January 21, 2016
Volume 46, Issue 25
10 best new restaurants
Uncharted courses
Big Wave Challenge | Farewell Manhattan | Photo artist
Considering A Major Remodeling Project in 2016?
Architectural Design & Remodeling Seminar
This informative seminar will help you learn:
• Functioning designs to make the best of your living space.
• Choosing a contractor: What to look for and how to hire.
• Exploration of materials, from granite to quartz to more!
Join us on
Saturday
January 30 th
at 10:00 am
January 21, 2016
Volume 46, Issue 25
BEACH PEOPLE
14 Big Wave Challenge
El Niño’s abundance of big waves has presented a challenge for photographers
as well as surfers hoping to win the South Bay Boardriders Big
Wave Challenge.
19 Farewell Manhattan by Carolyn Anderson
Artist Gary McSweeney says goodbye to Manhattan Beach with an exhibit
of family photos mounted on his soon to be razed family home of seven
decades.
22 The big breakout by Richard Foss
Adventurous chefs in adventurous locations characterize the top 10 new
restaurants of 2015.
28 Artists portraits by Bondo Wyszpolski
Photographer John McHugh’s portraits of Los Angeles’s most prominent
artists are on display at the El Segundo Museum of Modern Art.
32 Follow the purple blob by Eddie Solt
Former Peninsula High surfing all star Scotty Bredesen finds himself riding
very big waves.
34 Mustang mentor by Randy Angel
Though only a junior, Mira Costa junior Allie Navarette has accumulated
1,000 points while leading on and off the court.
8 Beach calendar
14 Sandpipers holiday
open house
Orlando’s Pizzeria & Birreria chef
Orlando Mulé, Bettolino Kitchen
chef Fabio Ugoletti and Terranea
executive chef and A Basq Kitchen
chef and owner Bernard Ibarra.
Photo by Pete Henze
BEACH LIFE
35 Service Directory
ON THE COVER
20 Pediatric Therapy Network
at The Depot
25 South Bay Healthcare guide
STAFF
PUBLISHER Kevin Cody, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Richard Budman, EDITORS Mark McDermott, Randy Angel, David Mendez, Caroline Anderson
and Ryan McDonald, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Bondo Wyszpolski, DINING EDITOR Richard Foss, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Ray
Vidal, Brad Jacobson and Gloria Plascencia, CALENDAR Judy Rae, DISPLAY SALES Adrienne Slaughter, Tamar Gillotti, Amy Berg and
Shelley Crawford CLASSIFIEDS Teri Marin, DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA Jared Thompson, GRAPHIC DESIGNER Tim Teebken, DESIGN
CONSULTANT Bob Staake, BobStaake.com, FRONT DESK Judy Rae, INTERNS Sean Carroll
EASY READER (ISSN 0194-6412) is published weekly by EASY READER, 2200 Pacific Cst. Hwy., #101, P.O. Box 427, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254-0427. Yearly domestic
mail subscription $50.00; foreign, $75.00 payable in advance. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EASY READER, P.O. Box 427, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. The
entire contents of the EASY READER newspaper is Copyright 2015 by EASY READER, Inc. www.easyreadernews.com. The Easy Reader/Redondo Beach Hometown News
is a legally adjudicated newspaper and the official newspaper for the city of Hermosa Beach. Easy Reader / Redondo Beach Hometown News is also distributed to homes
and on newsstands in Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Torrance, and Palos Verdes.
CONTACT
n Mailing Address P.O. Box 427, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 Phone (310) 372-4611 Fax (424) 212-6780
n Website www.easyreadernews.com Email news@easyreadernews.com
n Classified Advertising see the Classified Ad Section. Phone 310.372.4611 x102. Email displayads@easyreadernews.com
n Fictitious Name Statements (DBA's) can be filed at the office during regular business hours. Phone 310.372.4611 x101.
4 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
January 21, 2016 • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 5
January 21, 2016 • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 7
S O U T H B AY
CAL ENDAR
23
SATURDAY
JANUARY
Vistamar open
house
Learning with a diverse
community is necessary for
students to thrive in a globalized
society. The Vistamar
High School curriculum has
been adapted from the best
programs in Europe, Asia,
and the US. Learn more at
this open house. Registration
8:30 a.m. Program 9 a.m. to
noon. 737 Hawaii, El Segundo.
RSVP by calling (310)
643-7377 or VistamarSchool.org.
Hazardous waste
roundup
The Hermosa Beach Department
of Public Works offers
residents a convenient,
cost free opportunity to dispose
of household hazardous
waste (HHW). Limited to 15
gallon or 125 pounds per vehicle.
9 am. to 3 p.m. Enter
on Valley Drive, heading
south from Pier Ave. For
more information contact
the Sanitation Districts of LA
County at (800) 238-0172.
24
SUNDAY
JANUARY
Wild Scenic Film
Festival
The Palos Verdes Peninsula
presents the Wild & Scenic
Film Festival On Tour.
The largest festival of its
kind in the U.S. made possible
with a generous grant
from Patagonia. A selected
array of exciting, adventurous
and inspirational films
with beautiful cinematography
featuring remarkable individuals
whose passion is
contagious. 4 p.m. Warner
Grand Theatre, San Pedro.
The two-hour film festival
will include raffle and door
prizes and a short hula hoop
25
MONDAY
JANUARY
Story time at
{pages}
Free children’s story time
most Mondays (including
today) at {pages} bookstore.
904 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan
Beach. 310-318-0900.
Library gym
SuperKids Gym and
Dance will lead a family
gym format geared towards
18 mo - 8 year olds. Learn
how to help your child safely
do basic gymnastics skills
and stunts on soft mats, balance
beams, wedge mats,
spring board, mini-trampoline,
and more. In the Meeting
Room of Redondo Beach
Main library, 303 N. PCH,
Redondo Beach.. 310-318-
0675 option 6.
Mirrorless Future
of Photography
Rob Shelley, Sony sales
representative, will present a
program on mirrorless cameras
vs DSLRs and their advantages
and disadvantages.
He will discuss not only
Sony but all brands of mirrorless
cameras. Free and is
open to anyone who is interested
in photography. All are
welcome. 7 p.m. Torrance
Airport Administration
Building meeting room, 3301
Airport Drive, Torrance. For
more information, please
contact Harry Korn, (805)
340-3197, or visit sbccphoto.org.
26
TUESDAY
JANUARY
Manhattan Market
Over 45 vendors with
everything from the freshest
produce and flowers, hot
food, to prepared/packaged
foods like nut butter, olive
oils and artisanal baked
goods. There is also a kids
area with face painting and
balloon art. 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
13th Street between Morningside
and Valley drives.
Parking available in the Metlox
Plaza, Lot 3 on
12th/Morningside, or the
competition during a brief
intermission. Tickets purchased
in advance are $10 at
pvplc.org. Tickets may be
purchased at the door for
$15. Incredible raffle prizes
of products donated by REI
and a hula hooping contest.
For more information and 13th/Morningside
tickets, call 310 541-7613 or
online at pvplc.org.
8 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
Civic Center Plaza on
Drive.
manhattanbeachfarmersmarket.com.
Financial Planning
for college funding
Topics discussed include:
How to get free money for
higher education; scholarships
and grants; tax advantaged
programs; important
deadlines and the college application
and financial aid
process. Also discussed are
avoiding common mistakes,
things to know about loans
and public and private
money sources. Free and
open to the public. No registration
required. Redondo
Main Library, 2nd floor Conference
Room, 303 N. PCH.
310-318-0675 option 5.
27
Retailers network
breakfast
WEDNESDAY
JANUARY
The Hermosa Beach
Chamber and Visitor’s Bureau
hosts a review of the
2015 holiday retail season
from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Hermosa
Beach Community
Center, room , 710 Pier Ave.,
room 4. Complimentary light
breakfast. RSVP’s requested.
