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Best Hospital: Torrance Memorial Medical Center
Architectural renderings of Torrance Memorial Medical Center Torrance Memorial Medical Center is the home to a number of top-notch medical programs, including the Torrance Memorial Sleep Disorders...
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Best Tanning Salon: Bronzology
A Bronzology tan, provided on location. Photo courtesy of Monique Nastari Less than a year old, Bronzology is a Redondo Beach-based mobile airbrush tanning service that’s with eyes on taking the whole...
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Best Optometrist: Lester Silverman, Look Optometry
Dr. Lester Silverman of Manhattan Beach. Courtesy of Patrick J. Donahue “I think of myself as a community doctor who wants to take care of the people who are here, “ Dr. Lester Silverman says – and...
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Hook & Plow: Best farm-to-table
Hook & Plow has helped enliven Hermosa Beach’s Upper Pier Avenue area. The hottest trend in dining these days is farm-to-table – a cuisine based on fresh seasonal ingredients, where chefs work with...
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Java Man: Best coffee house (independent)
Javaman readies for St. Patrick’s day with green cupcakes (but no green coffee). Back in 1920 when somebody built this cottage in Hermosa, they probably thought the people who lived there would get a...
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Palmilla Cocina y Tequila: Mexican over $20
Palmilla lights up Hermosa’s Pier Avenue. Photos by Chelsea Sektnan Not too long ago, expensive Mexican food in the South Bay was pretty much identical to the same stuff served in cheaper places. The...
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Tomboy’s: Best Chili
Tomboy’s owners Tom and Vira Zevgaras at their Hermosa Strand location. Photo by Kevin Cody At Tomboy’s the chili is an ingredient in chili dogs and burgers, not something you can generally get by...
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Mickey’s: Best Deli
Mickey’s Paul Mance. Most delis cultivate the impression of being a neighborhood institution, some going so far as to refer to their sandwich as “famous” on the day they open. Mickey’s doesn’t have to...
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Dominique’s Kitchen: Best French
Chef Dominique Theval. Photo by Kevin Cody Many chefs make French food with respect, skill, and a sense of reverence. Dominique Theval makes French food as if it is the most exciting cuisine in the...
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Comedy and Magic Club: Best comedy club
Mike Lacey breaks up the audience while accepting the 2014 Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year award from last year’s Man of the Year Ron Newman. Photo by Kevin Cody When then 24-year-old...
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Hot’s Kitchen: Best Foie Gras
Hot’s chef Sean Chaney with his crew. They led the court battle to make foie gras legal in California, after it was banned by the state legislature. Photo by Brad Jacobson Usually we can list some of...
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Bottle Inn: Best Romantic, best wine list
Silvio Petoletti shows why his Hermosa and Riviera Village Bottle Inns have become destinations for romance and fine wines. Although almost everything else in our culture has changed in the last four...
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Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar: Best Steak over $30
When a chain operation in an office building is the overwhelming favorite steak option in an area with many competitors it means they’re doing something extraordinarily well. Flemings Steakhouse is...
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Bull Pen: Best steak under $30
Bullpen Chef Joe Wilcox. Photo by Tom Sanders If a film producer was looking for a local place that looks like a classic steakhouse, the Bull Pen would be their first choice. This is the kind of...
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Mediterraneo: Best tapas
Mediterraneo’s combination of tapas and extensive wine and craft beer selections have made it a popular Pier Avenue gathering place. The restaurant that pioneered Spanish tapas in the South Bay is...
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Benihana: Best teppanyaki
The award for teppanyaki goes to the restaurant that brought it to America. Teppanyaki – literally, food cooked on an iron grill – was invented in the 1940’s but wasn’t very popular among Japanese....
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Thai Dishes: Best Thai
The building with the steeply peaked roof by the post office on PCH is one of the more arresting pieces of architecture on the highway. It’s as close an approximation to a Thai home as local building...
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The Spot: Best vegetarian
The Spot’s Stacey taking another healthy, and tasty order. Photo by Jim Cody This is one of the only local restaurants that can use the words “World Famous” in their advertising and have a credible...
