Pitfire Pizza

Downtown Manhattan Beach has welcomed a cozy new restaurant: Pitfire Pizza. If you love wood-fired pizzas (or if you have never tried one before), you are in for a tasty treat.

Pitfire Pizza, which is in a total of seven locations around Los Angeles and Orange County, is designed as a community-friendly restaurant with a neighborhood feel. (At our most recent visit, we ran into two different friends while there.) Its food is all hand-crafted, organic and local whenever possible, and cooked to perfection in a 630-degree wood-fired oven. Kids feel right at home here and they’re encouraged to order off the regular menu and/or create their own pizza. According to co-owner Paul Hibler. “If we can create sustainable pizza and Italian dishes that combine organic ingredients at an affordable price the whole community can enjoy, then our mission is accomplished.”

Pizzas are crafted in individual sizes that are plenty generous for one, but perfect for sharing. At a recent visit, we enjoyed the burrata pie (made with burrata cheese, tomato sauce, wild arugula, caramelized onion, hazelnut, and a drizzle of pesto) and a seasonal roast pumpkin pizza (made with sage-roasted winter squash, brown butter, braised chard, fontina, toasted pepitas, and pumpkin seed oil). The verdict? They’re so tasty you may not even want to share.

Want to read more? Check out our full story on Jolly Tomato.

Pitfire Pizza, 401 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach. Open Monday-Thursday 11 am to 10 pm; Friday and Saturday 11 am to 11 pm; Sunday noon to 10 pm. Price ranges: Pizzas, $8.95 to $10.95; Pastas, $8.75 to $10.95; Salads, $3.50 to $11.00. Phone: (310) 359-9555.

Barsha Wine Giveaway

How healthy is your lifestyle? The Blue Zones Project of the Beach Cities would like to make it healthier – and more fun. With its new campaign, Wine @ 5, they’re asking adults to look for a friend and a glass of wine around 5pm each day, to connect socially, “downshift” and “belong.” The medical benefits of a little wine are a nice bonus.

To promote Wine @ 5, they are sponsoring a very cool giveaway – a massive gift basket from Barsha, the new wine store on Sepulveda in Manhattan Beach. The gift basket, valued at $200, is chock-full of good-for-you goodies including wine, coffee, tea, and chocolates.

To enter, all you have to do is take the Blue Zones pledge for healthy living. A winner will be drawn at random from all Manhattan Beach residents who sign up during the month of February.

That’s it – you’re done! You’re on the road to a healthier lifestyle already. And now that you’ve got a glass of wine in your hands, stop by and visit the lively community of readers at Manhattan Beach Confidential, the official host of the giveaway. Here’s to your good health!

Roundhouse Aquarium Fundraiser

Love the Roundhouse Aquarium at the end of the Manhattan Beach Pier? Now’s your chance to show it! Coming up on Tuesday, January 29 is a fundraiser for the Roundhouse, to be held at one of its closest neighbors, The Strand House. An $80 ticket gets you two drinks, Strand House appetizers, and the knowledge that you’re helping a worthy cause. All proceeds will go toward much-needed repairs at the Roundhouse.

Need more convincing? The Roundhouse is an amazing community resource, teaching young and old alike about marine life and conservation. It’s open to the public free of charge, seven days a week. But it takes support from the community – lots of it – to keep the Roundhouse “afloat.” Even if you can’t attend the fundraiser, consider making a donation to the cause.

Roundhouse Aquarium Fundraiser, January 29, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Location: The Strand House, 117 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach. Contact: Friends of the Roundhouse, 310-344-7251.

Leafy Greens Salad Bar

So you’d like your family to have a healthy dinner, but you just got home from work, your fridge is empty and you don’t have money or energy for a sit-down restaurant where the kids are just going to wind up eating burgers and fries. What you really need is a quick, healthy stop that has a little bit of something for everyone. That’s the main premise of Leafy Greens, a new family-friendly salad bar in downtown Manhattan Beach.

“Our idea was ‘Keep it simple’” says Rich Weber, co-owner of Leafy Greens, which sells only salad bar items and soup (no sandwiches or other entrees). “Part of the concept was that we just want something that people can eat every day.”

Weber and his wife Laura were frustrated with the lack of quick, healthy lunch or dinner options in the area. Laura came up with the concept and then spent three years developing the plans and working on logistics until finally opening in August 2012.

Leafy Greens offers what most of us can’t maintain in our own refrigerators – a complete selection of ready-to-eat fresh veggies every day. “The concept is, it’s almost impossible to keep this stuff fresh at home – or you end up getting sick of it,” says Weber. At the salad bar, you can also choose other more unique treats – black figs or Japanese udon noodles, for example – that you might not necessarily have on hand at home.

Our big question: Will kids go for it? We kid-tested the salad bar with an admittedly small kid sample, but the response was surprisingly positive. Our young tester went straight for the kale in the leafy greens line, and then picked up pieces of waffle-cut carrot slices, bell peppers, baby corn, black beans, peperoncini, olives, grapes, cubes of cooked chicken, and slivers of tortilla strips. It’s fair to say that his meal was far more adventurous than something he would have picked out for himself (or found in the fridge) at home. Added bonus for kids: The counters are fairly low and accessible so most little ones can get a pretty good view of the array of choices.

