We started looking for a restaurant to go to when Erin pointed out Maison Riz, which she noticed was new (or at least different than what it had been before). It didn't look open at first and looked kind of expensive for a random Fourth of July dinner so I then thought about wanting to check out at more typical pier fried fish type place. However, after checking out one other place and seeing the crowds, it didn't seem worth waiting for that so we figured we'd try the new place out.
The place was open, but mostly empty and the hostess greeted us warmly and directly us to a table with a great view of the peninsula and the crowded beached. We even got to see what we think was a fight break out and Redondo Beach police descend upon the rowdy freedom revelers. Our waiter Sumaytee was very eager and explained nearly every dish to us in detail (even after we'd decided what we wanted to order--I suppose he was just very proud about the dishes.) I was at this point starting to regret my decision to eat here; the vast majority of "fine dining" restaurants I'd ever been to (not many, but enough) tend to favor the pay more, eat less approach to eating out and given the day, it seemed wholly un-American to eat small portions. Nevertheless, we were there and the items sounded good if tiny. Fortunately, this place did serve bread and butter (always a plus-skill for restaurants in my book) with an interesting soy sauce soaked butter.
We ordered the French Tartare for an appetizer, chopped up yellowtail sushi in a citrus-spinach sauce which when it arrived looked like a typical tiny French dish though very nicely presented. My regrets came roaring back with the sight of this minute fish structure, but it was very tasty. By now, with some bread, butter, and mini cuts of raw fish in me, I was feeling ok with the small portions I expected to come for the main course. Erin ordered the white prawn tempura in dill sauce while I got the slow braised pork belly with Japanese mustard Aioli. To my very pleasant surprise, both of our meals were much more substantial then I'd imagined. Even with having to order a bowl of rice each, both Erin and I managed to spend less than $20 each on a filling meal at a fancy restaurant. Amazing! My pork was extremely good with a just slightly sweet glaze. Erin's prawn tempura, however, very literally brought a tear to my eye. Dill sauces to me are usually too strong, too dilly, but this...this...this was like heaven melting in my mouth with glorious dill sauce and tempura crisp waterfalls rolling over my tongue. The owner/manager guy came by at one point and I was of course very complimentary telling him even of my intense physiological reaction to his food. He was impressed saying, "making a grown man cry over food--now that is a compliment!" (Jokes on him since given then right set of circumstances, I will cry over a particularly tasty bite of a McDonald's chicken McNugget coated in sweet n' sour sauce, but he doesn't have to know that...)
Amazingly enough, I was pretty much full upon the last few bites. I make sure to save enough room for a pier churro though (I packed everything to one side with just enough space to slide the churro in--yay! Tetris!) But in the event that the churro place was not open, we decided to order some dessert--a green tea tiramasu which like everything else was presented well AND tasty.
I am completely sold on Maison Riz. With a decently sized meal (filling, if not stuffing), an amazing view, attentive service and a price that included an appetizer, two entrees and a dessert for less than $80 with tax and high tip, this is officially my favorite fine dining establishment. It was also the most expensive, least American, most unusual meal I'd ever eaten on the Fourth of July. Yay?
Costs:
Appetizer ~ $6-15
Entree ~ $15-25
Dessert ~ $7
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