The Bakri family left Syria for America...

The Bakri family left Syria for America in 1980 and wound up in Tulsa, Okla. They spoke very little English when they first arrived, but they soon discovered a common language with their new neighbors.

“Everybody has to eat,” says Ammar Bakri, manager of the Killer Grill in Redondo Beach, “so we opened a restaurant.” Though they had no previous restaurant experience, the family opened a barbecue place that provided them with a comfortable living for two years.

Then Ammar’s father landed a job as an aircraft mechanic and moved the family to Los Angeles. Three months ago, however, after an accident forced the elder Ammar out of his job, the family bought the 2-year-old Killer Grill and returned to the food business.

There is no indoor dining room here. Rather, diners order at a window and wait for their food at one of 10 colorful, tile-topped tables set in an enclosed patio.

One of the most-ordered dishes is the chicken and spinach salad ($4.95), which features a grilled chicken breast set on a bed of spinach with grilled zucchini, eggplant, green peppers and carrots.

The original owner was Argentine, and the menu continues to offer choripan ($3.50), a flavorful Argentine sausage made of beef and set in a soft, fresh French roll. The roll is slathered with a sauce made of olive oil, fresh basil, oregano, and garlic that compliments the meat nicely. It is accompanied by a salad full of tomatoes and mushrooms.

Pasta lovers have eight selections to consider, including fettuccine with grilled eggplant and sauteed mushrooms ($4.75), linguine with a chicken breast topped with pesto sauce ($6.95), or frutti di mare ($9.95), which here is sauteed tiger shrimp, jumbo scallops, and calamari on linguine with a rosemary-enhanced marinara sauce.

The killer shrimp combo ($12.50 for two) gives you a taste of everything: a platter with beef ribs, a chicken breast, shrimp, scallops, calamari, and fish of the day atop a mound of pasta and served with an avocado salad.

Killer Grill is at 509 Torrance Blvd., Redondo Beach. (310) 372-0099. Open seven days, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.