Hey Rach Curtis Stone here from sunny Los Angeles.
I wanted to show you one of my local hangs.
It's called Back on the Beach Cafe,
and it's my pick for restaurant.
The food's fabulous and best part
you can come in bare feet.
Check it out.
(upbeat music)
Told ya.
It's really beautiful.
Nice to see you.
Thanks buddy.
Fred's opened a cafe right here on the beach.
He's been here for 40 odd years
and he's just the sweetest man.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in New Jersey and New York.
And what made you come to California?
I was gonna be an actor of course.
But then what changed?
Well, I had to make a living.
I had to eat and I went to a cocktail party one night
and was offered a job as a food
and beverage director at a private club.
They happened to own this building.
They wouldn't pay me enough.
So they gave me the building to do something
that earns more money.
Well, that was 1979.
And here we are.
Oh my goodness.
43 years later.
That's unbelievable.
What's the secret to your success down here, Fred.
Wow. If I knew what I was doing, we wouldn't be open.
It's just following instincts
and giving people what they want.
You know, I have to have the fish tacos, my uzh.
I get it every time I come,
but I also want try your banana Nutella
Oh, you need a little sweetness after this taco.
Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
All right. Let me work on that.
Thanks mate.
(upbeat music)
Voila!
Yes.
And the pièce de résistance.
I mean, look at those fish tacos.
To me, the fish tacos are just right.
There's that beautiful, crunchy veg that goes in there.
So it's got a real crunch to it.
The fish is ridiculously fresh.
You can see it's got that beautiful slaw that gives it
a really nice crunch.
That little spicy aioli.
The other dish is like a combination
of two of my favorite things, bananas and Nutella,
but into a French toast.
Lots of happiness.
It was all just so delicious.
I really want to know exactly how they made it.
How do you make those fish tacos?
They're so good. Oh man.
It's very easy, man.
We've got our fish right here.
We're gonna throw them down on the grill.
A little bit oil. Nicely marinated.
What kind of fish do you use?
We use Alaskan cod
Oh nice.
And what's on the dry rub then
Garlic, cilantro, and a little bit of cumin powder.
So we're just gonna let that grill off for a bit
then we're gonna throw down our tortillas right here.
How long have you been working here?
Oh, I've been working for Fred for over 12 years.
No way.
Yeah. I started off as a dishwasher.
A little bit of rice and beans.
We're gonna slap that on there.
Oh yeah.
Get this ready for us right here.
Tortillas are nice.
Throw down our fish.
Yes. Nice little crunch.
Nice and fresh.
Then we're gonna have our pico de gallo
and then just chop it off with the crema.
The secret sauce.
Yes, sir.
This is what makes it.
Just garnish with a little bit of fresh cilantro
and voila we have our fish tacos.
All right.
I wanna see the French toast too.
The French toast, right.
The banana, and the Nutella, it's so good
For a French toast mix right in here
just gonna batter that inside our French toast mix.
And what's inside that?
Eggs, cinnamon vanilla extract, heavy cream.
Throw some butter down on our grill.
Go ahead and throw this on there.
Let that get nice and nice and toasted.
Gonna grab a few bananas.
Yeah.
Just gonna go ahead and cut that open.
We're gonna take this over here.
Put it on our board.
Just gonna slice these up right here.
Go ahead and slather that down.
Slathered it on.
Drizzle that over the top.
Oh yeah.
House made whipped cream, toasted almonds.
Give it a nice crunch,
some texture to the plate.
Go ahead and finish with some powdered sugar over the top.
And we have our banana Nutella French toast.
Brother. You do a sensational job.
Nice to meet you, chef.
Thank you very much. - Me and my kids are so grateful.
Good on you Riley.
Nice to meet you brother. Thank you.
Nice to meet you chef.
So next time you're visiting Los Angeles,
make sure you stop in and see Fred at Back on the Beach.
Just tell him Curtis sent ya, I'll see you soon Rach.