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La Rive Gauche
By C.S. Higdon
Nestled in the elite and intimate setting of Malaga Cove in Palos Verdes Estates, California is a rare and wonderful culinary find for the discerning wine and music aficionado: La Rive Gauche. At first, you have to wonder why a restauranteur would willingly choose a location so far from a main road, with almost no visible signage, tucked away behind a local city hall, in one of Southern California's more remote communities. However, you wonder only as long as it takes you to taste the food, drink the wine, and listen to the music! If he had put this restaurant in and easy to find location, then he'd have people lined up around the corner for days and he'd never go home to rest.
La Rive Gauche has been treating the locals and a few lucky outsiders for twenty nine years. I say "lucky outsiders" because in Southern California if you're not a couple of miles from a freeway it can feel like you're in another state! Since the Palos Verdes Peninsula is very far from a freeway to most locals it might as well be in another country. I suggest that you bring your passport, because La Rive Gauche has been serving its clientele for a generation despite its imagined inaccessibility. A truly unique experience awaits you.
The inaccessibility, however, is only imagined. Malaga Cove is all of 5 minutes from Redondo Beach at the southern end of the Santa Monica Bay, a 50 mile stretch of beaches, piers, and marinas to the west of Los Angeles. Malaga Cove offers its visitors a stunning view of the entire Bay both day and night. Other spots of interest in Palos Verdes include Point Vicente Lighthouse on the southwestern tip; Long Point, the location of the original Marineland; Portuguese Bend, a continually moving land mass; Catalina Island; Wayfarers Chapel; and finally the new Donald Trump Golf Course & Country Club. Along the way you get treated to breathtaking ocean, coastal, and cliff views.
So it only seems appropriate that one of the finest restaurants in Southern California is tucked away in this idyllic setting. La Rive Gauche offers the discerning wine and music enthusiast an extremely deep 48 eight page wine list with representatives from around the world. While most are reasonably priced, some of those bottles sell for as much as $10,000! And the restaurant got it right by providing live piano entertainment each evening, featuring well played standards to accompany the consumption of excellent victuals and superb wine. In fact, the walls are covered with years of Wine Spectator awards and celebrity photographs, giving you a clue as to this restaurant's longevity.
Although the specialty of the house is Coquille St. Jacques, I was in the mood for meat and opted for a truly excellent Filet Mignon covered in French Blue Cheese sauce. Before that arrived, I enjoyed escargot that was fit for a king. To finish, I reluctantly agreed to and later thoroughly consumed a classic French dessert: Crème Brulee. I experienced all of this in a quaint, romantic atmosphere, enhanced by candlelight and fresh flowers on each table. Despite all of this excellence, you pay reasonable prices and are treated elegantly by the wait staff. One item of note: With the exception of a single house brand, all wines are served by the bottle. La Rive Gauche is a wine a music lover's dream, particularly since you get to experience both in a very relaxed and quiet atmosphere. It's located at 320 Tejon Place, Palos Verdes Estates (if you have navigation, you'll need it), is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner from 11 AM to 10 PM except Monday, when it's open only for dinner, and Sunday when it's open only for brunch. Call 310-378-0267 for reservations and information.
A Feast for Your Senses at Sensi
Sometimes you just get lucky. In a place so well known for its outright assault on the senses it is still possible to find a rare gem of a restaurant that just gets it right. Tucked down a hallway, around a corner or two, up another hallway and almost in the back of the world-famous Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas is a real treat for the wine and music lover. The restaurant is called Sensi and it offers a unique and balanced blend of four complementary cuisines: Italian, Asian, Simply-Grilled, and Seafood Classics. While the food is excellent, and I will get to that in a moment, the physical design of the restaurant is first thing to capture your attention.
Right from the entrance you are greeted with rough hewn rock and marble blended with light colored woods. Obelisks and slabs trimmed in beautiful veneers are complemented by a number of uniquely designed stone fountains and waterfalls that offer a subtle murmuring background to the music. The central feature of Sensi is the kitchen itself; it is see-through on all four sides and sits squarely in the center of the restaurant. The chefs provide a small show throughout your meal, courtesy of all of that glass.
