Thoroughly Modern Millie’s?

Monica Riera Turner has plans for a grand old dame. She’s itching to give Millie Riera’s Seafood Grotto a fresh look.

The restaurant, which has anchored a corner of Redondo Beach’s Esplanade for 50 years, has earned it, insists its 42-year-old manager.

But not everyone is anxious to yank out the booths in the lounge, splash a lighter shade on the walls or introduce dishes with Asian ingredients to a familiar Italian menu. Regulars have always come here for solid drinks, fried fish baskets and crab Louis with gobs of dressing.

Lobster Thermidor was retired from the menu two years ago, though regulars know they can still order it. When fresh abalone arrives, old-timers still get the annual phone call. Regulars know when the dolphins play, too, and where to look for them through the window, and which seat is best to catch a sunset or a storm in the making.

“Going to Millie’s is a time warp,” says Mike Lacey, owner of the Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach. “It’s like going to Musso & Frank.”

Changing such a restaurant institution is not without risk, Turner agrees. But to attract new customers and move forward, she thinks it’s worth it.

The hand that has guided the restaurant to its recent golden anniversary belongs to 73-year-old Millie Riera. And as Turner, her daughter, enthusiastically explains her new ideas for the place, Riera listens and fidgets with a coffee cup. The dining room hums with lunch guests, and waiters scurry by. “I am tired,” Riera says. “Guess it’s about time.”

The story began when Joe Riera moved to San Pedro from his home town of San Francisco in the early ‘40s. He hired Carlo Sima, a retired fishing boat captain, to skipper his 82-foot boat during tuna season. In time Carlo’s 19-year-old daughter, Millie, caught his eye.

Joe let it be known he wanted to date her. Her father agreed, as long as a wedding came first. The marriage ended her mother’s dream of having a millionaire for a son-in-law.

Millie Sima never wanted to become a restaurateur. To marry Joe Riera and raise good kids was all she wanted back in 1943. But, she remembers, as the newlyweds stood on a Redondo Beach sand dune, looking at the ocean, Joe vowed to open a San Francisco-style seafood grotto right where they were standing.

“I shared his dream,” she says. “After all, he was Big Joe from San Francisco.”

Joe Riera had learned to cook from his Sicilian-born mother and spent his youth job-hopping around kitchens in San Francisco’s North Beach. “It never occurred to him after we got married that he couldn’t run a restaurant or cook professionally,” Millie recalls.

On Labor Day, 1946, with a $10,000 investment from family plus a bank loan, the couple opened a restaurant with blue Formica tables, 50 chrome chairs, a two-page menu and a dining room with a million-dollar view.

“Joe did practically everything,” she says. “When customers saw him tending bar, they didn’t like it. He’d lie and assure them his relatives were cooking.” Millie pitched in, working double shifts at the bar or dining room because they couldn’t afford to cover the shifts.

Business grew. Locals found a Friday night meeting place, and word spread about the huge portions of home-style cooking. Cioppino turned customers into regulars. So did lobster Newburg, seafood baskets from the deep fryer and squares of pizza bread that arrived, gratis, with the menus.

The last thing Millie Riera ever wanted to be was an employer, a bookkeeper and a manager. But life got in the way. Joe’s fatal heart attack at 41 left her a 32-year-old widow with four children, a $250,000 debt and a freezer full of fish.

“I had $137 in the checking account,” she remembers, “and a new car so badly financed that my lawyer made me sell it back.”

Over the years she coped by hiring good loyal employees, understanding their jobs and putting in long hours herself. As a mother of children still in grade-school, she raced home between lunch and dinner at the restaurant to help with homework and made sure their meal was ready. Then she was back at the restaurant to greet the dinner crowd.

Becoming a sharper businesswoman took time. Knowing how to buy and get the best price came by being demanding and never backing down. Soon, bakers and fish vendors competed for her steady business.

When they reached their teens, her children pitched in on the weekends and during school holidays. So did their friends.

