Clint Clausen, who previously worked with the Michael Mina Group, Innovative Dining Group and SBE, has opened a highly personal restaurant in Manhattan Beach called Four Daughters Kitchen. Clausen’s family-inspired restaurant debuts a block from the beach on January 18, 2010.

The space previously housed Bora Bora, which Clausen described as “very dark and secluded.” To brighten the 60-seat restaurant, he added more windows, installed flower boxes out front and planted flowers and rosemary. “It’s a sunny day at the beach inside and out,” adds Clausen. “We made the place very quaint. It will put anyone in a good mood!”

“There are many wonderful spots in the area – places you can watch a Laker game with your buddies or places you can take the family for a nice meal,” says Clausen, “but there aren’t really spots that let you do both. Our menu and layout really cater to everyone.”

Four Daughters Kitchen’s seasonal offerings are limited to breakfast and lunch until early February, at which point Clausen will debut dinner. At breakfast, expect options like the Rustic Sausage Scramble with roasted leeks, mushrooms, spinach, Swiss and sage cream sauce; and the Chorizo & Egg Taco with a house chorizo blend, scrambled eggs and spicy tomatillo salsa. Every dish is served with 4DK potatoes except for the Bruschetta Scramble.

For lunch, consider dishes like a Chicken Chipotle sandwich with sun-dried tomatoes, green onion, asparagus, artichoke hearts and Gruyere; the Kitchen Sink Salad with romaine, tomatoes, jicama, celery, sweet corn, cucumbers, green onions and avocado; or the Gordo Burger with ground beef, fried egg, lettuce, tomato, mayo and “burger sauce.”

Clausen describes the dinner menu as “Northern Italy meets Father’s Office.” Think fresh pasta, fish, roasted chicken, steaks and burgers. He pinpointed three particularly promising dinner dishes: Whiskey Salmon – salmon cooked on a cast iron with pineapple salsa and rice; Bruschetta Pasta – pasta tossed with fresh broccoli and basil and topped with Parmesan cheese; and Shrimp Poppers – tempura shrimp tossed in a spicy chile sauce.