Call (310) 376-0951 or email
info@HBChamber.net.
THURSDAY
28JANUARY
Taizé Service
A meditative, multi-faith
Taizé service of Healing and
Wholeness that includes candlelight,
periods of silence,
chants and intercessory
prayer with a Prayer Team
leader. Taizé is a calming and
beautiful form of sung contemplative
prayer developed
in an ecumenical monastery
in France. 7 p.m. in the
Chapel, followed by a reception
with light refreshments.
St. Francis Episcopal
Church, 2200 Via Rosa, Palos
Verdes Estates. Taizé services
are offered throughout the
year on the fourth Tuesday of
each month. Donations welcome.
(310) 375-4617 or visit
stfrancispalosverdes.org.
Hermosa Cinema
Regional premiere of Racing
Extinction, the eco
thriller by the filmmakers behind
Oscar winning The
Cove. Hosted by the Her-
The 38th annual Redondo Beach Super Bowl 10K/5K Run/Walk and Fitness
Expo takes place February 7. Costumes encouraged! Sponsored by the Redondo
Beach Chamber and Visitors Bureau. For signups and more info Redondo10K.com
Photo by Elyce Angel
mosa Cinema Society (HCS), audiences
will be treated to an unforgettable
experience, seeing
this beautiful movie on the big
screen! 7:30 p.m. followed by a Q
& A session. Hermosa Community
Center, 710 Pier Ave. Tickets
$14.71. hermosacinema.com for
more info.
29
FRIDAY
JANUARY
Annie Get Your Gun
The Aerospace Players present
Irving Berlin’s enduring tribute
to Annie Oakley Friday, Saturday
and Sunday this weekend and
next Thursday, Friday and Saturday
at the James Armstrong Theater,
3330 Civic Center Dr.,
Torrance. Adults $24, seniors and
students $22. For tickets call
(310) 781-7171 or visit TorranceCa.gov/events.
30
SATURDAY
JANUARY
Cerveza Hermosa
release party
King Harbor Brewing Company
presents its take on a dark
Mexican lager. 4 to 8 p.m. at the
brewery, 2907 182nd St., Redondo
Beach.
6
SATURDAY
FEBRUARY
Here's to our health
Avoid the Super Bowl Sunday
10k/5k race day rush by picking
up your packet on Saturday at the
2-day Health & Fitness Expo. Participants
and guests can enjoy
great food, beverages and a variety
of running accessories. 10
a.m. - 4 p.m. Seaside Lagoon,
200 Portofino Way, Redondo
Beach.
7
SUNDAY
FEBRUARY
Redondo Beach
Super Bowl Sunday
10K/5K
Join more than 9,000 race enthusiasts
at Southern California’s
greatest Super Bowl Celebration.
Run, walk, or stroll . Live Music.
Costume Contest, Presented by
King Harbor Association. 6 a.m.
Seaside Lagoon, 200 Portofino
Way, Redondo Beach. To sign up
visit redondo10k.com.
WEDNESDAY
10FEBRUARY
State of Manhattan
Manhattan Beach Mayor Mark
Burton recalls what happened in
2015 and lifts the veil on what to
expect in 2016. Presented by the
Manhattan Beach Chamber. 7
a.m. at the Joslyn Center, 1601 N.
Valley Dr., Manhattan Beach. $35
members, $45 non members. For
reservations call the chamber at
(310) 545-5313. B
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The Torrance Memorial Health System is comprised of the nationally recognized,
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practice association. Founded in 1925 as a 32-bed hospital, it has grown to
a 446-bed medical center providing advanced and highly compassionate medical
care. In addition to its stellar reputation, Torrance Memorial’s excellent care is
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Clear Recovery Center
Are you or a loved one suffering from depression, anxiety or addiction? While
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12 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
January 21, 2016 • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 13
Angelo Luhrson at the
Redondo Breakwater,
January 6, 2016.
Photo by Tim Tindall
(Etsy.com)
Conor Beatty, Burnout,
January 11, 2016.
Photo by Peter McMahon.
(BrooklynDesert.smugmug.com/
Surfing-Burnout-Beach-South)
Noah Collins at
Hammerland,
January 8, 2016.
Photo by Brad Jacobson
(CivicCouch.com)
Hermosa Beach, January 12,2016.
Photo by Bo Bridges (BoBridges.com)
Tyler Hatzikian at Hammerland, January 6, 2016.
Photo by Gus McConnell
Derek Levy at the Redondo Breakwall, January 8, 2016.
Photo by Ken Pagliaro (KenPagliaro.com)
Matt Meistrell at Breakwall, January 12, 2016.
Photo by Brad Jacobson (CivicCouch.com)
Challenge
This year’s Fifth Annual South Bay Big Wave Challenge is as much a
challenge for photographers as it is for surfers. In past years, all the
winning waves were photographed at either the Redondo Beach
Breakwall or the El Segundo Jetty. This year, El Nino has been delivering
Big Wave contenders up and down the beach, forcing photographers to
pick a break and hope they guessed right.
Hermosa Beach’s 16 Street, which rarely gets big waves, was compared
during the recent swell to Puerto Escondido by photographer and South
Bay Boardrider president Mike Balzer. El Segundo’s Grand Avenue, which
does get big waves, but is rarely ridable, also invited comparisons to mainland
Mexico’s big wave magnet during the recent swell.
The Big Wave Challenge continues through April 1. For more information
visit SouthBayBoardriders.com. -Kevin Cody B
Hawaiian Ola Eliogram
at Hermosa Beach,
January 12, 2016.
Photo by Ricky Lesser
(RickyLesser.com)
Dane Zaun at
Hermosa Beach,
January 12, 2016.
Photo by Mike Balzer
January 21, 2016 • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 15
each style
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
by Caroline Anderson
L
ocal designers decked out four South Bay homes for
the holidays for the Sandpipers 23rd annual Holiday
Homes Tour, which took place Dec. 4-6. The houses
included a “Cape Cod style” home on 31st Street in Manhattan
Beach with a “Tropics in the Trees” motif; a “Bali at
the Beach” house on Gould Avenue in Hermosa Beach; a
“Classic Contemporary” home on 19th Street in Manhattan
Beach; and a “Coastal Farmhouse” on South Irena Avenue
in Redondo Beach.
DiMauro residence, 774 31st Street, Manhattan Beach
Florist: Rebecca Perry, Lily Pad Floral Design
Holiday decor and staging:
Maureen McBride, Tabula Rasa Essentials
640 19th Street, Manhattan Beach
Florist: Jon Bell, Deep Roots Garden Center
Holiday home decor and staging: Shanna Shryne Designs
Patterson residence, 632 S. Irena Ave., Redondo Beach
Florist: Jenny Barker, Magical Blooms
Holiday decor and staging: Stacey Carlson, Lavish Gift & Home
Gregoire residence, 648 Gould Ave., Hermosa Beach
Florist: Lee Hoven, Growing Wild
Holiday decor and staging: Lori Ford, Gum Tree
16 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
Helping clients create wealth
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Why work with Brian:
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(310)214-5049 • www.pevelers.com
Appointment Recommended
Showroom Hours: Monday Thru Friday 10-5
Closed Saturday and Sunday
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January 21, 2016 • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 17
Aproper
farewell
After his family’s
Manhattan Beach house sold
in a day, artist Gary Sweeney
felt he had to do something
to honor his family
and the past.
by Caroline Anderson
Gary sitting on the back step of the house
with a photo of his parents behind him.
Photo by Caroline Anderson
The stairs his father built so his mother, who
contracted polio while working as a nurse,
could walk up more easily.
The single shower he shared with his parents and
sister.
