This restaurant is at the Portofino Hotel and Marina in Redondo Beach, California. I last dined there many years ago. It was Zohreh's birthday, and I thought it would be a nice place to take her.
Our dinner reservation was for 4:15 p.m. We had a lovely table with a view of the Marina. Our server came to open the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon I brought. We glanced at the menu, but before deciding what to order, I inquired about the specials for the evening. Zohreh and I found her response to be odd. The specials won't be available until 5:00 p.m. The Chef and staff will have a meeting, and only then will we be informed of what they will be. That did not make sense because why open for dinner at 4:00 if you are unprepared? We were not about to hang around till 5:00 just to find out what they were, so we just went ahead and ordered.
We both agreed to try the Truffle Fries with black garlic aioli sauce for appetizers. That was an excellent choice because it was truly delicious and super crispy!
Zohreh ordered the Swordfish Vera Cruz, cracked olive and preserved lemon relish, wilted spinach, and crispy white potato. I had a bite of her swordfish, and it was indeed good. I did not order the Ribeye. Instead, I ordered the Miso-Glazed Black Cod with Wasabi mashed potatoes, ginger soy shitake mushrooms, baby bok-choy, and sesame seeds. I asked our server if the wasabi was really hot, and she assured me it wasn't. The cod was cooked to perfection, and the flavors of everything just came together beautifully.
Our server presented Zohreh with a dessert: a brownie with ice cream. That was very good. The brownie was chewy, the way it should be.
The manager, Aaron, came by, and we told him how happy we were with everything, but I did have to mention our displeasure on not having the specials ready; plus to add insult to injury, the Chef and staff had their meeting near our table to discuss the specials. We were almost done eating at that time. I remember hearing about the Banana Forster, which I would have loved to try.
Other than that, Baleen is still an excellent place for dinner. Make sure you make your reservations after 5 p.m. so you can hear their specials.
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