Redondo Beach Pier and Tony’s Restaurant

This past weekend we celebrated the birthday of a close friend. The four of us have a tradition where we treat the birthday person to a meal of their choice at a restaurant of their choice. This time, M chose to spend the afternoon at the Redondo Beach Pier capping off with dinner at Tony’s which is right on the pier.

The Pier was having a sidewalk chalk drawing display. I don’t know if it was being judged but I don’t think so. There were some really creative drawings and then there were many done by children. There was also music, one being a drum circle, and bands. However, the most interesting event was the dolphin run. First we thought it was a race somewhere. There was little information on the poster except that all proceeds would go to the library. We walked around the pier, seeing people pick out their crabs, watching them die in the boiling water and then pulling them apart to eat the tasty meat. I prefer mine away from the live animal so I can forget that it was once a living creature that has a right to live.

As we walked more, we noticed many people were standing along the railing looking at the water. We looked and saw nothing except what looked like a group of blue junk floating. I went to a police officer and asked what everyone was looking at. He said the dolphin run. I looked and then said that I needed more of an explanation. He said they take the dolphins and throw them in the water from a boat and the first one to reach the beach wins. I must have looked horrified as I pictured these poor dolphins being thrown from a boat and I didn’t see any. After seeing my face, he said that they were plastic dolphins about 3 to 4 inches long and each one was bought by someone which is where the library gets its money. The blue stuff in the water were the plastic dolphins. We walked to the other side to get a better view. Watching this was almost like watching grass grow. We stood there for quite a while and then we decided it was time to eat dinner.

Luckily, we were able to get a table right next to the windows, some of which were open, and right on the ocean. In fact, for part of the time, a sea gull stood on the railing intently watching us. Three of us ordered iced tea and BK ordered a Diet Coke. Tony’s is mainly a seafood restaurant but they do have other food as well. The four of us really like seafood so this was perfect. I asked the waitress which of the fish are fresh and she said they only have fresh fish. There was an extensive seafood menu with many different choices. There were two specials. One was crab stuffed shrimp which BJ ordered. The other was lobster and shrimp linguini in a lemon garlic butter sauce which both M and BK ordered. I ordered the lightly breaded, sautéed halibut. Both BJ and I ordered rice as our side. All dinners include soup and salad which is really unusual today and they were all below $24.

First we were served bread and butter. It looked fresh but none of us ate any. Then BK, M and I had clam chowder. BJ passed on the soups. There were three choices – clam chowder, minestrone and smoked salmon chowder. We all liked the flavor and there were many, tender clams and not many potatoes which to me is always a plus. However, it was rather thin and seemed to be thickened with corn starch and little creamy type base that we are used to. BK and I had some of the most wonderful clam chowder ever in the Maritime Provinces and down the east coast so maybe we are a bit spoiled. We all declared that the soup was good but not great.

We were then served a salad consisting of various types of extremely fresh and crispy lettuce and those who ate the croutons said they were good – not excellent. The salad dressing was also fine. As the waitress brought the entrees, she tipped one of the linguini plates and spilled some of the butter sauce but not on any of us or our table. BK felt that didn’t detract from her dish. This was a plate full of linguini covered with many, many chunks of lobster and many shrimp, all of which were very good. The problem with the meal was the sauce. It didn’t have very much flavor. Both felt it was a bit tasteless and, after BK finished her meal, she saw many garlic cloves but they were whole, not crushed or diced so the flavor never permeated the sauce. Both finished their meal and really liked the seafood.

BJ had the crab stuffed shrimp – four extremely large ones. They were delicious. The stuffing was made up almost entirely of crab and then had been browned on the top. She ate two of them and took the others home for a delicious dinner the next day. My halibut was as tasty as any I have ever had. It was lightly breaded and very moist. It was a very large piece of fish and I savored every bit of it. BJ and I both had the rice and it was the kind that is often served in restaurants which I really liked it as did BJ.

I had told our waitress that we were celebrating M’s birthday and she told us that they would give her their famous chocolate mousse. When she gave us the dessert menu, BK and I decided to share a piece of Red Velvet Cake and that was a great decision. They gave us a nice size piece. The cake had 4 layers filled with cream cheese frosting and dark chocolate slabs like candy bars. It was fantastic. M’s birthday mousse came with a lit candle. Thankfully, for her, they did not send in all the waitstaff to sing. We very quietly sang and she blew out the candle. There was a lot of whipped cream on what appeared to me to be not that much mousse. Since I don’t like whipped cream, this would not have been great for me. But M does love whipped cream and BJ tasted the mousse and announced that it was very good. The best part was that it was on the house, a very nice gesture.

While we were eating, we looked out to the water and saw that some of the plastic dolphins had made it to land. After dinner we continued a walk on the pier and listened for a while to band that was playing. This was a very nice afternoon and evening. Our dinner was very good. The setting was beautiful. The company was great. What more could a person want?