The magnolia tree, a gift to his father from the
PTA, grew from a sapling to a two-story tree.
The house at 320 35th Street holds a lot of memories
for Gary Sweeney.
It was where his parents brought him home from
the hospital in 1952 and where he lived until he
went off to college.
But now that his parents are gone, he’s decided to
let go of the almost century-old house, which he says
is in constant need of repair.
He’s sold it to a developer who will tear it down
and build a three-story building with two condos on
the 30- by 90-foot lot.
“I’ve already apologized to all the neighbors,” said
Gary, some of whom he’s known since childhood.
“Trust me, I’m very conflicted about this. It’s very
bittersweet.”
But in the meantime, Sweeney, an artist, has
rented the house from its new owner to pay tribute
to his father and the house with an installation that
will be up through February.
The old Manhattan Beach
These days, if you asked someone in Manhattan
Beach who Mike Sweeney was, they probably
wouldn’t know.
But there was a time when everyone knew the former
mayor and hardware store owner who passed
away in 2000.
“When we explained where we lived to someone,
we’d say, ‘We live next door to Mike,’” recalled his
longtime neighbors Dixie and Jim Dawson. “People
still come by and ask, ‘How’s Mike? He still alive?’”
Mike’s mother drove the family from Oklahoma
to California during the Dust Bowl, Gary said. Mike
worked for 25 years as a detective in the Harbor Division
of the Los Angeles Police Department in San
Pedro. His experience taking photos of crime scene
victims led him to take photos of his family, which
he developed in the dark room he built as an addition
to the house.
“He was not an amateur, but a professional hobbyist,”
said Gary.
After leaving the force, he opened Sweeney’s
Hardware at Highland and Rosecrans avenues. It
was a local gathering place, where people would
come to buy nuts and bolts or to shoot the breeze
with its owner.
Mike sat on the board of many local organizations:
the PTA, the school board and the city council,
among others.
He was involved with the development of the
Chevron tank farm, on which the Manhattan Village
Mall, Marriott hotel, golf course and Manhattan Village
Senior Villas now sit, during his three terms on
the city council in the seventies and eighties.
He spearheaded the development of Sand Dune
Park, according to Gary.
At Christmas, he loved to dress up as Santa, going
around town on his sleigh, the Dawsons said.
“As our kids got older, they said, ‘Santa sounds like
Mike Sweeney,’” said Dixie Dawson.
In 1945, Gary’s mother Anita bought the house on
35th Street for $5,400 while Mike was in Guam with
the Navy.
“’We just didn’t know how we were going to afford
it,’” Gary recalled his mother telling him. His father
made $75 a month as a policeman.
At that time, The Strand was seen as an undesirable
place to live, Gary said his father had told him.
“There used to be a lot of empty lots on The
Strand,” said Gary. “My wife asked my dad, ‘Why
didn’t you buy a house on The Strand? We’d be sitting
pretty right now.’”
His father responded, “’Nobody wanted to live
there.’”
“It was really sandy,” said Gary. “They really didn’t
want to live there during World War II. They thought
it would be ground zero for an invasion by the Japanese.
The poor people lived on The Strand.”
“The Beach Cities was a unique place to grow up,”
Gary said. “The fifties, sixties and seventies were
pretty carefree. We were all pretty lucky who grew
up here.”
Gary recalled walking or riding a bike to Grandview
Elementary, not far from his house. He also attended
Center School and Mira Costa High School.
“We’d go to the beach by ourselves. We played in
the street. It’s hard to imagine a lot of that stuff.”
Gary recalled frequent bad car crashes because of
the lack of stop signs in his neighborhood.
Highland Avenue was already a commercial area.
“Sloopy’s was a little place called the Plush Donkey,”
said Gary. “Moon’s Market was there and there
was a soda fountain next to it.”
He remembered busy Friday and Saturday nights
at the clubs and bars like Cisco’s.
“It was like the Sunset Strip,” he said.
In 1992, Gary received one of his first public art
commissions from the city. By the scout house near
Live Oak Park, he affixed a photo of himself as a
scout and a poem about turning 40-years-old, as he
just had at the time.
Even three decades ago, Mike knew his house
would probably be torn down one day, Gary said.
“That’s what they were doing 30 years ago,” said
Gary. “It went from middle class to upper middle
class to upper one percent. Back then people were
scraping old houses.”
The Sweeney house was a small beach cottage before
his father built the additions and added a second
story.
When Mike passed away in 2000, he left the house
to his son and daughter Gail. Gary bought out his
sister’s share some years back. He said that while he
enjoys coming back to visit, Manhattan Beach isn’t
the same.
“The parking around here is unbelievable,” he
said. “And the traffic. I still love this place. But I live
in a pretty big house in Texas. I have a studio and a
pool. I don’t have the ocean. Your tastes change as
you get older.”
The old house, built in 1922, required constant
maintenance, he said. It needed a new roof, among
other things. So in July or August, he decided to put
it on the market. It sold the same day.
“It took me by surprise,” he said. “That was when
a mini panic set in. It really hit me: It’s no longer
mine.”
He quickly came up with the idea of installing old
family photos taken by his father on the outside of
the house.
“I always wanted to honor his photos,” he said. “I
wanted to honor my father. What better way than
through his photos?”
He had them blown up and
printed on slabs of wood in Texas.
The second week of January, after
the last tenants had moved out, he
drove over in a big white truck and
began putting up the boards with
the help of a grad student.
Having built public art installations
before prepared him for the
project.
“It’s working on a scale within
my comfort zone,” he said.
The theme is also familiar. For
one of his most well known pieces,
an installation at the Denver International
Airport called “America,
Why I Love Her,” he drove around
the country for two years, taking
photos of quirky, local attractions.
“I’ve been using nostalgia in my
art forever,” he said. “People can
relate to that family vacation
stuff – driving around in a station
wagon in the fifties and sixties.”
For this project, he said, “I don’t
want to highlight my family as
much as trigger memories. My
family wasn’t unique. We were
ridiculously typical: Two kids, a
dog. I played Little League, which
was what everyone did.”
He didn’t decide how to arrange
the photos ahead of time.
“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle for us,”
said Gary.
Late Monday morning, on January
11, Gary and his assistant had
already put up about a dozen photos
on the front of the house. Others
were leaning against the
wooden walls inside or scattered
around the back patio where his
mother used to grow orchids in a
glass house. A strip of a photo that
had been shaved off lay on the
ground. A sign with a black and
white photo of the house reading,
“The Sweeney House, February
1946,” was planted in the ground
in front of the magnolia tree,
which has begun to wither.
“It’s like it knew its time had
come,” Gary mused.
Several people walking by
stopped to look at the house or say
hello.
“That’s one of the nicest things
I’ve seen in Manhattan Beach
when a house changes,” said one
woman.
Gary has planned a launch party
on January 30 for the project,
which will be up through the
month of February.
“Every time a house like this disappears,
it’s always an end of an
era,” he said. “I needed to do something
to give it a proper farewell.”
B
The front of the Sweeney house. Photo by Kevin Cody
The back of the Sweeney house. Photo by Kevin Cody
18 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
each tradition
PTN HALLOWEEN BALL
20th Anniversary at The Depot
T
he 20th Annual Halloween Ball benefiting the Children
of Pediatric Therapy Network was held Oct. 11th by
The Depot restaurant owner and chef Michael Shafer.
The Torrance center was founded in 1996 by therapists and
parents to provide research and education for special needs
children. For more information visit PediatricTherapyNetwork.org
Photos by Adrienne Slaughter
1. Annual attendees
Linda James, Malissa
Tober, Michael and
Melinda Limas.
2. PTN’s CEO Terri
Nishimura, Deanne Hanson,
Fran Day, PTN’s
Heather McGuire and Trisha
Handel Lopez.
