Mother's Day Meal: Review of Salt Creek Grille in El Segundo, California

On Saturday, I opened my email to find a dinner invite from my mother via OpenTable.com. While I wondered why such formality as opposed to just calling me, my fingers automatically opened and replied that I would join her and my grandmother at a new restaurant in El Segundo called Salt Creek Grille.

Just ten minutes (in average traffic) south of Los Angles International Airport, the newly built Plaza El Segundo is a slightly upscale shopping center for those who may not want to deal with the Westside traffic at the Grove or the drive to Orange County (Costa Mesa Shopping Center is a sub-city itself). With easy access and ample parking, this is an ideal mall escapism that should include a stop at this restaurant.

Salt Creek Grille calls itself "Classic American Cuisine" and judging by the modern design on both its website as well restaurant decor and blended with jazz selections that are not too abstract or borderline elevator music, someone came up with the right formula to make one feel special and comfortable. They have a heated outside patio and inside, they combine wood paneling with earth tones, trimmed in black (which is also the uniform color of their diverse wait staff and the ceiling lamp border). Our reservations were for the later afternoon and the lighting was not too bright, distracting or dim.

As this was Mother's Day, there was limited selection to ensure that all meals are received in a timely manner but more than three entrees were available. I ordered the "Airline" Chicken Breast (we all cringed at the name due to the thought of a barely seasoned, rubbery chicken that we got in second-class seating) with green beans and horseradish mash (potatoes). While the stuffed halibut and grilled salmon did not make my mother and grandmother jump out of their seats, I have to say that my meal could not have been more perfect. The chicken was golden and the skin was just a little crunchy, the gravy had more going on than flour, water and 'brown' and though I'm not much on mashed potatoes, I believe horseradish is the next best thing (fresh garlic being number one) that could happen to spuds, milk and butter mixed together.

The one reason to drive through rush hour traffic (besides being near L.A.'s most populated airport, El Segundo is also home to companies like Raytheon, Xerox and DirectTV) is the apple pie. Yes, Starbucks next door offers an apple snack for about half the price or you can have a pick from organic, dairy-free or the sugarless version at the stadium-sized Whole Foods directly across the parking lot. This is one dessert that is not easy to forget. Perfectly spiced apples sit inside a buttery, lattice-top crust, then is covered with roasted macadamia nut halves, lightly drizzled with a not-too-sweet caramel sauce and finished with a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Salt Creek Grille also has an extensive wine list that starts at $8 per glass, Appetizers average around $10 and entrees start at $11. Their hours are from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and until 11 p.m. on weekends; reservations are recommended. The address is 2015 E. Park Place and the nearest cross-streets are Sepulveda and Rosecrans on the northeast corner. Other California locations are in Dana Point and Valencia, along with two restaurants in New Jersey.