Manhattan Beach Post - Manhattan Beach, California

Address:1142 Manhattan Ave, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266

Items Ordered:

• Bacon cheddar buttermilk biscuits with maple butter
• Sticky buns with pecan and brown sugar
• French toast stuffed with in house ricotta, brooks cherries, marcona almonds
• Truffle honey laced fried chicken with kholrabi slaw

I don't know how long MB Post has been open, but it's basically been on my to-eat list ever since the first day it opened its doors. I love carbohydrates, and the thought of delicious biscuits really piqued my interest. The bacon cheddar biscuits really did not disappoint. If you've ever thought the cheddar biscuits at Red Lobster were good, then multiply that by 10,000 times, and you'll have MB Post's deliciously soft, buttery and savory biscuits with creamy maple butter. My second favorite dish was the ooey gooey sticky bun that while sweet was not overpowering and had a nice contrast with the crunchy pecans. I liked the French toast too, but I think we ordered too many sweet dishes, and if possible, there might have been too much ricotta stuffed in there. The fried chicken was crispy outside and contained juicy white meat inside, but something about the truffle and honey flavors just didn't work that well for me. Next time, I would try the steak and eggs or the poached eggs with polenta as my savory dish instead. All the dishes and restaurant decor were artfully presented, and if you love brunch, then I highly recommend you give MB Post a try---I'm sure I'll be making a return visit!

--y

Bice Ristorante - San Diego, California

Address: 425 Island Ave, San Diego, CA 92101

Items Ordered (pre-fixe menu):

• Endive, arugula & radicchio w/ pine nuts & shaved parmesan in a lemon dressing
• Chicken scaloppini in dry vermouth & caper sauce with mashed potatoes
• Salmon scaloppini in white wine sauce over creamy barley risotto
• Tiramisu
• Espresso panna cotta w/ salted caramel sauce

The pictures of the nicely presented dishes above look kind of nice right? Well, that may be the only positive  thing I have to say about the food we were served at Bice. Firstly, I asked for my salad dressing on the side, and turns out the dressing is just pure lemon and nothing else! After squeezing just a tad on my salad, it was already way too tangy, and made me think the entire salad was not very imaginative. Just vegetables w/ some parmesan shavings and squeeze of lemon? An 8-year old might be able to make this dish. Secondly, the chicken scaloppini was definitely oversalted, while the mashed potatoes were extremely bland. Maybe, the chef thought the extremes in seasoning would balance each other out? Unfortunately, the salmon scaloppini did not fare much better--the fish was flavorless and overcooked, and the barley risotto was a watery mess. Not at all like the creamy, rich risottos of my dreams. The only thing, I kind of enjoyed was my tiramisu, but it probably was not made in-house, so I can't give any credit to the chef there =/. I don't think I've ever had a worse meal AND at $75/person for the prix fixe options, the whole experience was severely overpriced. I would never go back to Bice and hope you don't have to suffer through the same dining experience.

--y