California Dreamin' Pilot turned Chef from Italy Is Getting Customers Out of Their Comfort Zone, to Their Delight
Flying over the Hermosa Beach coastline Luca Manderino saw a sign that would change his life…a for sale sign attached to a beautiful restaurant on the beach that very soon afterwards would become the location for his own restaurant La Sosta Cucina. Luca jokes that before that day he “didn’t even know how to get to Hermosa Beach” but there was something about this location that gave him the feeling that “this was going to work.” Determined, he found the address, saw it in person, and the rest is history.
Manderino was born and raised in Venice, Italy and speaks about it with much fondness. He describes it as being “very unique” because “it’s the only city in the world where you can actually walk and that’s it.” But to him this is “beautiful in a way” because you’re always in contact with other people and are given the ability to get to know them. Growing up his parents owned a hotel in the Dolomites and two restaurants in Venice. So perhaps it was inevitable that he too at some point would join in on the “family business.”
However, when he moved to the U.S. it wasn’t to become a chef but a jet pilot. A career he pursued for eleven years until he took the fateful flight over Hermosa Beach and decided to bring a little bit of his heritage to Southern California in the form of venetian inspired cuisine. Luca shook up the Hermosa dining scene with his dishes like cuttlefish with ink and after a few months of empty tables he soon had people coming all the way down from West Hollywood, Venice Beach, and Santa Monica to dine at his restaurant.
When given the opportunity he offers more than just venetian style dishes but also an educational and tailored dining experience. This is evident when he talks about how to pair wines with food. For him “wine is food, the whole concept, and the whole idea is food.” In Italy, one chooses first what to eat and then based on that decision chooses what to drink whereas, in the U.S. it’s more commonly done in the reverse. He sees this as a challenge but also an educational opportunity. He gives the example where a guest might walk in and first order a full-bodied cabernet and then order spaghetti with anchovies. Not realizing the combination will make both the wine and the dish taste bad. He explains that “the anchovies with the tannins of red wine are going to taste fishy, they’re going to be so fishy in your mouth and the wine will be ruined.” His response is to “tell them to keep your red but with the first dish let me give you a glass of white, or half a glass of white that goes with the dish.” He finds that 99% of the time this has great results and the guests are “thankful for the recommendation.”
So, what kind of wine can you find on his wine list? Well Italian but not the cliché varietals like Pinot Grigio. Luca knows that if he includes this varietal the rest of the wines on the list will be overlooked by his guests. So instead he chooses to be a little daring and offer some of the lesser known Italian grape varietals. However, there are times when he will offer a Pinot Grigio but only by the bottle. He acknowledges that it is a great wine but disapproves of the efforts of some of his fellow Italians who have begun to standardize it to appeal to an American palate. We then continued our conversation by defining what a great wine is. To which Luca’s response was that “It has to express the region it’s from. It’s all about terroir and finesse.”
Vero shares Luca’s approach to get customers ‘get out of their comfort zone’ to try new types of wines and foods with a sense of place that leave you pleasantly surprised. Check out our online store to find some of the off-the-grid wine varietals and olive oils, including those that Luca offers to his clients. Or contact us and we can suggest some new wines for you to try… and all of it can be delivered right to you front door!