Your ears get the next treat. Futuristic Euro-funk with a slight hip-hop beat is the mix of choice at Sensi. Think Moby with an edge. One hypnotic song rolls smoothly to another in a delicious mixture of world-music to earthy funk. This internationally flavored combination plays well with the very deep, bold, and worldly wine list, featuring selections from the greatest wine regions in the United States, Europe, South America, Australia, and South Africa.
Finally, your taste buds get to partake of Sensi's sensuality. This particular evening I chose a 2002 Silverado Merlot to go with my "Tandoori Surf and Turf." This was a grilled seabass, shrimp, and steak dish, lightly seasoned with the traditional Indian tandoori spice blend, complemented with a special sauce for each meat that came with perfectly baked onion nan bread. It was simply superb. I highly recommend it. The wine was full bodied, rich in blackberry, cassis, and hints of plum, with a smooth, even finish that stood up to the Indian spice of my dinner without overpowering it. I also have to note that the service was beyond excellent.
Martin Heierling is the executive chef of Sensi and he is done a marvelous job with simple, yet flavorful creations from a blend of cuisines. If you are looking for an excellent dining experience to complement your wine and music needs and one that feels like it is not quite in Las Vegas (even though you are), then Sensi is your opportunity.
Sensi offers appetizers from $12 to $18 and entrees from $22 to $42. Dress is business casual and the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Reservations are recommended and can be made at 877-234-6358.
In The Flow at Wilshire
By C.S. Higdon
There is a new kid in town. Well, a restaurant, really. Wilshire Restaurant recently opened in Santa Monica, California between Chelsea and 25th Streets on, you guessed it, Wilshire Boulevard. It occupies the space long known as the home of the Black Forest Inn, but has undergone a radical transformation in its latest incarnation.
Entering Wilshire is akin to entering a living volcano. No, you do not need a Nomex fire-proof suit to order a glass of wine, but you do find yourself treated to a flowing art space. The bar comes replete with seventy-two real candles stacked along one wall opposite the bar, dark natural woods and leather, and flat screen videos of lava flows! The walls are sculpted in smooth waves of plaster and paint, adding to the liquid feel.
As I stepped up to order some wine, I noticed that the music was well chosen to match the ambience. Wilshire had chosen an upbeat instrumental jazz mix with what can only be described as a hip-hop influence. The choices were mush more sophisticated than the typical "smooth-jazz" mix served up in most establishments today. At the bar, I tasted a 2004 Chateau Soucherie Anjou table wine that was light and crisp, with a granny-apple finish, but was too simple for mood. Instead, I chose 2004 New Zealand Seresin Sauvignon Blanc which had better fruit forward, was more crisp on the palate, and offered hints of apricot and melon.
When it was time for dinner, we found the dining areas (there are three) maintained the liquid feel that started in the main bar. Two indoor rooms are located behind the bar to the left and right. What I consider the main dining area is actually outdoors which leads farther back to an outdoor bar area and a couple of private rooms. Flying triangular canopies stretch overhead and offer some shelter to diners and the very friendly wait staff.
We sat next to a gravel gas-fireplace that tantalized us with seeming words and the flames washed over the stones to the slight breeze. The music continued in the hip, modern jazz vein we encountered in the bar, but some soulful vocals were mixed in. We discovered that one of the restaurant employees was responsible for the tasteful mix, spending an hour or so a day downloading and mixing the tunes for the night's presentation.
The menu at Wilshire is as farm fresh organic as they can make it, giving preference to local farms when possible. The main course prices range from $26 to $32. The wine list is an extensive 11 pages, ranging from the inexpensive to over $250/bottle. I chose the tuna carpaccio and the roast duck for my meal. I chose a glass of the 2002 Haavens Merlot as much for the duck as for the mellow music. The Haavens was full bodied, dark in color with hints of black currant and cherry, and had a smooth, round finish. I also sampled a field of greens salad and some blue snapper. ALL of the food was excellent in both preparation and presentation.
I capped off my meal with a Niepoort 10 year Tawny Port ($11) and a dessert called "Halloween Goodies." The port had a golden toasty flavor with strong overtones of hazelnut and vanilla. The music continued in its soulful, jazzy groove leaving us completely in the flow.