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Fresh Brothers: Best Pizza
The Fresh Brother brothers, Adam and Scott Goldberg. Fresh Brothers offers pizza with a thick or thin crust, topped with healthy vegetables or with a vast pile of meat, and of course they offer a...
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Blue Water Grill: Best Seafood Soup
Bluewater Grill’s New England Clam Chowder. If you appreciate the freshest possible seafood, cooked by people who are experts on the subject, Bluewater Grill is the place to be. With New England clam...
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Simon at Oki Doki Sushi: Best Sushi Chef
Chef Simon of Oki Doki Sushi. Simon has been behind the sushi bar at Oki Doki for 10 years. The location is unassuming – it’s in a strip mall on PCH – but the sushi is top rate, and chefs like Simon...
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Natalie at Old Venice: Best Server (female)
Natalie at Old Venice. I almost choked on my iced tea when I asked Natalie at Old Venice Restaurant in Manhattan Beach how long she had worked there and she said 15 years. She looks about 20. In fact,...
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Jimmy Erickson: Best Server (male)
Jimmy Erickson. Photo by Joanne Row Think of a server who can handle bartending an engagement party of over 20 rowdy guests while managing checks, taking drink orders, and serving tables, while also...
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Palmilla Cocina y Tequila: Best Cocktails
Greg and Ron Newman, co-owners of Palmilla. Lest you think that Palmilla is only a place for tequila, take a gander at their extensive cocktail list. Manny Hinojsa, the brand mixologist for Bacardi, is...
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Baja Sharkeez: Best Happy Hour
Baja Sharkeez. Baja Sharkeez’s Mexican fare has no business being as good as it is for bar food at a popular party spot, yet it never disappoints. Once again, Sharkeez wins for best happy hour, though...
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Ortega 120: Best Margarita
The $5 handmade margarita at Ortega 120. Photo by Chelsea Sektnan Ortega 120’s Day of the Dead decorations and old school movies projected onto the wall make for a fun daytime or evening atmosphere....
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Mangiamo’s: Best Martini
A Mangiamo martini. Mangiamo’s martini list is nearly as long as its food menu. The offerings range from the classic Cosmopolitan to a “Diablo Pomegranate Martini” with Don Julio tequila. The most...
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Adam DeRitter: Best Bartender
Adam DeRitter, bartender extraordinaire. Adam DeRitter was born and raised in Manhattan Beach and has found a happy home for himself behind the bar at Rock n Fish in his hometown. “I started as a food...
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Baja Sharkeez: Best Sports Bar Food
Baja Sharkeez, Hermosa Beach/ Baja Sharkeez is a beach cities institution. It’s also pretty polarizing — either you like Sharkeez or you don’t, and if you do, you’re likely under 30. The music is loud,...
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Ocean Bar: Best Dance Club
DJ Dik stage diving at the Ocean Bar. Photo courtesy of DJ Dik Most dance clubs can get a bit claustrophobic. Alcohol, smoky air and hot bodies can be a bit much. Luckily Ocean Bar is an open-air club...
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Stars Antique Market: Best Antiques and Collectibles
Stars Antiques houses over 65 antique dealers and offers a wide selection of vintage jewelry, furniture, and trinkets. Photo by Ed Pilolla Stars Antique Market’s cramped, but homey corridors makes you...
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Gumtree: Best Gift Shop
Lori and Will Ford own Gumtree in Hermosa Beach that features many local artists. Photo by Chelsea Sektnan This darling shop, inside a 1911 craftsman bungalow with an adjoining café, invites visitors...
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Trader Joe’s: Best Grocery Store
Trader Joe’s has five locations throughout the South Bay. With more than five locations in the South Bay, it’s hard to drive anywhere without finding a Trader Joe’s close to your home. Trader Joe’s...
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Handel’s: Best ice cream
It has been almost five years since Handel’s came to Redondo. When they did very few people had heard of this chain based in Youngstown, Ohio. They know it now and are fans of the ice cream made...
