I Am A Diner - Enjoying Fresh Fish at the Fishbar

I want relief!  Southern California has been experiencing some unusually hot and humid weather.  I realize that those who live in places like "hot and humid" Florida would roll their eyes at this remark, but for us, California heat is not supposed to be like this.  We do not have electricity-generated air conditioning...we have windows.  Just opening them up usually gives us a wonderful refreshing cross breeze.  Not so these days.  Stepping out on to the front porch for a quick breath of fresh air now feels like stepping in front of the open oven door.  Dinner time was approaching.  I was hot.  I wanted relief.  It was not a hard decision to decide to treat ourselves to dinner by going to our favorite local restaurant, the FishBar in Manhattan Beach. They have delicious fresh fish and air-conditioning!

The Fishbar on Highland Ave.

The FishBar could be called a sports bar and we seldom partonize sports bars, but we are always on the lookout for fresh fish.  When the popular sports bar, Sharkee's, moved one block from its old location to take advantage of zoning for later hours, the Fishbar occupied its empty space on Highland Ave.  The transition seemed to take place over night.  Excited to have fish featured so close to home, we went that first week and had our first meal surrounded by all the old surfer trappings of Sharkee's but loving the fish!  Over the next months, as if little elves came in during the night, the restaurant slowly transformed itself into the lively but classier restaurant that it is today.  While the multiple big screen TVs still cover the walls, all showing various sporting events, the rest of the decor has a style that is current and classy.

As often happens when we have a favorite restaurant, we tend to order the items we have come to know and love.  For Jay every meal starts with a small order of oysters on the half shell, the house salad with a bowl of Jessica's fantastic white clam chowder followed by one of the entrees.

Jessica's Clam Chowder

 For me, I either have the fish tacos or the Mahi Mahi Mediterranean.

Mahi Mahi Mediterranean

So tonight we did our usual...we relaxed; we shared a few words and a laugh with our friend, Dan, who must rent his stool at the bar;

had a nice conversation with Executive Chef Jessica Jordan, whom we have come to know over the months;

Executive Chef Jessica Jordan with co-owner, Zac Rothman

enjoyed a good healthy meal; and after a while, we cooled down actually beginning to feel human again.

Jay...feeling human again!

I couldn't help thinking of the pros and cons of living in Southern California.  It IS paradise, beautiful nature, usually wonderful weather, varieties of activities at our fingertips.  It is also crowded.  The traffic on the freeways, the crush of people in the stores, in the lines at the bank, in the waiting rooms of doctors' offices can all lead to a desire to insulate oneself and remain impersonal, to protect my space.   How nice to have a local restaurant that feels personal, where I can connect with others and where I can feed my psyche as well as my body!