Folks, Brenner is back, and what fun she has with this week's review of Gladstone's of Malibu. The PCH restaurant drops the bait---great views, lots of seafood, waves---she bites, but her teeth are sharp. Jumping right in, she can't figure out why people are carrying out so many leftovers: Is it the cute foil packets? Are the portions too large? Is the food that good people want to savor more for later? In fact, she says, it's the exact opposite of the latter. She calls the food at SoCal's highest grossing restaurant "abominable."
Beware the Gladstone's clambake, which the servers push hard. Intended for two, it includes steamed clams, a 1 1/2 -pound lobster, a pound of Alaskan king crab legs, steamed shrimp, corn on the cob and boiled red potatoes. The corn is desiccated. The lobster is fine, but the crab leg, with the same shape and texture as a dog chew toy, seems to suffer from freezer burn. The shrimp are as toxic-tasting as those on the tower. It's terrible to gaze out to the ocean and imagine the volume of precious seafood being pulled out and ruined every day by this restaurant. Suddenly those doggy bags seem almost sinister.
This was really such an easy target, but Brenner found nothing redeeming about Gladstone's "Pacific Highway Robbery"---the price gouging was as offensive as the food---and gives it a big fat "poor," no star, proving our point once again. More notable, nothing the LAT or anyone says will stop the unsuspecting masses: They'll just keep going. [LAT]
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While drinking champagne and watching hot surfers change clothes on the street are two things that made our evening on the Malibu Pier just that much more enjoyable yesterday, we were really there to see the unveiling of The Beachcomber Cafe, which debuts this Thursday, July 3 (confirmed), just in time to be overrun by the three-day-weekend holiday masses. A few months ago it was just bare beams and blueprints, and now we have lots of wood, simple booths, an open kitchen, small bar, classic Malibu photos, mounted fish and fishing gear. Open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch (here's the menu) just off the sand, the cozy space will probably be packed from dawn to dusk. Hopefully they'll stay on the good side of this list.
The Beachcomber Cafe Surf, sand, sandwiches
23000 PCH, Malibu, 310.456.9800
Daily 7am-10pm (starting July 3)
Yesterday was the perfect day to sip Champagne on the Malibu Pier, eat a mini short rib burger or two, and watch the summer sun go down. That's what we and hundreds did to celebrate the new businesses (Malibu Pier Club, already open, and the Beachcomber Cafe, which opens this week) and those to come. We spied some renderings of the Ruby's Shake Shack on its new home at one end, and got a bird's eye view of the festivities from a couple of connected patios above---great views, good spot for parties, which they were pushing with a faux celebratory table set up in a private room. A little tiki-lovin' music, a swing band, plenty of food, lots of Malibu wines, and watching hot surfers come in off the waves (and a few change by our car) made the night rather enjoyable.
MALIBU: Where is the non-sober Mel Gibson when you need him: Barrel Malibu, the hoppin' little wine bar in the Malibu Colony shopping plaza, now has karaoke on Wednesday nights starting at 9:30pm. There's more than 100 wines by the glass, with many on the Eonmatic system for pour-your-own sipping. [LAT]
CULVER CITY: We love the CC because parking is so easy with all the garages, and two hours free to boot. But surely this is good news to some: "We live in Brentwood but drive to Culver City because we love the restaurants. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw a red umbrella that said valet in front of Fraiche. They finally got valet, and our luck... it started tonight. It took only 3 minutes to get our car and we only paid $5.50." Our tipster found out the same valet covers Rush Street (when it opens) and Akasha, too. [EaterWire Inbox]
This week, S. Irene Virbila checks out the venerable Taverna Tony in Malibu because, well, why not. There's hardly anything to be critical of because everyone's there for the simple rustic food that comes in waves and covers the tables while waiters ignite blocks of cheese and yell "Opa!" for the crowd. Therefore, it's all pretty straightforward and generous:
It's a summer night in Malibu and except for the presence of a valet station around the corner, we could easily fool ourselves into thinking we're somewhere lively in the eastern Mediterranean. No ocean in sight, but the air is beachy-damp and tans and summer dresses are in evidence. Just once this summer, get away to Taverna Tony for an evening of eating and drinking that, except for the American-sized portions, replicates a taverna in Greece.
Now that the Malibu Pier Club is serving cocktails to the sunny beach-going masses, sister Beachcomber Restaurant, which takes the old Alice's Restaurant space at the PCH-side of the pier, will debut at the end of the month. On June 29 there's an official pier reopening party---the pier closed after storm damage in 1995---with food, Malibu wineries, vodka ice bars, live music(tickets and info here), and the Beachcomber will probably debut a day or two later. And hey, Gidge, Ruby's Shake Shack will open at the foot of the pier later this summer, and eventually shops, boat tours and a surfing museum will open. Shake shack!
