I am not sure how many of you do this, but I keep a note on my phone with a list of restaurants that I want to try.  Right now there are about 75 restaurants on the list, and it has been slowly growing ever since I started it!  One of the first restaurants I put on the list was MB Post, so I quickly suggested it when we wanted to have dinner nearby during the week.

I thought that all of the anticipation would lead to a deflating food experience, but it totally met and exceeded my expectations!

Ready to dive in?

First of all, I love the rustic look on the outside of the restaurant.  MB Post is located in Manhattan Beach in a former post office.  I love buildings that are “repurposed.”

Just to give it that fall feeling, a hay bale and a couple of squash were on hand for us to sit on while we waited.  🙂

It’s a bit hard to see due to the lighting, but you can see how they tried to retain the character of the original building.  There were so many details, but you should definitely see them in person.  Also, I should mention that the seating is mainly at communal tables, of which I am not completely sold on the concept.

Here is the menu for the day before we were there.  It is customized basically every day!

Even the cocktails look amazing.  I am loving the resurgence of the Moscow Mule, and the Ivan Drago is a lovely twist that I will have to try next time, if I don’t have to drive.  :

David’s nuclear horseradish mustard

Cristiano creminelli

They were both served on a huge cutting board, and the pretzel was small but amazing!  I actually cannot comment the salami (no pork for me), but it looked good.  🙂

Emmental, Hazelnuts, Sage

I was completely surprised at how delicious this was!  The roasting caramelized the Brussels sprouts and made them completely addicting!  I am thinking this is what we need to do for Thanksgiving!

Tomato and Lamb Ragout, Feta, Basil

Simply delicious!  I wanted to order this because it was one of those dishes where every ingredient listed just adds to how much I want to try it.  House made, yes!  Cavatelli, of course!  Tomato (check), lamb (check), and feta (triple check).  Fresh basil, is just the cherry (or rather basil) on top!  I have to say that this was the third entree that we decided on because the other two were must tries…

I actually forgot to take a description of this dish, but we all know what pot pie is anyways, right?  Check out the delicious goodness inside though…

It was absolute perfection!  Flaky pastry, and a creamy sauce with perfectly cooked and seasoned chicken and vegetables inside.  Besides, it looks just perfect!

Grilled broccolini, red chimichurri

I am not a huge meat eater, but this was not only beautiful, it was really a perfectly cooked steak!  I know a skirt steak is easier to cook than a filet, but sometimes restaurants will overcook it just to get that char on the outside while sacrificing the meat tenderness.  Not in this case!  I highly recommend this dish as well.

You might be wondering what the deal is with the presentation on this one.  Actually, everyone was pretty stuffed at the end of dinner, but I was determined to at least sample a dessert.  Since I did not want to hold everyone up so late, I asked if I could get the tart to go.  It was scrumptious!  Yes, salted caramel is not new anymore, but paired with the Valhrona chocolate and the pastry crust, it was just heavenly.  The flavor profiles of the components were similar to a Twix bar, but so much better!  Just make sure you don’t fill up, or steal my idea of bringing it home!

I definitely need to come back with the entire family because this is definitely my kind of restaurant!  It is laid back and comfortable with delicious food.  What more could you want?  The presentation is rustic with cast iron skillets, ramekins, and cutting boards, but it is still fine without being pretentious.

I cannot wait to return and maybe even save room for dessert at the restaurant for a change.  Well, just maybe, because there are about 10 other dishes that I want to try…

MB Post
1142 Manhattan Avenue
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
(310) 545-5405
eatmbpost.com