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Growing Wild: Best Flower Shop
Growing Wild co-owners and twin sisters Lee Hoven-Bakos (left) and Lisa Hoven-Gallien. Photo by Andrea Ruse Manhattan Beach native twin sisters Lee Hoven Bakos and Lisa Hoven Gallien always dreamed of...
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23rd Street Jewelers: Best Jewelry Store
Most of the jewelry at 23rd St. Jewelers is designed by the staff. In 1981, sisters Diane Allen and Mary Kelley combined their talents to open 23rd Street Jewelers in Santa Monica. Allen, artistically...
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Scooter’s Jungle: Best Kids Birthday Party
Scooter’s Jungle. For four years Scooter’s Jungle has taken home first place for best kid’s party location because of their friendly-friendly environment. They offer “worry-free” parties and special...
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Del Amo Fashion Center: Best Major Shopping Center
Del Amo Fashion Center. Before the Mall of America was built in the midwest, Del Amo Fashion Center, at 2.6 million square feet, was the biggest shopping center in the U.S. It boasts over 200 stores, a...
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The Source Cafe: Best Specialty Salad
Beet and arugula salad at The Source. The Source Cafe is a unique, fresh healthy cafe that specializes in bringing handcrafted salads, smoothies, juices and other delicious fare to our health conscious...
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Lisa’s Bon Appetit: Best Caterer
Chutney cheese from Lisa’s Bon Appetit. Founder, Lisa Eriksen opened the first location in Torrance off of Vista Montana and Pacific Coast Highway. It was here that a legacy of amazing recipes,...
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Dive N’ Surf: Best dive shop
The Dive N’ Surf family celebrates the reopening of its half century old store last summer. Photo by Kevin Coy 2014 was an epic year for Dive N’ Surf. The nation’s oldest Dive Shop celebrated a grand...
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Spyder: Best skateboard shop
Spyder skate team. In the mid-’70s, Spyder surf sponsored one the top teams in skateboarding. “I sponsored Kelly Mahon, Kurt Lindgren, Brian Beardsley, and Troy Trujillo. Skaters who invented many of...
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Spyder: Best snowboard, ski shop
Spyder’s stoked crew. Photo by Eddie Solt When snowboarding first became popular in America during the early ‘80s, Spyder Surf owner Dennis Jarvis almost missed the boat. “We were approached by Jake...
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Tyler Surfboards: Best shop shaper
Tyler Hatzikian in his shaping bay. Photo by Brent Broza “Advanced traditional design” is the guiding principle of Tyler Surfboards’ Tyler Hatzikian. “My goal was to build longboards with no shortboard...
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Jose Barahona: Best underground surfboard shaper
Jose Barahona in his shaping room. Photo by Eddie Solt Dan Cobley of Danc Surfboards, winner of the Best Underground shaper the past four years, has his shaping bay at the Mangiagli surf factory...
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Spyder: Best surf shop
Spyder Surf. Photo by Chelsea Schreiber Spyder Surfboards was started in 1978 by up-and-coming pro surfer Dennis Jarvis to provide high performance surfboards. In 1983, he opened his first retail store...
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Spyder: Best men’s clothing
The Spyder crew Kyle Beatty, Payne English and Luke Jarvis. Photo by Ed Solt Being a beach community, it’s fitting that Spyder Surf won “Best Men’s Clothing” for the fourth year in a row. Surf fashion...
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Best of the Beach 2015
Best of the Beach 2015. Photo by Pete Henze Over 6,000 readers showed their support for their favorite beach city businesses and services by voting in Easy Readers 29th Annual Best of The Beach...
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Best Nursery: Deep Roots
Deep Roots owner Jon Bell. Photo by Mark McDermott Deep Roots has been a fixture at the corner of Sepulveda and Second Street for decades and has won Best of the Beach honors the past five straight...
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December Peninsula 2018 Events Calendar
Wednesday, December 19th & Thursday, December 20th the Los Cancioneros Master Chorale Ensemble will perform Christmas and Chanuka favorites tableside for the enjoyment of dining guests. 6:30 p.m....
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