Celebrate All “Beach Days” at Stella Barra Italian Cafe

(Gerry Furth-Sides) We learned that Stella Barra has so much more than pizza when we went to celebrate “Beach Days,” there this year. The official and unofficial dates range from Italian Beach Day (a religious holiday) on August 15 to National Beach Day in the USA on August 30th, also an alert that September 17 is around the corner. For more information on the event and to participate, please see //www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/ccd/ccd.html.

While the August 15th holiday has religious connotations, most Italians see Ferragosto as the culmination of summer vacation and a time to escape to the water, so much so that major cities become ghost towns. In smaller towns, you still see some religious processions with a statue of Mary paraded through the streets.

We celebrated at Stella Barra blocks from the beach for its guaranteed good cheer any day of the year. (see why in the company history below).

First, let’s eat! Stella Barra Pizzeria & Wine Bar is known for its artisanal pizzeria “inspired by the idea of simple honest cooking,” in the restaurant’s mission statement. And there is an entire array of dishes outside of the famous pizza.

The pizza and the dishes all have top quality, local ingredients are sourced from a network of farms and purveyors and “presented simply.” This includes sustainably farmed organic produce, meats and cheeses.

First up, a chopped salad marinated chickpeas, salumi, olives, basil, pepperoncini, pecorino (15.95) is surprisingly filling. The chop is a rough chop with plenty of texture. We found that the flavors blended and deepened when we ate the “planned overs” the next day!

Healthy, ROASTED CAULIFLOWER Calabrian honey vinaigrette, olive- pine nut gremolata (9.95) has a unique twist because of the Calabrian honey vinaigrette’s sweet and tangy combination, and an added crunch with the pine-nut gremolata. It makes a fashionable dish entirely original here.

PRIME BEEF MEATBALLS marinara, dusted with parmesan ( $13.95) are tender inside with a refined crunch on the outside. They are perfect for sharing or eaten as a meal with a salad or veggie.

BURRATA choice of house made bread with tomato jam (16.95).

The story that is the foundation of this hospitality at the top, began decades ago in Chicago. Read it below.

And in addition to the festive air of every restaurant, special events are creative. A current four negroni cocktail menu is offered this month, for example. The mix of classics includes the Bianco Negroni and a few with “a West Coast twist,” such as the 818 Negroni which uses 818’s Blanco Tequila.

We were regulars at M next door (for the root vegetable hash) until it closed. And the salted pretzel croissant afterward. When they stopped offering them and I asked why, they said their bakery source closed and the replacement bakery wasn’t the same quality!

We were startled, but not really surprised, to see that the Maggiano Restaurant in the Grove is a Lettuce establishment. The food, service and the ambiance, were always just old-fashioned quality. A lifetime-best poached salmon dish at winter holiday party stands out in my mind. So does a lavish Easter brunch, along and the extraordinary asparagus I ate on the lazy back veranda one summer with my TV producer because all was simply such a cut above. //localfoodeater.com/tag/maggianos-little-italy/

Through his relationship with Orzoff, Melman formulated a philosophy based on the importance of partnership, sharing responsibilities and ideas, developing and growing together, with a “culture of caring” ethos which has been paramount to the company since day one.

It is fascinating that icon Danny Meyer made the description of “enlightened hospitality” famous though it has always come naturally to Stella Barra and any Lettuce Entertain You restaurant. Meyer, in fact, appropriated the approach from Rich Melman, founder and chairman of national Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. And Meyer alway gives Lettuce credit for it, including in his book. 

Open on Earth June 10, 1971, Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants began as a result of Rich Melman’s innovative ideas combined with the business acumen of Jerry A. Orzoff. A successful realtor, Orzoff played a crucial role in Melman’s life as close friend and mentor. Following the opening of R.J. Grunts in 1971, Melman and Orzoff continued to develop restaurant concepts together until Orzoff’s death in 1981.

^©2022 Stella Barra Pizzeria & Wine Bar^® A Lettuce Entertain You^® Restaurant is one of their national brands. Fifty years later, Lettuce remains a family-owned organization that owns, manages and licenses more 60 brands and 130 restaurants in a dozen states, including California. From fast casual to Michelin-starred fine dining.

Stella Barra, 2000 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA tel:310-396-9250