South Bay Beer and Food Marathon

Statue Hermosa Beach

The South Bay is famous for surfing, but beer and food are coming on strong in Hermosa and Manhattan Beaches.

Neil (Food Marathon) and I discussed leading a Food GPS-related food marathon for awhile. That day finally arrived on June 13, when a ravenous herd convened in the South Bay for back-to-back-to-back bouts with beer and food. Mattatouille and Choisauce joined us for the full marathon, and we received 10K participation from food blog luminaries like Caroline on Crack, Fiona from Gourmet Pigs and e*starLA.


Gastropub Manhattan Beach

We met at Simmzy’s, a new Manhattan Beach pub with 24 taps from brothers Mike and Chris Simms. The open-air pub with the sleek wood finish was packed. The moral: never underestimate a Manhattan Beacher’s commitment to daydrinking, especially on weekends.

Beer Manhattan Beach

Chris, who goes by Big Simmzy, ensures that the pub’s 24 taps are “off the handle.” The brothers are both home brewers and decided to devote their taps to craft beers like Dogfish Head Midas Touch and North Coast Brother Thelonious.

Belgian Beer

Houblon Chouffe is a Belgian take on IPA with balanced bitterness.

Hamburger Manhattan Beach

Simmzy’s chef Anne Conness has a pedigree that includes a stint at Westwood’s Napa Valley Grille. Simmzy’s Burger ($9.75) was pretty solid, featuring smoky caramelized onions, melted cheddar and garlic aioli. The meat to bun ratio was a little out of whack, but it was a good match for Houblon Chouffe and Pizza Port Shark Attack double red ale.

Sandwich Manhattan Beach

Simmzy’s Pulled Pork Panino ($11.50) was the clear winner, featuring Niman Ranch pork that was braised overnight with sherry vinegar and pickling spices, then sandwiched between two slices of grilled BREADBAR Millstone with Fontina. The sandwich came with a dish of and pork jus, but for once, less was more.

French Fries Manhattan Beach

Simmzy’s Gouda haystack stood out thanks to their seductive matchstick French fry preparation.

Dessert Manhattan Beach

For dessert, Simmzy’s offers rich Chocolate S’mores Pudding ($7.50), made with semi-sweet chocolate, homemade, fresh-crushed Graham cracker and bruleed marshmallow. In keeping with the theme, the pudding arrives in a Chimay glass.

Bar Redondo Beach

We drove south to Naja’s Place, a twentysomething dive bar on Redondo’s International Boardwalk with one of the strongest beer lists in L.A.

Beer Redondo Beach

Naja’s Place’s 88-beer tap list encourages drinkers to “fear no beer.”

Beer Redondo Beach

We stayed far away from the live music so we could actually talk. Our nook was also closer to the taps, which is always a good thing.

Beer Collaboration

Avery’s Adam Avery and Russian River’s Vinnie Cilurzo teamed to produce Collaboration Not Litigation after discovering they were producing different beers with the same name: Salvation. They combined the two recipes and the result was a dark but highly drinkable Belgian-style ale.

We also passed around glasses of distinguished beers like Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Russian River Pliny the Elder double IPA and Eric’s Ale, a sour peach-flavored Lambic from New Belgium. There was even a blueberry ale that smelled exactly like blueberries and wasn’t punishingly sweet.

GUIDE CONTINUED ON THE NEXT PAGE

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

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South Bay Beer and Food Marathon | Sushi Restaurants

[…] Sushi Lovers Unite! blog wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptHow do sushi restaurants get away with charging so much when Quality only charges $7 per pound? Oh yeah, full service and higher rent. […]

you’re saying you didn’t like those churros? or maybe they didn’t compare to La Casita

quite an unflattering photo of me. thanks.

Sorry about that photo. Collateral damage.

I liked the churros pretty well, but not as much as you and Christine. If people are on the pier, it’s worth stopping at Pier Bakery.

[…] can read Josh’s review on Food GPS and another write up over at Food Marathon.  Thanks, guys, for shining a light on the South Bay. […]

[…] Excerpt from: South Bay Beer and Food Marathon […]
Sorry, forgot to add great post! Can’t wait to see your next post!

Great write up. From your tweets during the marathon it felt like i was practically there! Glad to hear that you found some of our gems here in the South Bay. Cheers!

[…] Excerpt from: South Bay Beer and Food Marathon […]

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Food GPS » Blog Archive » South Bay Beer and Food Marathon | Sushi Restaurants

[…] Cordelia Kennedy wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptHow do sushi restaurants get away with charging so much when Quality only charges $7 per pound? Oh yeah, full service and higher rent. pier-bakery-churros. Choisauce and Mattatouille were enamored with Pier Bakery’s dense churros, … […]

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