Peninsula People Sept 2017

A unity of themes
Chef Dustin Trani’s family has operated local restaurant for nearly a century.
Still, even J Trani’s traditional fare has a modern flair
by Richard Foss
One of the modern memes in restaurant design is the deliberately inappropriate
space. Trendy Italian in a warehouse, Korean food in a
British pub, Southern traditional in an austere space reminiscent of
a hospital, they’re all a thing in greater LA. It’s ironic humor expressed in
architecture, and when done well it can mess with your expectations in an
amusing way.
I generally prefer harmony of décor and dinner, environments that seamlessly
put me in another world or perhaps another era. On days like that,
I’m likely to end up at J. Trani’s, a San Pedro classic. I admit a level of nostalgia
here. My parents took me here as a child when it was Peppy’s steak
and seafood house. When the Trani family took the place over in 1989 they
converted a charming but relatively conventional place into a retro mountain
lodge with English baronial touches. If you’re the kind of person who
grooves on architecture you can wander around and notice details like the
spokes radiating around the ceiling of the bar. If you aren’t, you can just
luxuriate in the atmosphere of vintage cool.
It’s pretty clear which camp I’m in. On a recent visit I spent quite a while
viewing the place from all angles while waiting to be seated. Once ensconced
at a table in a corner by the bar we spent some quality time with
a pair of cocktails while examining the menu. The Sunken City (a renamed
Gold Rush) was well-made, but the Black Tie Affair was more innovative
and better. The mix of dry vermouth, chartreuse, Aperol, and chamomileinfused
brandy had harmonious spicy and herbal flavors. San Pedro is short
on craft bars, but these drinks make the case for Trani’s as the local leader
in the field.
With regard to the food, Chef Dustin Trani could be forgiven if he served
nothing but steaks, seafood, and pastas as dated as the architecture. His
family has operated local restaurants for over 90 years. However, even the
traditional offerings have a modern flair. A case in point is the cold smoked
swordfish carpaccio, which is tossed with olive oil and lemon and served
on a board alongside a basket of toast. It’s a classic smoked fish appetizer,
but the sprinkling of smoked red onion and radish sprouts adds a spicy tang
to the old favorite.
On another evening I tried their “new style” calamari. It’s tossed with
greens, Thai-spiced aioli, a dash of balsamic vinegar, and a sprinkle of black
sesame seeds. The greens and sesame add flavor and varied textures to an
item that is often just an excuse to eat crunchy batter. I would certainly
order this again.
After the “new style” calamari, we considered ordering the “old fashioned”
navy bean soup, but decided on the Trani’s salad instead. It’s just
greens with fresh mushrooms, red onion and feta with an herb-mustard
vinaigrette, but sometimes you just want simple flavors minimally accented.
The only flaw was the bread that came with it, which was dense and characterless.
It was fine toasted with the fish carpaccio, but with all the good
Italian bakeries in town that can deliver good crusty bread there isn’t a reason
to serve this.
For main courses, we decided on swordfish milanese and a sausagestuffed
pork chop with roasted root vegetables. Milanese on a menu usually
means a thick breading on something pan-fried – a schnitzel by another
name. It was breaded fish, but with a light crust of herbs and panko crumbs,
and it suited the meaty, mild fish nicely. The filet had been topped with
fresh green, yellow, and red cherry tomatoes and a bit of balsamic and olive
58 Peninsula • September 2017