Help! Moving to Redondo Beach!

[echoparkdirt]

Can you help a displaced Chowhound cruelly displaced from his perfect-for-gluttony Eastside home?

What is notable in and around Redondo?

[ltseligman]

I make the treck down that way to go to Musha on a regular basis. I think it is technically in Torrance but it's really close to Redondo.

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Musha
1725 W Carson St, Torrance, CA 90501

[mstinawu]

I've all but stopped going to Musha since Torihei opened in the same plaza. I realize they're two really different places, but usually I'm feeling "beer and small dishes" when I went to either and that can apply to either place. =)

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Musha
424 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401

Torihei
1757 W. Carson Street, Torrance, CA 90501

[wasabica]

First and foremost, you'll want to check out Chez Melange and Bouzy, their gastropub. THey are both in the same location on Catalina one block from the water. They have an extreme focus on quality ingredients and service. Best place in town for sustainable fish, farmers market veggies, as well as burgers and truffle fries.

Besides Chez, my love is for the asian places. I like Nozomi sushi in torrance, Izakaya Binchu on the pier, pacific seafood on the pier for Dungeness Crabs, Inaba for tempura and sushi in torrance, Yuzu for high-end japanese in Torrance. I disagree with an earlier poster on Gina Lees. I strongly dislike the place after going with big groups on two different occasions and trying most of the menu. THe catfish is good, but it is hard to not like a deep fried fish. THe rest of the menu is very americanized with an emphasis on sweet sauces. Nice service though.

[westsidegal]

the best ice cream in the LA basin can be obtained from delicieuse
check their hours before you go.

http://www.chow.com/places/18313

[mrhooks]

Their hours are really bad - like 3 days/week, lunch/afternoons only or something. I think you can get their ice cream from places like Bristol Farms?

Glacier Ice Cream on Sepulveda in Manhattan Beach is really good as well. That's where I usually wind up going. The Key Lime Pie ice cream is amazing. I'm not a fan of their gelato, however.

[westsidegal]

i don't think it tastes quite as phenomenal when it comes from the freezer case at whole foods as it does when i get it at the mother ship on artesia in redondo beach.
you are absolutely correct, though, their hours are really really bad.

[vickie2172]

Glacier Ice Cream is gone. RIP

[Nicole]

All these responses are 100% on target. I think the best thing about Southbay food is the numerous excellent options for Japanese in Torrance and Gardena (as others said, do a search). In Redondo beach proper, my favorite restaurant is probably Gina Lee's Bistro, which is Asian-fusion, fish-focused. But you are close to Torrance where there are lots more options.

[mstinawu]

Except there's a complete lack of any (edible) Chinese food. I've been living here for almost 5 years now and I've maybe found one or two decent Chinese places--otherwise I just head to the (San Gabriel) Valley for my Chinese food fix.

[DrBruin]

Please share with us the one or two decent Chinese places you've found. I have yet to find one that I'd order again from.

[huaqiao]

Sue's Kitchen in Torrance is probably the best Chinese food in the area. Good niu rou mian and a decent cold appetizer bar. Very liberal use of Sichuan peppercorns which makes it much more authentic in my mind than most of the other South Bay Chinese places.

Bit of a hole in the wall and the menu's pretty small, but worth checking out.

[DrBruin]

Is that off of Crenshaw in a tiny strip mall?

[huaqiao]

Yeah, Crenshaw just north of Lomita.

[mstinawu]

That's actually one of the places I was going to name, though honestly the niu rou mian and a few cold dishes are the only things I'd order from the menu.

[mstinawu]

I wanted to throw in that I've since "expanded" on their list of acceptable dishes and also regularly order the niu rou xian bin (probably butchering the spelling), but it's basically the sesame flatbred thing with cilantro, sauce and thinly sliced beef in it. It's pretty tasty I must admit. My co-worker also likes the dan dan mian though I'm not a huge fan of that "ma la" (like a numbing spice) style of spicy sauce.

[Joe Blowe]

My wife's parents live in Monterey Park so, needless to say, I get my fair share of top-notch Chinese food.

But, when we don't feel like making the drive, we go to either 1) Sue's Kitchen in Torrance, 2) Shanghai Palace in Torrance [surprisingly solid XLB], or 3) Tasty Kitchen in Gardena. We used to go to Seafood Port and Seafood Town in Torrance, but quality has severely slipped at both location (IMHO). We haven't been back to Regal Palace in Lomita since it became PV Palace a few months ago.

Addresses for those locations available at: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/rating/

[bulavinaka]

Here's one to get you started:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/569742

I'm awaiting Servorg to post at least a few more threads on the South Bay - he is the Reference King. In the mean time, search, "south bay", "torrance", "redondo beach" , "gardena", and maybe attach suffixes like, "lunch", "japanese", etc. You should get quite a few hits.

You should have no problem embracing what's around you - it's just different from the Eastside, except the air is invisible. I couldn't live down in the South Bay - seriously would expand my waistline by a few belt knotches - seriously.

[DrBruin]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/360745 - South Bay Eats - The longest and most comprehensive of these threads
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/77444 - Torrance/Gardena
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/635243 - Redondo Beach/PVE
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/626658 - Torrance Japanese
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/629489 - Late night Torrance Dining
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/572601 - Torrance/South Bay
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/637212 - Torrance Ethnic Food places - Aren't you the OP, Mr. Echoparkdirt?

Hope that helps.

[Joe Blowe]

There are so many (too many!) existing threads on the South Bay that it's ridiculous not to search!

Bottom line: You are not moving to some culinary wasteland. We've got just as much to offer as any other neighborhood in L.A. Be sure to search Chowhound using: Gardena, Torrance, Lawndale, Hawthorne, South Bay, etc...

[bulavinaka]

Right off the top of my head is Izakaya Bincho on the International Boardwalk at the Redondo Beach Pier. You can also hit Naja's and Quality Seafood as well, but they're secondary in my eyes.

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Quality Seafood
130 International Boardwalk, Redondo Beach, CA

Naja's Place
154 International, Boardwalk Redondo Beach, CA

Izakaya Bincho
112 N International Boardwalk, Redondo Beach, CA 90277

[echoparkdirt]

That's interesting. Do all these places have those incredible ocean views?

[bulavinaka]

Sorry - not much of an ocean view - mostly of surrounding shops around the pier or parts of the marina. But there are eateries on the pier that full view of the ocean. Which ones I don't know - I usually stick to IB. I used to frequent Naja's but that was BC (Before Children).