Beach Jan 2018

each dining
Revolution at The Rockefeller
by Richard Foss
The Rockefeller’s Chris Bredesen with his American Prime Burger and Sweet Potato Bomb. Photos by Brad Jacobson
What started out as a burger-and-a-beer spot unveils a new menu by Primo Italia chef Michelangelo Aliarga
Building a brand is more than a matter of a
catchy name and an interesting logo. Those
things are helpful but have to represent
something, some theme that makes the business
itself stand out from the crowd. Once you have
that, so a marketer would say, you should build
on it but never change the ideas that are at the
core.
The people who run The Rockefeller evidently
don’t believe in this logic, because the restaurant
has undergone a slow but almost complete transformation.
The place that started out as a gourmet-burger-and-a-beer
spot still serves burgers
and beers, and a few of the sandwiches and tacos
that were on the menu when they opened, but
the energy is elsewhere. They’ve become more
upscale and eclectic. A winter menu crafted by
consulting chef Michelangelo Aliarga of Primo
Italia has taken the menu to a new heights in subtlety
and style.
The new menu is served at both outposts of
The Rockefeller. I experienced it at the Manhattan
Beach location because I happen to like the
more low-key style there. The one in Hermosa is
more the showplace thanks to mosaic pillars and
other fancy architecture, but Manhattan Beach is
more cozy. The feel is slightly like a rustic cabin,
a comfortable place to settle in for some appetizers
and a glass of wine before dinner.
Appetizers include the new octopus lollipop
and also the Rockefeller Mess, which has been
on the menu for a while. The name of that latter
item is as accurate as it is amusing, because the
pile of fries topped by pickled fresno chiles and
onions, guacamole, and allagash queso sauce is a
sloppy joy. The flavors go together surprisingly
well and there’s an interesting mix of hot and
cold items and different textures. I wish they
used cottage fries or waffle cut chips because it
would make this so much easier to eat with a
fork, and there’s no other way to do this without
wearing some of it.
The octopus lollipop was a daintier portion, a
skewered and grilled chunk of the thick part of
the tentacle over a slice of griddled potato, served
with both a kalamata olive aioli and a dab of Peruvian
green sauce. The green and purple sauces
looked lurid but tasted great. I could have easily
eaten a full plate of this as a main course.
Another relatively new item is actually a twist
on an idea a century old. Stuffing an avocado
with lobster meat seems to have occurred to
someone around 1920, when the California Avocado
Society published a recipe. In that one the
seafood was simply mixed with mayonnaise and
garnished with parsley, but the one served by The
Rockefeller reflects modern tastes. The shellfish
is mixed with chopped green onion and tomato,
then ladled into the avocado, topped with breadcrumbs,
and run under the broiler. It’s necessarily
a small portion because avocados aren’t very
big, but it’s completed with a green salad and
toast and is satisfying.
During a recent visit, I verified that the burgers
here are still quite good, but the most exciting entrée
was from the new menu. It’s braised pork
cheeks and polenta in a tomato and vegetable
sauce that contains chimichurri and cilantro.
While this item was created by an Italian chef
and includes tomato sauce with olive oil and garlic,
it’s not Italian – the herbs are the French
mirepoix of onions, carrots, and celery. The flavors
are almost Southern U.S. thanks to the similarity
between polenta and properly made grits,
but the sprinkling of cilantro gives it a dash of
South America. It’s a luxurious companion to the
meat, and since pork cheeks have a rich character
and cook to disintegrating softness the meat
has the character of a perfect pot roast. It’s a fantastic
winter dish and as far as I can tell the standout
on the menu. (I say as far as I can tell because
24 Easy Reader / Beach magazine • January 18, 2018