3. South Bay locals and
huge Halloween Ball
supporters Rick Learned
and Siva Zhang.
4. Dressed as Gum Ball
Machines are Sue Kent
and Kathy Traeger of
Manhattan Beach.
5. Jellyfish Ernae Mothershed
and Yae-lan Chiang.
6. Sugar Mama and
Sugar Daddy Cindy and
David Berry with
Scooby-Doo’s “Daphne”
Charlotte Svolos of Torrance.
7. Lori Tanioka, Takuma
Kishimoto of Torrance
with Mavis Bruder of
Henderson, Nevada.
8. Susan and David
Weber with Pediatric
Therapy Network’s client
Brandon Tanioka.
9. Steve Napolitano,
Senior Deputy to Fourth
District Supervisor Don
Knabe, joins PTN’s Tanesha
Sandoz, Judith Diamond
and Alysia
Medina.
10. Leilani Kimmel-
Dagostino, Officer Darryl
Tatum, Adrienne and
Brett Gross with The
Depot’s owner/Chef
Michael Shafer.
5 6
1 2
3 4
7
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20 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
January 21, 2016 • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 21
dining
The
Adventurous
by Richard Foss
One of the marvelous things about the restaurant business is that there are so many
ways of succeeding. You can execute your grandmother’s recipes brilliantly or create
your own cuisine. All that matters is that the food makes people happy. This is a sharp
contrast to occupations like accounting, brain surgery, or nuclear reactor maintenance,
where entry to the profession is restricted by people with a rigid idea of how things
should be done.
As I looked at the candidates for the best restaurants of 2015 I was struck by the variety
of ideas and approaches. Unlike some past years there was neither a fad or a
neighborhood that dominated. There are now creative restaurants outside the downtowns
in all of the Beach Cities, and they’re serving a variety of cuisines that are exciting
and sometimes bewildering. If you look back to years when all the action was in
Manhattan or Hermosa, or when the majority of openings were Italian, Japanese, or
gastropub, the current diversity can be seen as a sign of maturity. For instance, the
four winners from Redondo this year serve four different styles of food and they’re in
three different neighborhoods. The broad range isn’t too surprising if you look at it
one way – Redondo is twice the size of its neighbor cities, with more than twice the
population, so of course it would have more dining options. It always has, but the majority
were at the relatively low end of the price and quality scale.
High-end diners in Redondo Beach used to flock to Manhattan Beach, but they now
have options not only in their own town, but in many of its neighborhoods.
Torrance is even larger and the growing scene there suggests that it too is becoming
a destination for more than seekers of exotic and authentic Asian cuisines. There are
now many roads to success, both conceptually and the old asphalt kind.
If you’ve been reading these restaurant articles for a while, you know that sometimes
I shrink or expand the list to reflect which places are really deserving of being in the
top tier. This year was a natural 10, though not without a few judgment calls. Doma
Kitchen’s transformation after being closed for almost a year almost put them back in
the new category, but I decided that there was too much continuity to compare them
to operations that started from scratch. Lou’s on the Hill was a different conundrum.
The restaurant changed hands and menus late in the year and seems to be still evolving.
The new management has lowered prices a bit and simplified the menu, which were
both good ideas, but the place still seems to be a work in progress.
In the interest of fairness, I decided that any restaurants that opened after early December
would be considered part of next year’s crop. Hop Saint, Frida, and a few others
show great promise, and it would be unfair to evaluate them prematurely.
Overall this was a very good year. Several places that didn’t make the cut this time
would have been winners in other years. These 10 would make the cut in any year
and are listed in alphabetical order.
22 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
10
The best new restaurants of 2015 are creative,
wildly diverse, and boldly going to places
where dining of this kind has rarely gone
Jessica Lo Ibarra and Chef Bernard Ibarra, owners of A Basq
Kitchen. Chef Bernard is executive chef at Terranea Resorts and
opened ABK to honor his Basq heritage. Photo by Mark McDermott
The future of the Redondo International Boardwalk is in
doubt due to the proposed waterfront redevelopment project,
but in the present the place is very much alive. Even in
winter diners have been braving the chilly walk from the
parking structure for meals at A Basq Kitchen, the only
Basque restaurant in Los Angeles County. Chef Bernard
Ibarra modeled the menu on the tapas-style dining in the
taverns on the coast of Northern Spain. This cuisine is hearty
and simple, based on the wholesome flavors of fresh
seafood, cured meats, and artisan cheeses, with wines and
beers to match the flavors. A Basq Kitchen has gained a following
in LA’s small Basque community and on some
evenings you may hear diners chatting in a melodious language
that is like no other spoken on Earth.
A Basq Kitchen
136 N. International Boardwalk, RB.
abasqkitchen.com
310-376-9215
The Arthur J co-owner Mike
Simms with a portrait of his
grandfather Arthur J.
Simms.
Photo by Brad Jacobson
The younger generation of the Giuliano family at their
Bettolino Kitchen.Siblings Vince Giuliano and Andreanna G.
Ligoure, her husband Sean Ligoure and Chef Fabio Ugoletti.
Photo by Mark McDermott
Maki Murai serves yuzu chicken gozen at Kaguru, a spinoff
of the popular LIttle Tokyo restaurants which opened on El
Segundo’s Main Street this year. Photo by Brad Jacobson
Every once in a while someone captures the spirit of an era
and manages to make it both universal and personal. The
Arthur J does that in the architecture, menu, and the general
atmosphere, evoking an updated version of the 1950s
steakhouse that is attractive to people who didn’t start dining
in fancy restaurants until half a century later. The steaks,
chops, and reimagined versions of mid-century favorites are
never campy. Everything is done for a reason, and the revived
dishes sometimes illuminate what our fathers and
grandfathers found attractive about dining out during the
Eisenhower administration. The bar is worthy of mention too.
The drinks are based on historic favorites and crafted with
the same zeal that chef David LeFevre brings to the kitchen.
The Arthur J
903 Manhattan Avenue, MB.
thearthurj.com
310-878-9620
In a town with plenty of stylish Italian restaurants, Bettolino Kitchen stands out. Everything
about the place is both authentically Italian and very modern. This is the cuisine Italians
are enjoying today, rooted in regional and ancient ideas but served with flair. Chef Fabio
Ugoletti was a cooking teacher in Florence when he met Vince Giuliano, whose last
name you might recognize from his family’s restaurants and delis in the South Bay. The
two bonded over an appreciation for artisan Italian food and that’s what is served here.
Pastas are handmade in house, heirloom grains make an appearance with shrimp and
arugula and a gorgonzola soufflé is served with beet sauce, figs, and walnuts. The presentations
are artistic, geometric, and sometimes reminiscent of Oriental art, but the flavors
have rustic roots. Bettolino Kitchen is a leap into modernism and high style from the
family behind more
modest and conventional
eateries, and
their venture is as surprising
as it is successful.
Bettolino Kitchen
In many ways, Manhattan
House was a
gamble. The space
had been many
failed eateries in the
past decade and
some questioned the
wisdom of putting a
high-end place outside
the downtown
area. The skeptics
have been silenced,
the modern gastropub
fare has
earned a growing fan
base. Chef Diana
Stavaridis works miracles
with local produce,
including
vegetables grown at
211 Palos Verdes Boulevard, RB.
bettolinokitchen.com
310-375-0500
Many of the other restaurants on this list earned their place with
creative riffs on traditional ideas. Kagura makes it on faithful renditions
of Japanese cuisine. Their specialty is gozen, trays with as
many as a dozen items that all come out freshly made and beautifully
presented. Every element is handled with precision. Perfectly
executed tempura and tonkatsu are crisp and moist, grilled cod is
fragrant with the scent of sweet miso and seafood. The servers are
fluent and helpful to diners who are boggled by the variety on their
elegantly arranged trays. I observed the staff making accommodations
for special diets with attentive politeness. The starkly minimalist
setting may put some people off at first, but it’s a reflection
of traditional taste. Everything
about this experience is Japanese,
as befits this spinoff of a popular
Little Tokyo restaurant.