· Plywood Update: Malibu Pier's Pending Restaurants [~ELA~]
· Eater Inside: Malibu Pier Club [~ELA~]
We were so enamored by the fabulous views and glistening waves at the Malibu Pier Club, we didn't even notice this food truck in back---which is actually out front, on the PCH---and it's been there for weeks. Now before you get all worked up that taco truck vendors are fighting for survival while the Richie Rich's out in Malibu can do whatever they want, this isn't just any mobile kitchen parked in one spot for more than 60 minutes, it's the kitchen for the small MPC menu. Official word from the owners:
Due to the construction of the Beachcomber, the Malibu Pier Club is currently cooking in a Mobile Catering Vehicle that has been approved for use in Los Angeles county. Once the Beachcomber opens of July 1, the food for both the Malibu Pier Club and Beachcomber will be cooked in the Beachcomber's kitchen.
It's difficult to call this an "inside" since most of the Malibu Pier Club is outside. Just as the name states, this little number is at the foot of the Malibu Pier, just off the street, with perfect views of Surfrider Beach to the right, millionaires' homes to the left, nothing but horizon and waves directly out front. MPC comes to us from the same people who owns Beachcomber Cafe at Crystal Cove in Newport Beach and the Ruby's Diner chain. The place only seats 75 or so, mostly tables on the patio with a few stools in the narrow 40s-inspired bar. Original photos, tile murals, nice wookwork inside. Beachy snacks like caesar salad "fondue," grilled chicken sandwich with prosciutto, truffle chips, martinis, wines, beer on the menu. Soon there will be a "tiki room" for private parties, and in July, the Beachcomber Restaurant next door and Ruby's Shake Shack will open at the end of the pier. Note: parking in the adjacent lot is valet only, and costs $10 up front, but you'll be reimbursed $5 for two hours at any of the pier restaurants. Of course, you can always fight the surfers for a spot on the PCH. Early Plywood sightings here and here.
Ok, so the weather won't be perfect (cool, rainy), but the new Malibu Pier Club opens tomorrow at 11:30am. By the weekend, though, oh yes, it will be Malibu Pier weather. When we inspected, there was still some work to do, but not much. The restaurant and bar will have cocktails and foodstuffs like ahi tacos, kobe burger, truffle chips, "brick-pressed mojo sandwich," and "caesar salad fondue." Plus the views, the sand, the waves. Come July, the Beachcomber, will open in the former Alice's Restaurant next door, but you can get anything you want until then. (23000 Pacific Coast Hwy, 310.456.9800)
· Plywood Update: Malibu Pier's Pending Restaurants, Bar [~ELA~]
· Malibu Pier Club and Beachcomber: More Details [~ELA~]
We took a spin around the buildings under construction on the Malibu Pier but just now have full details. It's just in time for this fanfreakingtastic weather we're having. Some basic facts released: The Malibu Pier Club bar will open on April 1, have a full-service bar with cocktails like Gidget's Gimlet, and menu items like ahi tacos, kobe burger, truffle chips, "brick-pressed mojo sandwich," and "caesar salad fondue." The Beachcomber, which will take over the adjacent Alice's Restaurant, should open in July with a more extensive menu. The exec chef is Chris Juers was most recently chef de cuisine at the Monarch Bay Club at the St. Regis Monarch Beach resort. GM Scully Cloete was recently general manager of Geoffrey's just down the PCH. Fun fact: the pier will also eventually have a surf museum. Go, Gidge!
· Plywood Update: Malibu Pier's Pending Restaurant, Bar [~ELA~]
Earlier this year we learned that the company behind the Ruby's Diner chain and the Beachcomber Café at Crystal Cove in Newport Beach will be opening new restaurants and a bar on the Malibu Pier, and we just happened by last weekend and took a look around. The Malibu Pier Club Bar will take one building on the beach-side of the pier, and the Beachcomber Restaurant will open in the former Alice's Restaurant alongside it. (Interesting fact: We found an article saying Bradley Ogden was partnered to open something in Alice's Restaurant a few years ago, but it never happened.) A shake shack is supposed to open in one of the buildings at the end of the pier overlooking the water, probably in the fall. It looks like there's still a lot of work to be done, but we didn't see inside the bar building, which will open first. It's close, though, because they're hiring staff as we speak.
· Plywood Report: Beachcomber on Malibu Pier [~ELA~]
Just another day at the EaterWire. Have something to share? Lay it on us.
MALIBU: The Sunset Restaurant, which sits at the entrance to Point Dume state beach near Zuma, never needed a great chef or menu: It had the sunset and a full bar. But now the owners want to take things to "another level." There's a new managing director (Raymond Byrne, came from Il Fornaio in SM) and a new chef: Jake Rojas who was last at Inn of the Seventh Ray, and before that Mix and Joel Robuchon in Vegas. [EaterWire]
HOLLYWOOD: We'll throw this one to anyone who knows: "I'm not saying I really want more Pinkberry news but I don't have anywhere else to turn. The location near hollywood and vine that has been covered with signage for at least the last 6 months - is it ever opening? I can't find any information on it and a sign on the front just says "coming soon" and there has been little to no activity around it that i've seen - is this a sign of pinkberry slowing their store openings?" We wonder the same thing every time we drive by. [EaterWire]
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This week, S. Irene Virbila checks out the venerable Taverna Tony in Malibu because, well, why not. There's hardly anything to be critical of because everyone's there for the simple rustic food that comes in waves and covers the tables while waiters ignite blocks of cheese and yell "Opa!" for the crowd. Therefore, it's all pretty straightforward and generous:
