A Summery Evening in Mahattan Beach....

We drove through Manhattan Beach to avoid traffic one Sunday evening on our way back from San Diego.  Even though it was early May, Manhattan Beach always feels like summer -  kids lining up at the ice cream store and outdoor patios filled with patrons enjoying sunset cocktails.  Inspired by the mood and two open seats at Mangiamo's sunset-facing bar, we decided we should join the festive feel and watch the sunset with a glass of wine.  It has been there for 25 years, but we had never stumbled into Mangiamo before and are now thrilled to have discovered it! After looking at the menu, we were so disappointed that we couldn't stay for dinner, but we vowed to return on a Monday night for their special lobster night.

Last Monday we had an excuse to return to Manhattan Beach.  After a late afternoon meeting we sped down to celebrate Mary's homecoming from Bali.  We browsed a couple noteworthy shops - The Dolly Rocker and Third Gallery.  We especially loved Third Gallery as it carries several of our favorite designers - Amanda Uprichard, DVF, Rebecca Taylor, Johnny Was - we'll be back.

Simmzy's was bustling and since we weren't totally starving,  we brushed shoulders with some locals and had a drink at the bar and shared an artichoke. Finally we were ready to head to Mangiamo for the much anticipated lobster night.  We were happy to see Monique, the pretty and cool bartender/manager, that we had met on our previous trip.  After a brief wait, she shuttled us over to the corner, window table that we had our eye on- thank you Monique!  So here is the deal for lobster night - on Mondays, for $25 you get a one pound lobster served over a bed of linguini and your choice of caesar or house salad.  It was delicious! If you can't make it down on a Monday, Sunday night is pasta night -  a nice selection of different pastas for $18 which also includes a salad of your choosing.  Honestly the food was amazing!  Monique is also apparently quite famous for her martinis, we can't wait to try one our next trip! 

Despite the fact that we were quite satiated, it was indeed a celebration night, so we stopped into the Manhattan Beach Creamery and decided a mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwich and chocolate covered frozen banana would be the perfect end to our summery evening! And it was!