Peninsula People Oct 2017

coming back into favor. The fig and
burrata salad with green zebra
tomatoes, arugula, toasted pistachios,
carrot essence, and pork
cracklings intrigued us as a modern
take on that idea. To go with it
we considered a crab salad with
apples, pecans, and grilled avocado.
But after a conversation with
Julie we were swayed to Spanish
octopus with squid ink naan,
chickpea puree, mustard greens,
and smoked paprika aioli.
I’m a big fan of fig and cheese
salads and order them often during
the short season when the fruit can
be obtained fresh, but the carrot
essence, pistachios, and cracklings
were a novel take. The only thing
about this that didn’t entirely work
was the cracklings, (called grattons
on the menu, as they are in
Vaughan’s native Louisiana). The
idea of including them was fine,
but they were served in giant
chunks when they would have
been better crumbled so the flavor
could be mixed in more evenly. As
it was, you got a mouthful of
crunchy richness or none at all.
The grilled octopus had a finer
balance. Though the squid ink
naan was something of a novelty,
the dark purple bread added to the
presentation, picking up the color
in the greens, and the caramel-colored
smoky sauce on the tender
octopus added more visual interest.
The flavors all harmonized:
slightly bitter greens with rich
seafood and smoky, slightly spicy
sauce. There were more grattons
on the side as a garnish, but we
found this item fine without them.
We asked Julie for wine suggestions
and she called over the sommelier,
who recommended a
Glatzer Gruner Veltliner with the
salad and a Qupe Syrah with the
octopus. Both were sound choices
– Gruner is becoming known as a
spicy, fruity, lightly acidic alternative
to Sauvignon Blanc, and it’s
superb with seafood.
By this time we trusted Julie
enough to let her talk me out of the
lobster, uni, and squash pasta that
had interested me and into ordering
Atlantic salmon with bok choy,
trumpet mushrooms, tomatoes,
eggplant, brown butter, and
macadamia nuts. I hadn’t considered
it because I can get salmon in
plenty of places, but she was emphatic
about how good this was.
She was right. This was a marvelous
piece of fish, a slight herbal
crust crisp over meat that was so
rich it was almost liquid. It was a
simple item perfectly cooked,
Chef Andrew Vaughan’s signature Lobster Burrata, made with Maine lobster burrata
cheese, uni, handmade pappardelle pasta, butternut squash puree and
golden raisins. Finished with cape gooseberries and basil from Terranea Resort’s
herb garden.
alongside a very interesting vegetable
mix that put together fruity,
funky, and slightly bitter flavors
and made it all work. I wouldn’t
have picked brown butter with lime
as a sauce for these vegetables, but
I’m glad Chef Vaughan did.
My wife ordered a pork tomahawk,
a pork chop so large that it
looked like it could be used as a
deadly weapon, over Napa coleslaw
with what was described as pretzelcheddar
spoon bread. This wasn’t
like any spoon bread I have ever
seen, as they’re usually moist and
puffy within – this was a bread
pudding in all but name, crunchy
on the outside, chewy pretzel textured
with veins of cheese within.
As for the chop, pork this thick can
be tricky to cook, but this was moist
through and through, and the mild
slaw was a nice companion to the
richness of both meat and bready
cheese goodness.
The sommelier came through
again with selections from the bythe-glass
list. We were both bewitched
by the Catalonian
Embruix, a red blend with rich
spicy and berryish notes. (And I
had to write that sentence after I
found that the name of the blend,
embruix, means bewitched. It’s
well named because we really did
find it enchanting.) We were similarly
impressed by a Westerly
“Happy Canyon” red blend from
Santa Barbara, which had a little
more cherry and dried fruit and a
little less spice. We very happily
shared tastes to sample each with
both main courses.
We had planned to order a chiboust,
a pastry crème based
dessert that I hadn’t tried before,
but the full house had decimated
the selection and they were out of
the items we most wanted to try.
We will certainly return and hope
that they have it next time, because
after seeing what they do with savories
I must try the sweets.
Dinner for two was pricey at
about $230, but worth it. As we left
I noticed some diners taking pictures
of each other with the last
bits of sunset in the background.
Mar’sel has a superb setting and
has used it artfully, but as we
found, you can have a great time
here even if you never glimpse the
ocean.
Mar’sel is at the Terranea Resort,
10 0 Te r r a n e a Wa y, Ra n c h o
Palos Verdes. Sun – Thu 5 – 9:30
p.m., Fri.-Sat. 5 – 10 p.m., Sun.
brunch 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Full bar,
corkage $40. Wheelchair access
good. Menu at terranea.com/marsel.
(310) 265-2836. PEN
Best of The Beach 2017 Winner
Best Eclectic, American Contemporary
Daily Breeze “2015 South Bay’s Favorite”
American Restaurant & Bar
“ Best New Restaurant”- Richard Foss of Easy Reader
Favorite Soul Food of 2015- Daily Breeze( yeah, we were surprised
too)
Hey! We like to party, especially with YOU! Call us for your next
Occasion. We’ve got a Banquet Room perfect for any celebration
Call 310-378-8119 for details
October 2017 • Peninsula 71