Kagura
403 Main Street, ES.
No website yet.
310-333-0689
Manhattan House chef Diana Stavaridis. Photo by
Brad Jacobson
Adventurous 10 cont. on page 24
January 21, 2016 • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 23
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local elementary schools. The “carrotology” plate shows the flavors that
can be coaxed out of the most common root vegetables. Seafood and
meat dishes have been strong too, and show the subtle touch of a chef
who deftly combines Middle Eastern and Asian ideas with American favorites.
The bar is lively and offers some ideas that sound wacky but go
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Manpuku Tokyo.
Korean cuisine has been one of the big success stories of the last
decade. Creative fusions like bulgogi tacos are now part of the American
culinary mainstream. The Japanese have fused their ideas with Korean
techniques too and developed dishes that round the rough edges
of pepper and vinegar while keeping the soul of the cuisine intact.
Other area restaurants in the area have served this Japanese style of
tabletop barbecue for years, but Manpuku stands out for a particularly
successful and approachable version. Their menu has a well translated
array of options that includes several complete dinners at reasonable
prices. The helpful servers are ready to explain unfamiliar items. Torrance
has become a destination for adventurous diners from a wide radius.
Manpuku is
one of the
Manpuku Tokyo
reasons for
the trend.
Orlando’s
Pizzeria
& Birreria
1870 W. Carson, Torrance.
Manpuku.co/en
(424) 271-7830
The restaurant that brought Montreal-style
Italian food to the South
Bay keeps adding ambitious items.
They’re serving braised beef
cheeks, lobster poutine and other
things that seem unlikely in a place
called a pizzeria. The core of pastas
and pizzas is still there and includes
toppings like rosemary lamb, dandelion
root with spinach and other
adventurous offerings. Chef Orlando Mulé takes a hands-on approach,
smoking the brisket and salmon and making his own mozzarella cheese
24 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
Chef Orlando Mulé, with artwork by his wife, the artist Carole Beauvais,
opened Orlando’s Pizzeria & Birreria shortly after arriving in Redondo Beach
from Montreal. Photo by Mark McDermott
daily. The location next to a doughnut shop and liquor store gives no
hint of culinary ambition, but this is the most eclectic restaurant to open
in Redondo in years.
1000 Torrance Boulevard, RB.
pizzeriaorlandos.com
(310) 792-9300
Chef Hiro Koizumi in the act of creation at Pia, his intimate restaurant on the International
Boardwalk. Photo by Mark McDermott
The oddest, most endearing restaurant of the year is Pia, a tiny Italian-
Japanese fusion place run by a hard working fellow named Hiro. After
he welcomes you, takes your order and serves your drinks, Hiro goes
back to the kitchen and works wonders. The short menu is augmented
by daily specials that are scrawled on sheets of paper posted on the
wall. They usually share the focus on fresh seafood and vegetable pastas.
The little space has character thanks to enigmatic and surreal art
on the walls. It’s a charming environment in which to enjoy crab salad,
spaghetti with seafood and ginger, or excellent mushroom
pasta. Only about a dozen people can dine at a
Pia
time, so reservations are recommended, It’s worth some
planning to experience this little gem.
112 International Boardwalk, RB.
112pia-redondo.com
(310) 379-0915
Adventurous 10 cont. on page 26
January 21, 2016 • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 25
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Steak & Whisky executive chef John Shaw and chef Tin Vuong. Photo by Brad
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Sausal
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The most high-concept opening of the 2015 was also one of the most
successful. Chef Anne Conness combines nineteenth century Californian
flavors with contemporary Mexican regional ideas in a way that is
unique. You won’t get some of these dishes anywhere else. There are
other restaurants that are serving duck confit with chanterelle mushrooms,
but here they’re inside a tamale with mole sauce and it works
spectacularly well. The success of this sophisticated place in a section
of Main Street better known for pizza and
burgers is another sign that El Segundo is fastdeveloping
dining scene is rivaling their
neighbors to the south.
219 Main Street, ES.
sausal.com
(310) 322-2721
Let’s get this out of the way first. Yes, it’s the most expensive restaurant
in Hermosa Beach. And yes, they have had some problems with consistency
during their first year, with brilliant flavor ideas alongside dishes
that just didn’t come together. That can happen in a place using very
expensive ingredients in original ways and to their credit the staff is usually
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26 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
arts
theBIG
picture
John McHugh’s famous photograph
of David Hockney almost didn’t
happen because “it seemed like
such an obvious picture.”
David Hockney. Photo by John McHugh
John McHugh. Photo by Bondo Wyszpolski
by Bondo Wyszpolski
It’s a big job, massive in fact and never ending, but someone’s got to
photograph the visual artists who have made Los Angeles a tier one
contender for Art Capital of the World. Right now it seems the person
with the mop and broom is Jim McHugh. McHugh’s work, as well as several
pieces by some of the artists he’s photographed, is on view through
January at ESMoA in El Segundo. The show is curated by KCRW “Art Talk”
host Edward Goldman,
Los Angeles is McHugh’s stomping ground and milieu. His tunesmith
grandfather Jimmy McHugh co-wrote “I’m In the Mood For Love” and “I
Can’t Give You Anything But Love,” among many others, including “South
American Way” made famous by Carmen Miranda. His father was a theatrical
agent, representing most of the cast of “The Beverly Hillbillies.” His
mother, who came to L.A. from Minnesota in the 1940s, was a Hollywoodbased
actress. Her claim to fame, as such, was as the native princess
(Athena) opposite Johnny Weissmuller in “Tarzan and the Amazons” (1945).
McHugh’s interest in photography goes back to his childhood. Later,
while attending UCLA film school he began taking pictures for a friend
who wrote for English newspapers. After that, he says, well, “It just sort
of took off. I started working for Women’s Wear and Newsweek,” and for
People Magazine when it was still in its infancy.
How did that happen? It was, McHugh says, “one of those Friday afternoons
at 5 o’clock when they couldn’t get all the other people. I had been
in the office and they called me and -- if you do good on that first assignment,
well, there you are. If you don’t, well, good-bye. I wound up working
for them for 25 years.
“I’ve shot hundreds of covers and thousands of stories and been all over
the world for People. I was also on the masthead of Architectural Digest
for 25 years. I shot many, many covers and interiors. So I have a very deep,
professional, editorial magazine background.”
Shooting for commercial magazines enabled McHugh to hone his technical
skills. But all of these publications have photo editors and an editorial
slant and, as McHugh points out, you have to wear many different hats.
They may not always be the hats you’d pick for yourself, but if you’re freelancing
or simply don’t want the next job to go to someone else, you’ll put
on whatever hat is called for. But when photographers embark on projects
of their own, well, the hats are now of his or her own choosing, aren’t
they?
Learning from others
“Touch” -- that’s the name of the show
at ESMoA -- is a cornucopia of artist portraits
taken over the past 30 something
years. It’s hard to highlight some without
leaving out others just as highly
praised, but among the dozens and
dozens one finds are James Turrell, Ed
Ruscha, Raymond Pettibon, John
Baldessari, Betye Saar, Robbie Conal, De
Wain Valentine, Ed Moses, Dennis Hopper,
Mike Kelley, Richard Serra, Sam
Francis…
“These artist pieces began as a personal
project,” McHugh says. Inspired
by Arnold Newman (who photographed
Stravinsky and Giacometti and other legends
of an earlier generation), McHugh
bought a 4x5 camera. For People and
other magazines he’d been using a
35mm camera, ideal for the quick, spontaneous
shot. But what McHugh was
now interested in was the kind of subtle
but powerful shot one might also associate
with Yousuf Karsh, whose pictures
of Ernest Hemingway and Winston
Churchill are very well known.
