Dining Out

Mary Furr

Ibiza Bistro and Cocktails, named for an island on the Mediterranean

side of Spain, offers a a new taste to the mix of restaurants now finding

a home in the first few blocks of Main Street.

The deep storefront restaurant opens to a bar with tall tables and

stools and just beyond are tables and a banquette that fills a corner

near a fireplace. Look above at the ceiling with two faux openings that

reveal pink clouds and a fiery sunset our server changed at the touch of

a switch. Pretty snazzy stuff for a once rather bleak Main Street.

Ibiza’s menu for lunch is as different as its decor offering salads,

soups and sandwiches with the distinctive touch of experienced chef Fred

Gonzales who got his training from his father who was executive chef at

the Sky Room in the 1960s heyday of Long Beach’s downtown.

If it’s a foggy day, begin with a bowl ($3.95) of thick black bean

soup, a Caribbean specialty with its slightly sweet flavor topped with

melting cheese, a dab of sour cream and strips of green onion with

toasted French bread on the side. When the fog lifts, there’s a wonderful

spinach salad (small $3.95, large $5.95), a big flat bowl filled with

tender oil-slick baby leaves and generously sprinkled with Parmesan

cheese.

Sandwiches are served on thick, soft, warm rolls. The grilled chicken

with walnut ($6.95) is topped with balsamic vinegar and pesto with a

slice of tomato and shredded lettuce -- excellent with a subtle flavor

and a huge side of peel-on, thick French fries. Servings at Ibiza are

very generous.

Another sandwich choice is pepper-crusted, fresh mild ahi (the

Hawaiian name for yellow fish) ($7.25), a thick slice with the zesty

flavor of coarse ground pepper. It is spread with aioli, a strongly

flavored mayonnaise from France -- which plays off the milder fish and is

just right. Also included are those good fat French fries.

Chef Gonzalez came from the kitchen to supervise the flaming bananas

Foster dessert ($4.95) -- an absolutely delicious bowl of sliced bananas

and vanilla ice cream to which he touched a lighter to ignite a blue

flame leaving warm bananas afloat in a rum-flavored syrup.

Another dessert choice is key lime pie ($4.95). It carries an intense

punch for such a slender slice, but its tart taste goes well with the

sandwiches.

Ibiza Bistro, owned by John and Peggy Gallanger with son Eugene and

daughter Carin, brings the creative cuisine of chef Gonzalez to steadily

progressive Main Street.

FYI

Ibiza Bistro & Cocktails

WHERE: 209 Main St.

HOURS: open 11 a.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday

PHONE: (714) 536-7887 * MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant

critic. If you have comments or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or

e-mail o7 hbindy@latimes.com.f7