Weber notes that Leafy Greens offers local and organic ingredients whenever possible; the selections vary depending on season and availability. Most of the items are single ingredients but there are a few prepared salads. The avocado/tomato salad – a customer favorite – was a real standout.

Also, there are no desserts for sale at the store, which is fine, because the salad bar itself was such a food adventure, our kid tester forgot to ask about dessert. Go figure.

Leafy Greens Salad Bar, 308 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266. 310-376-2502. Open from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm daily. Salads are sold by weight at $7.95/pound; soups start at $2.95. Seating available.

Skechers Friendship Walk

So you’ve heard all about the Pumpkin Race, but did you know that the fun begins several hours earlier? The Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk, a fund-raising walk to benefit the Friendship Circle and local schools, will offer beach-side activities and fun starting at 8:00 am on Sunday, October 28.

The annual 3.4-mile walk, which goes from the Manhattan Beach Pier to the Hermosa Beach Pier and back, was created by the Skechers Foundation. Funds raised from the walk will benefit the education foundations of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo, Palos Verdes, and Torrance; as well as the Friendship Circle, a South Bay nonprofit that brings social and recreational opportunities to special needs kids (this year the goal is to raise $1 million).

On the morning of the walk, event check-in and Kids Zone activities (including a bounce house) will begin at 8:00 am. Following an opening ceremony at 9:00 am, the walkers will get started at 10:00 am. Legendary Hall of Fame baseball manager Tommy Lasorda, Dancing with the Stars co-host Brooke Burke-Charvet, and fitness expert Denise Austin will be on hand serving as co-hosts for the event.

Interested in walking? Individuals, families, team leaders and team members can register for $25 either online or by mail. Registration on the morning of the event is $30. Participants will receive a commemorative t-shirt, goodie bag, and complimentary water and drinks along the walk route. And of course, when you’re finished, can celebrate your accomplishment by racing pumpkins!

Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk, Sunday, October 28 begins at 8:00 am at the Manhattan Beach Pier. Information:  http://www.skechersfriendshipwalk.com .

Snoopy’s Costume Party

When most people think of Knott’s Berry Farm at Halloween they think about the super-scary Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween Haunt. But kids ages 3 to 11 can enjoy their own special Halloween fun at  Snoopy’s Costume Party in Camp Snoopy (known throughout Halloween as “Camp Spooky”).  

Snoopy’s Costume Party, which runs on weekends in October, offers loads of special non-scary treats for the littlest one in your family (don’t forget to bring them in costume!). As soon as kids arrive, they can get special trick-or-treat bags and a series of clues to lead them through the “Spookie Ookie Scavenger Hunt” for Halloween treats. (Your reading-aged kids will enjoy following the clues and trying to think them through; your littlest ones might just make a beeline for the trick-or-treat stops because they aren’t hard to find.)

 

At Grizzly Peak Lodge, they can enjoy silly stories in front of the “fire” and they can take part in special Halloween cookie decorating. There’s also plenty of fun waiting for them in the Great Pumpkin Hay Bale Maze, a maze that’s not too tricky or scary, and at the Creepy Crawly Critter Cave, where a naturalist will show them all sorts of slithery little critters.

In the afternoon, they can take part in Snoopy’s Costume Contest and Parade as they march through Camp Spooky and compete for special prizes. All of this is included in regular admission prices – and don’t forget that they can enjoy the rest of the park while they’re there too.

Snoopy’s Costume Party at Camp Spooky at Knott’s Berry Farm, weekends in October from 10 am to 5:30 pm. Knott’s Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Boulevard, Buena Park 90620

Blogger disclosure: Knott’s treated us to a morning at Camp Spooky to enjoy Snoopy’s Costume Party with our kids.

World Famous Pumpkin Race

Have you seen any decked-out pumpkins racing down hills recently? It must be October, because the World Famous Pumpkin Race is just around the corner and everyone’s getting their pumpkins in top racing form.

The 22nd Annual World Famous Pumpkin Race Festival is scheduled this year for Sunday, October 28. The festival begins with the Skechers Pier to Pier Friendship Walk activities beginning at 8:00 am. Then, from noon to 6:30 pm at the Manhattan Beach Pier, it’s pumpkin racing time. The open qualifying rounds (single elimination) will take place from 1:00 to 4:00 pm and the semi-finals and finals will begin at 4:00 pm. Throughout the races you can enjoy family activities and Halloween-themed festivities.

New to the pumpkin races? All you need is a pumpkin, two axels, four wheels – and a little creative flair. You can make your pumpkin ahead of time (pumpkin race kits are available at Grow Produce for $20) or can buy the pumpkin racing kit on-site and get help installing the axels from a pit crew of experts at the RaceGenius booth. Then you just line up to race, wait for your heat, and let your pumpkin fly down the hill.

One last word of advice: Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to super-charge your pumpkin with a hidden turbo engine. The dreaded Mallet o’ Justice stands ready to bring Cheater Pumpkins down.

World Famous Pumpkin Race, Sunday, October 28 at the Manhattan Beach Pier, noon to 6:30 pm. See www.pumpkinrace.com for more information.

Photos via World Famous Pumpkin Race