Over the years McHugh had photographed several artists, Beatrice Wood
and Lita Albuquerque and so on, as well as Billy Al Bengston who, looking
over the work, told him, “These are really good. You should do this, you
should really focus on this.”
McHugh briefly pauses. “Billy Al Bengston changed everything.”
Bengston introduced him to Jim Corcoran, owner of the prestigious James
Corcoran Gallery, and McHugh was given names of artists he should go
out and shoot: “(Richard) Diebenkorn and Sam Francis, very famous people
who, at the time, I had no idea who they were; and Billy got me phone
numbers and”--well, one artist then recommended another and that’s how
it snowballed.
“You could only do it if you had no idea who they were,” McHugh says
with a laugh. “But I was pretty good at photographing people and moving
people around because of the commercial work.”
One of the photographs for which McHugh is best known is of David
Hockney. The painter Don Bachardy had brought the two together.
Don Bachardy. Photo by John McHugh
Artist David Hockney with Chloe McHugh and Jim McHugh, and Hockney’s
2005 portrait of them. Photo by Jim McHugh
“The thing about David is that if you ask him something, he will probably
want to do it now, like now. But I didn’t know that at the time.” So,
after getting Hockney on the line, introducing himself and saying he’d like
to do a portrait photograph, this is pretty much what McHugh heard: “Fine.
Why don’t you come up now.”
Well, McHugh wasn’t prepared for that response, didn’t have his equipment
ready or his assistant with him, and told Hockney no, let me call you
back, we’ll set up another time. “And I hung up. And then I thought, Are
you crazy? If you have to take the gardener with you to help you, you have
to go there.”
Finding someone to go along (presumably not the gardener), McHugh
drove up to Hockney’s residence, “and we took this picture of David, which
is probably the most famous picture I have,” the one of Hockney in his
pink-striped shirt.
But it almost didn’t happen. “It seemed like such an obvious picture, and
he kept going over there and I’m, Oh, no; I was really young and I had my
own ideas and everything. And then finally at the end of the day I thought,
Well, okay, let’s just do this. Of course, it became this very famous picture.
“So now I listen to people. You’ll be photographing somewhere and the
janitor will say, Oh, you know, there’s this great thing in the backyard…
And now it’s like, Oh? What’s in the backyard?--because people will have
a good idea.”
McHugh and Hockney have now been friends for over 30 years, and
that’s how it started, but those little anecdotes also contain useful bits of
wisdom for any aspiring photographer.
Shortly thereafter, McHugh was given a show at the James Corcoran
Gallery, a feather anyone would happily put in their cap.
Thinking on the run
Looking at the portraits on the walls of ESMoA, one notes that the pictures
differ in many ways, from size and tonality to texture. Evidently,
many types of cameras and film were used. It appears that McHugh must
have established a rapport with each artist before deciding how best to
photograph them and bring out their inner sensibility.
“I’d love to say, Oh, that’s true,” he replies. “I think about it -- but I don’t
think about it so much: I have a sense of where things are.”
He mentions how he photographed Robert Irwin, of whom he knew little,
only his having been granted a MacArthur “Genius” Award.
“Because he was in this little apartment in Westwood, not in a big studio,
I didn’t know what to do,” McHugh says.” But maybe this is where thinking
on one’s feet comes in. “We hung this white sheet on the window outside
and fired a light through it, and just did this headshot, this kind of
glowing headshot of Bob with this white burning from behind him, like a
light table burning, like that’s what Light and Space art was. But we had
McHugh cont. on page 30
28 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
January 21, 2016 • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 29
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no idea; we just did that.”
When you’re on your own like that, McHugh says, you can wing it. Be
spontaneous, intuitive. But if you’re shooting for someone else and trying
to guess what they want, “you’re kind of there, but you’re also going
through this laundry list of ‘Should I get his wife?’ ‘Should I get the dog to
jump on the table?’ all these little things. So you’re not actually really
there.”
Doing it for oneself, thrown back on one’s own inner resources, one can
step away from the norm or the expected, and perhaps something unique
will pop into or out of the viewfinder.
Passing through time
Portrait photography may be the focus of “Touch” (which you can only
do with your eyes, by the way), but Jim McHugh has also been photographing
landmark buildings and other structures throughout Los Angeles.
“I like architecture a lot,” he says. “I started doing that awhile ago, like
20 years ago, really because work started slowing down and I had time on
my hands.”
McHugh points out that at the time people weren’t paying much attention
to the changing areas of Hollywood and downtown L.A. Structures
that should have been spared, usually weren’t. He realized long ago that
his daughter, Chloe, who’s now 25, was never going to see the same Los
Angeles that he grew up seeing: “So I wanted to photograph the city.”
McHugh, naturally, photographs buildings as differently as he does people,
but in another sense he photographs them the same way, bringing out
their substance and character. Personally I’m drawn to his rich, color-saturated
night shots of L.A. and Hollywood Hotels (The DuBarry, the Hotel
Roosevelt) and theaters (the Orpheum). There’s a feel to many of them
that’s sensuous with a kind of fin de siècle noir mixed in.
Some of these images, a small percentage since McHugh has roughly
4,000 shots of Los Angeles, have been published in book form, and also
can be seen online.
“I just sort of got into this L.A. thing. I really understood the city was
changing drastically.”
One big visual swirl
The genesis of “Touch” came about during one of Edward Goldman’s
studio visits, which he often organizes for a small group of people interested
in art and in observing artists in their daily environment. He’d met
McHugh through a mutual friend and was invited to visit him at his house
in Hancock Park to see his portfolio.
“I went there with a group of adventurous Angelenos, who are part of
Sam Francis. Photo by John McHugh
my Fine Art of Art
Collecting Class,”
Goldman says. “Jim
gave us a presentation,
which blew our
minds. His house is
jam-packed with hundreds
of his photo
portraits of Los Angeles
artists in their studios,
plus dozens of
original artworks by
some of these artists. I
remember telling him
that it felt like a
unique and privileged
glimpse into the very
essence of the Los Angeles
art scene over
the last few decades.
Among the participants
of this visit
were Eva and Brian
Sweeney, founders of
ESMoA.
“Over the following
weeks and months,”
he continues, “we had a conversation about how intriguing it would be to
organize an exhibition in their museum which would have a similar mixture
of Jim’s photography and original artworks. We ended up with an exhibition
which gives a “touch,” or glimpse, of the Los Angeles art scene.
It’s definitely not your traditional, academic, linear storytelling.”
Bernhard Zuenkeler soon became an active participant as well, since he’s
organized (and curated) virtually all of ESMoA’s shows since day one -- day
one being Jan. 27, 2013.
Goldman, who hosts KCRW’s “Art Talk” each Tuesday evening, is thoroughly
steeped in art, both local and international, so clearly he was the
best person around to be handed the curatorial reins. Zuenkeler, meanwhile,
has shown time and again that when it comes to visualizing art show
installations he’s a man who takes chances.
Initially, McHugh was skeptical about how Zuenkeler wanted the show
to hang. “But when we were done I realized that it was just brilliant. I
would never have conceived of that. And I see people come in, and they
really like it.”
What Zuenkeler and Goldman have created is a show that travels around
the room like a wave, weaving in images small and large, and essentially
giving them equal weight. In some ways it retains the feel of an artist’s
studio, with images pinned up here and there, almost haphazardly. “Touch”
was a year in the making and there were many more images that could
have been included. And then, of course, there’s the added bonus of adding
numerous pieces by the artists themselves, including Alison Saar’s “En
Pointe” and Hockney’s double portrait of McHugh and his daughter,
painted in 2005.