The Comedy Club’s Mike Lacey worked here in the ‘70s, when he was in high school, as a parking valet. “I just remember being so busy. Those were peak years when people had money and spent it,” he says. “I got my workout for track by chasing cars. Customers stood in lines around the corner, waiting to hear their names on the loudspeaker.

“Millie treated us like family. When we were sick, she’d call. When you were late, she’d let you know it. She had rules.”

Her hiring philosophy always deemed personality and attitude more valuable than special skills. Pedro Valdivia started as a pot washer 30 years ago; today, he’s the chef. The bartender has just notched up 20 years. Former employees now bring clients for business meals or stop by for coffee and a chat.

Today, Millie Riera is still trim and impeccably groomed. It makes her edgy to sit and answer questions when the lunch hour rush is jamming the parking lot. Greeting arrivals is easier than unearthing memories.

When it comes to talking about change, her forehead creases. Redondo Beach used to be a sleepy community of three or four ethnic groups; now, there are dozens. The economy went from strapping to injured when the defense contracts were whittled in the ‘80s and companies were forced to shut or downsize. Budget cuts changed how often people dined out and how much they spent. Chain restaurants have grabbed a chunk of business, and keeping prices affordable while costs continue to climb is an ongoing challenge. Millie’s last price hike was two years ago.

“It doesn’t get any easier,” she says with a nod, toying with the empty cup and watching as daughter Monica darts in and out of the kitchen, answers the phone or coaches a bus boy. “But she can handle it.”

LOBSTER THERMIDOR

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons minced onion

6 ounces uncooked lobster meat, cut in pieces

2 mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon diced red pepper

1 cup Sherry

Pinch salt

Pinch white pepper

2 1/2 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in skillet and saute onion until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add lobster meat and cook 2 more minutes.

Add mushrooms, red pepper, Sherry, salt and white pepper. Cook over medium-high heat until alcohol is driven off, about 5 minutes.

Stir in flour and simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly, and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 1 minute.

Put mixture into lobster shells or 8-inch casserole. Top with cheese. Broil until cheese melts and browns lightly, about 2 minutes.

Makes 2 servings.

Each serving contains about:

570 calories; 663 mg sodium; 126 mg cholesterol; 17 grams fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 24 grams protein; 0.12 gram fiber.

SICILIANO PIZZA BREAD

1 (1-pound) package frozen bread dough, thawed

3 tablespoons oil

1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated

3 onions, chopped

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

Pinch salt

Pinch white pepper

1 to 2 tablespoons oregano

Roll out dough on floured surface, then transfer to 16x11-inch baking sheet greased with 1 teaspoon oil. Pat down dough. Sprinkle cheese over dough.

Saute onions in remaining oil until soft. Stir in tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes.

Spread sauce over cheese. Sprinkle with oregano. Bake at 325 degrees 1 hour. Remove from oven, cool slightly and cut into squares.

Makes 36 pieces.

Each piece contains about:

87 calories; 182 mg sodium; 10 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.13 gram fiber.

TIRAMISU

The directions here give just one configuration for a tiramisu. It can also be made in layers in a cake pan. Note: Although many recipes call for uncooked eggs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found them to be a potential carrier of food-borne illness and recommends that diners avoid eating raw eggs.

5 ounces Godiva Liqueur, Kahlua or Tia Maria liqueur

1/2 cup decaffeinated espresso

20 ladyfingers

1 pound mascarpone cheese

2 eggs, separated

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1/4 pound semisweet chocolate, grated

Mix 3 ounces liqueur and the espresso in bowl. Dip ladyfingers into mixture, then place on bottom and vertically on sides of 2-quart casserole or baking dish. Cover bottom layer with remaining liquid.

Beat cheese, yolks, sugar and remaining 2 ounces liqueur until smooth.

Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into cheese mixture. Pour cheese mixture into bowl, sprinkle with chocolate and refrigerate overnight.

Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

450 calories; 203 mg sodium; 213 mg cholesterol; 27 grams fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams protein; 0.03 gram fiber.