[Torrance] Restaurant Christine

[Carolyn Tillie]

I love my old friends, I really do. But I should know better than to trust people who don't eat out very often to pick the restaurants... Wife was very excited about finding a place they thought I would enjoy; fusion food, 4-star Yelp reviews, can accommodate Wife's vegetarian needs and Husband's seafood love. My only criteria was a place somewhere between my LAX hotel and their Garden Grove home. We had planned on Long Beach, but Wife was so excited about finding Restaurant Christine in Torrance.

There was an amuse of strawberry soup -- a bit on the thick and yogurty side, more like Keffir. Husband and I shared everything that was served, while Wife stuck with the purely vegetarian offerings.

The first dish was a sampler of Ginger Kobe Beef & Pork Shu Mai with 3 Dipping Sauces served with a side of slaw. Quite honestly, if there was kobe beef in these dumplings, it was wasted. All one could taste was the sickly sweet sauces and heavy, fried wrappers.

Next, fully shared by all, was a Grilled Pear & Maytag Blue Cheese Salad, Baby Greens, Kiln Dried Cherries, Candied Pecans, and Black Currant Vinaigrette. I will give them points on having fresh ingredients, but again, the sticky sickly sweet glaze destroyed what could have been a lovely dish.

Another dish shared by The Husband and I was something I quite frankly can't even remember. I've perused the online menu and nothing even rings a bell. How memorable is that?

The Husband was very excited about the Crayfish and Avocado Tower with Nappa [sic] Cabbage, Mango, Sesame Crisp, Thai Glaze. No one has seemed to tell these people that towering food on this scale hasn't been made since the late 1990s. Why would anyone pair creamy, mild avocado with a creamed crayfish? Two creamy components on an insipid sauce with just a few house-made sesame crackers does not an enticing dish make.

It was hard to watch The Wife get so excited about the main entrée we ordered for the table, Mushroom Raviolis with Roasted Garlic, Zucchini, Portabella Mushrooms, Sundried Tomatoes, Fresh Sage, and Pecorino. The ravioli were monstrous -- at least 3" across -- and buried under a melange of vegetables and pasty mushroom soup. We each only had one bite, leaving it mostly uneaten.

I was ready to leave, the Husband and Wife both wanted dessert and I *was* enjoying their company, so two were decided upon. The first was a crepe filled with cheese (I think?) and doused with Grand Marnier which was set aflame. It was terribly alcoholic and -- AGAIN -- sickly sweet.

The real catastrophe was a ginger-scented creme bruleé. For starters, it was not bruléed nearly enough but even worse, when the spoons broke through the sugar, we were met with a soupy mess. When the waitress asked how we liked it, I pointed out that it wasn't exactly cooked properly. Her response was that it was supposed to be creamy. Uhhhh..... Wrong.

So many of the "fusion" flavors that were presented reminded me so much of what was being prepared and served at The Cheesecake Factory in the late 1990s. So ill-conceived with sauces that are too thick and sweet and horribly unbalanced. It was a Thursday night and the place was PACKED. Now I dearly love my friends and I can't wait to see them again. But this time, I'll pick the restaurant....

[yasuofenix]

I haven't seen some sad looking strawberries like that in a long time. What on Earth did they do to them? California has no excuse, I've been to Santa Maria and around Monterey and there were some fantastic strawberries there. I'm very familiar with Crème Brûlée as it was part of my final to graduate culinary school and that does look depressing. I think I have to go make some now just to redeem the poor effort. And where's the fresh sage in that pasta soup? I sure hope its not those small randomly shaped green spots. So sad to be a sage. In a fair world they would be sued for so much abuse. I don't think I will comment any further since you already spelled everything out for us.

I will be moving to Orange County early next year so thank you for letting us know about this place. At least the company was good thats very important. Do you know of any good restaurants in OC?

[heidih]

Sounds dreadful. Torrance and the adjacent area of Gardena are replete with fantastic small restaurants- particularly Japanese. I have heard about this place before and was not impressed with even the descriptions of the dated fusion cuisine.