“I don’t think anybody’s ever done this sort of photography-artwork (mix)
before,” McHugh says. It’s evident, as we crisscross the gallery, that he’s
immensely pleased with how it all turned out. As well he should be, because
it’s a smart exhibition, and one that seems to dance before our very
eyes.
Touch is on view through January 31 at ESMoA, 208 Main Street, El Segundo.
General opening hours, Friday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (424) 277-
1020 or go to esmoa.org. B
30 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
January 21, 2016 • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 31
Chasing purple blobs
by Eddie Solt
“Surfing big waves isn’t only about the actual act of catching big waves. It’s about making
the decisions to drop everything and be there at the right time.” - Scotty Bredesen
Scotty Bredesen at Puerto Escondido, Mexico, winter 2015. Photo by Mariana Marenalma
The buoys were banging. It was the first big
swell of the season. Ocean Beach, just
south of San Francisco cradles swells. With
no natural barriers the break welcomes any
ocean action, from ripples to mountains.
Surfline.com called December 16, 2013 “Macking
Monday.”
“That day was my first time surfing giant
Ocean Beach. It’s a heavy paddle out, like six to
eight football fields out,” Scotty Bredesen said.
“There are different zones you have to paddle
through to get to the outside. I just squeaked by
and scored an epic session.”
Now when the buoys are banging, Bredesen
can often be found making a cannonball run up
the 5 with his Joe Bark guns piled in his vintage
Chevy Suburban, sans surf stickers for discreteness.
“Surfing big waves isn’t only about the actual
act of catching big waves. It’s about making the
decisions to drop everything and be there at the
right time,” he said.
The Palos Verdes native comes from a South
Bay surfing family. His dad Chris was a Los Angeles
County Lifeguard and in the ‘60s a member
of the Greg Noll Surf Team. Today he is a member
the Haggerty’s Surf Club and the Hap Jacobs
Surf Team. Scotty’s older brother, Chris Jr., was
seen all through the pages of the now defunct
Longboard Magazine during the zine’s heyday, 15
years ago, performing his progressive longboarding
style. Chris Jr. is also a lifeguard and member
of the Jacob’s Surf team.
Every summer growing up the Bredesens vacationed
on Maui with the Meistrell family, owners
of Body Glove and Dive N’ Surf.
“I learned to surf at Ka’anapali Point when I
was five, after doing the whole boogie board
shorebreak thing,” Bredesen said.
In high school, Bredesen was on the Peninsula
High Surf Team, which dominated the South Bay
until 2005 when the hill’s top surfers migrated to
the newly opened Palos Verdes High. Bredesen
was an anchor for the longboard team for four
years and in his senior year won the All Star title.
“Scotty was a pudgy, little short kid,” recalled
longboarder Shawn O’Brien, who was a judge
during Bredesen’s high school years. “After he
won the all star meet, the judges threw him upside
down in a trashcan.”
But he traces his big wave obsession back to
when he was nine years old and became a Los
Angeles County Junior Lifeguard. “JG’s laid the
foundation for my life,” Bredesen said. “It’s the
reason I became a LA County Lifeguard.”
Bredesen, now 29, has been a recurrent lifeguard
for 10 years.
“Becoming a lifeguard shaped me into being a
complete waterman,” he said. “I grew up looking
up to my dad and Uncle Wally Millican. I see myself
emulating Lifeguard Captain Tom Seth when
I’m older, having a loving family and being in
shape.”
Four years ago Bredesen was visiting a friend
up in Cen-Cal. The surf report forecasted an epic
swell, perfect for lighting up the region’s secret
reefs. Bredesen borrowed Joe Bark’s back-up gun
and paddled out in hammering, triple overhead
surf.
“I got caught inside and was thrown into full
survival mode,” he said. “I never had been so
sketched out in my life. That’s when I was
hooked, especially after talking about the waves
afterwards, over a few beers.
The quest for big waves became the focus Bredesen’s
life: lifeguarding in the summer and
“chasing the dream” of the heavies in winter.
“I remember when Scotty came up to me very
serious, and said ‘Jamie, I want to do this,’” Jamie
Meistrell recalled. “I’ve known him since we
we’re in diapers. It was from there I saw him
transform.”
Another person Bredesen talked to was fellow
Palos Verdes surfer Joe Bark. Bredesen grew up
with a family quiver of Bark surfboards and paddleboards.
“Your surfboard is the last thing you want to
worry about in big surf,” Bredesen said. “Joe’s
one of the best glassers and shapers in the world.
I always see his boards at the top big wave
breaks.”
“He’s always believed in me and had my back,”
Bredesen added. “He’s showed me a new love for
the ocean.”
With Bark and other sponsors, including Body
Glove, Zico coconut water, and Freestyle watches
(he was in the Freestyle Watch ad in the “big”
June 2014 issue of Surfer Magazine), he feels he
has to put himself out there.
“The easy part is catching waves. Performing
comes natural,” he said. “The anxiety is going
somewhere expected but unexpected at the sametime
and putting yourself in the spot to make that
decision to paddle out.”
Over the last four years, Bredesen has been
chasing bomboras up and down the California
coast, as well as in Mexico.
Bredesen took his worst thrashing two winters
ago at Todos Santos, 13 miles off Ensenada. The
big, right hand point break was maxing out at 30-
plus feet.
“I took a set wave on the head and was swallowed
into deep water and feeling the pressure
on my ears,” Bredesen said. “Then I was dragged
inside, into the rocks that are the size of Volkswagens,
while being held under almost the entire
way. I was gasping for air in the foam.”
When the rescue ski picked him up he had a
bloody nose and a snapped gun.
While recovering on the boat, he questioned
what he was doing there.
The answer, he decided was “Chasing big
waves, big dreams, experiencing the adventure.
It makes you grow, not just as a surfer, but as a
person.”
He waxed up his full-on, 10-foot-6 Bark rhino
chaser, a board he had yet to even paddle and
jumped off the boat. Then he made the same mistake
that had gotten him in trouble earlier in the
day. He went for a small wave, got caught inside
and took the next set on the head.
But this time, he was able to get back out to the
lineup.
“Here I was with a few of my idols and for a
moment I reflected, ‘Wow.’ Then I looked up and
saw a set on the horizon. I was in the right spot.”
“Dropping in I could hear the hoots and hollers
from my fellow surfers and the boat crews,” he
said. “I felt redeemed. I didn’t give up and it paid
off.”
Puerto Escondido is another barreling Mexican
break that Bredesen has established himself, at a
price.
“The wave pops up and peaks out of nowhere
and you can’t track it. The wave has to choose
you.” he said. “You have to be at the right spot at
the right time and hope the wave you’re pulling
into doesn’t gobble you up.”
Last May, on his fifth trip to Puerto, Bredesen
found himself in a lineup of international surf
stars.
“Sharing a line-up with surfers whom I respect
is mind blowing,” he said. “The local Puerto community
is especially deserving of respect. Oscar
Moncada and Coco Nogales are two of the local
surfers I look up to.”
After charging through the shorebreak, Bredesen
mistimed his paddle out and was thrashed
by a double overhead, pitching lip.
“It felt like a cement truck was pouring down
on me while I was pinned to the ocean floor,” he
said.
On his second attempt to paddle out, he barely
pushed through to the outside.
“Once I got my bearings straight, a set wave
came to me and I found my rhythm,” he said.
“You have to catch that one right wave to get the
rhythm going.”
A freak left peaked 20 yards south and coming
straight at him.
“My eye lit up. I dropped into a Hail Mary,” he
said.
