh tomatoes, boiled egg, and a yukon gold potato layered with two anchovies. The produce was farmers market fresh and unlike some other restaurants, I didn’t notice a stringy texture to the ahi – a pet peeve of mine.
Next up was a sample portion of their roasted butternut squash ravioli with a sage brown butter sauce. This understated dish really had tremendous flavors. The combination of the fresh sage with the brown butter sauce was incredible.
Baked Alaska was a surprise to see on the menu. It was a popular dessert mid to late 1900’s and I haven’t seen it available except on cruise ships. I was slightly dubious about it, but when I saw it, I was not only impressed by the execution, but also by the taste sensation. The crust has a nice snap to it despite having ice cream on top. Fresh meringue topped the ice cream. A strawberry puree covered the bottom.
These summer items will be on the menu at the beginning of July.
Special thanks to Jamie Gall for the great photos. She is a contributing writer for Life in LA and blogs at Minnesota Girl in LA.
- Dominique’s Kitchen
- 522 S Pacific Coast Hwy, Redondo Beach, CA 90277; (424) 247-9054
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dominiquesktchn
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DominiquesKitchenLLC
- Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dominiquesktchn/
* Items mentioned in this article were provided on a complimentary basis for the purpose of this review. This story was accurate when it was published and reflects the uninfluenced opinion of the reviewer.