He was swallowed up by the 20 foot, closing
tube, slide slipping at one point and grabbing a
rail while going for broke.
“When I was spit out, I realized I had just
caught the barrel of my life,” he said.
Bredesen’s current goal is to get a bomb at
Mavericks, California’s most fabled big wave
spot. Qualifying for the World Surf League Big
Wave Tour is another fantasy that plays in his
head, but it’s not what motivates him.
“There are 1,000s of surfers better than me. I’m
not even in the ballpark with some of the great
South Bay, big wave surfers,” he said. “Chasing
purple blobs is about growing. Besides the obvious
growth as a surfer – trying to pull in deeper
and catch bigger waves – you grow as a person.
When you come back from a trip, you’re not the
same person you were when you left.” B
32 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
Month day, year • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 33
each
Mustang
mentor
Three year varsity junior has
nearly 1,000 points and a
life outside basketball
by Randy Angel
34 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 21, 2016
Mira Costa girls basketball sharpshooter Allie Navarette is nearing the 1,000 point mark
in only her junior year, thanks to countless hours at Mustang practices, a shooting coach
and playing club ball. And still she makes time to volunteer with the Friendship Circle,
which matches her with special needs students and their families, for one-to-one peer mentoring
and social programs.
“Ever since I volunteered to help teach basketball to the kids I have absolutely fallen in love
with all of them and now I attend the Friendship Circle club meetings at school, volunteer for
sporting activities and attend their photo-shoots,” Navarette said. “Being around them is so rewarding
and I really consider myself lucky for being able to become so close to them. Sometimes
I’ll miss a layup, then think about kids who can’t even hit the rim. It makes me appreciate the
things I take for granted.”
“Allie is like a pied-piper. The Friendship Circle kids flock to her,” said Mustang head coach
John Lapham, who has watched Navarette’s leadership skills evolve since she became one of
three freshman to play on his varsity squad two years ago.
Navarette said Lapham holds every player accountable, which has made her a better team
leader. With only three returning varsity players on this year’s squad, the eyes of opposing
coaches – along with the Mustang boosters – are on Navarette.
She led Mira Costa in points (14.8 per game) and rebounds (5.6 per game) last season, leading
the Mustangs to the CIF-Southern Section Division 2AA championship game while averaging
17.2 points per game in the postseason.
In this year’s Bay League opener at Palos Verdes on Jan. 12, Navarette was double- and triple
teamed, allowing longtime friend and three-year varsity member junior guard Halle Maeda to
score 21 points in a 43-33 victory.
Navarette still managed 12 points and at press time was only 47 points short of reaching the
Despite her height, Mira Costa
junior forward Allie Navarette
counts outside shooting as
one of her strengths.
Photo by Ray Vidal
1,000 point mark.
“I didn’t know there was a 1,000 point club when I was younger,”
Navarette said. “I’m really excited about it and am so proud, not only
for myself, but for my teammates who have made it possible.”
She hopes to make a run at Mira Costa’s all-time point record held
by Mikah Maly-Karros, who set the mark of 2,256 in 2008.
Navarette’s success on the hardwood almost didn’t materialize. She
said she was a better soccer player growing up, competing on AYSO,
club and select teams.
“With soccer and basketball played during the same season, I had to
make a decision,” Navarette said. “Because of my height (she is now 6-
feet); I chose basketball when I was in 5th grade.”
The Torrance resident transferred from Calle Mayor to Manhattan
Beach Middle School to begin 6th grade.
Navarette credits her height to her mother Stephanie Martin, who
also is 6-feet tall, but said her athletic genes come from her father Mike
Navarette, a former basketball and football player.
“My dad introduced me to basketball when I was 5 years old,” Allie
said. “He coached a team of me and a my friends in Manhattan Beach
Youth Basketball. He’s always been a big part of my life.”
Navarette began playing club ball in 4th grade and currently competes
for Orange County-based Cal Swish. While she considers her
height an asset, Navarette feels the strength of her game is her outside
shooting, which forces opposing teams to alter their strategy.
“I’m working on getting lower on my dribbling,” Navarette explained.
“In high school I’m one of the taller players, but in club, I’m on the
shorter side.”
Navarette said making Mira Costa’s varsity team as a freshman was
a goal of hers. She attended numerous Mustang games when she was
in middle school, watching stars Mikah Maly-Karros, Megan Richardson,
Amanda Johnson and Kylie Nakamine.
In 2013, Navarette joined Alexa Underwood and Maeda as three
freshmen who gained valuable playing time for the Mustangs. That
year, the team reached the CIF-SS Division 2AA championship game
and the quarterfinals of the State Regional tournament.
Navarette credits that season’s senior leaders Camille Mills and
Michelle Lanterman in helping her deal with pressure and become a
leader, herself.
“There was some resentment among upper-class players about having
three freshmen on the team,” Navarette recalled. “But Camille and
Michelle treated us as teammates, not just freshman. It was a rollercoaster
season, but they were so helpful in teaching us how to play at
a highly-competitive level.”
Navarette thinks back to that season when mentoring younger players
on this year’s Mustang squad.
“I’m extremely competitive and sometimes I forget I’m a team leader
and role model,” Navarette admitted. “I’m working on becoming more
vocal and positive. Sometimes I can be hard on other players.”
“Allie has developed a great deal as a scorer and overall as a basketball
player. She's added a variety of inside moves, really improved her outside
shot and also developed more toughness in the post,” Lapham said. “Despite
her relatively slender frame, she is much more willing to bang with
post defenders than she was last season.”
“Redondo will be our toughest competition in the Bay League,” Navarette
said. “But if you really want something, you can get it. Even though our
record is not as good at this point (9-5 at press time), we have a very young
team and it’s better to make mistakes earlier than later in the season.”
“Having a scorer of Allie's talents has really paid off for our team,”
Lapham said. “Opposing teams have to be aware of her at all times, and
she gives us a great go-to option in a tight game. We are a very young team
this season, having lost 11 players from last year's varsity. Allie's experience
is invaluable. She's already played in 15 CIF or State playoff games
and this really gives our younger players a lot of confidence.”
In addition to her dad, Navarette credits her success to Cal Swish club
coach Russ Davis and her shooting coach of six years Tony Hood.
Playing club ball has been a high point of Navarette’s career, allowing
her to play with elite players from outside the South Bay and travel
throughout the United States. She said she has in depth talks with Coach
Russ Davis not only about basketball, but life in general.
“Allie is very athletic and plays extremely hard,” Davis said. “Her offense
is coming around but I think her strength is how she competes and goes
all out. She has a bright future and she will make a college coach happy
one day. I love coaching Allie because she always gives 100 percent.”
Navarette said she has become the person she is today thanks to close
friends, having a strong relationship with her grandmother while growing
up and her mother who “has helped me deal with being a teenager.”
Navarette is hoping for a basketball scholarship and has been talking
with some schools, but feels in no hurry to make a decision.
The U.S history buff said teaching is a potential career choice.
“One thing is certain,” Navarette said, “my future will include basketball
and helping kids.” B
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January 21, 2016 • Easy Reader / Beach magazine 35
Russ Varon & Gina Doherty
Our Heartfelt Appreciation
Ralph Scriba, Craig Leach, Loraine Scriba
Torrance Memorial Medical Center wishes to thank the following sponsors for their generous support of the 32nd Annual Holiday Festival, which
raised millions for the medical center’s North Patient Tower transformation.
Pat & Ellen Theodora, Carol & Gerald Marcil, Lee &
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Terranea Resort
Toyota
Mary Jo and Jerome Unatin, MD
The Zislis Group, Andrea and
Michael Zislis
Thank you to all our donors.
3330 Lomita Blvd., Torrance, CA 90505
310-517-4703 - www.TorranceMemorial.org