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The remarkable location of The Beach House Restaurant, on Ocean View Boulevard in Pacific Grove, looks out over picturesque Lovers Point Beach. The restaurant offers popular early-bird entrees and inspired French and Mediterranean dishes. 188 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 4 greatest dining value in the history of mankind." The popular Sunset Suppers (4-6pm) provide early-bird diners with comfort food entrees such as bacon-wrapped meatloaf, sole amandine and panko-crusted chicken breast—for just $9.90. Add soup or salad for $2.90, and a glass of house wine or beer for another $2.90. Each day a line forms outside the restaurant, with the demographics pointing to Peninsula residents north of age 60. A typical evening sees between 100 and 150 early birds. "At 6 o'clock, we become a totally different restaurant," says Co- Executive Chef Briana Sammut, who runs the kitchen with her fiancé Guillaume D'Angio. "Meatloaf at 4 and filet and lobster after 6." Sammut and D'Angio were originally hired as sous chefs, but when the kitchen struggled to keep up with the heavy load, Phillips let the executive chef go and hired the young couple. "I had every confidence they could do the job," Phillips says. "Their skills complement each other." He's French. She's Greek. He's hot-tempered and often launches into bursts of unintelligible "Frenglish." She's the cool, calm young motherly fig- ure in the kitchen, and puts out all the fires. "It gets interesting," says Summut, spending nearly every hour of the day with her fiancé. "We never argue in the kitchen, though. It's too busy." Both are young (she's 25, he's 30), energetic, creative and well trained. Sammut graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, while D'Angio earned his stripes at some of the best restaurants in France. "It's been great to watch it all come together," says Phillips. Despite the atypical coupling of chefs (normally it's frowned upon), the kitchen hums along, serving as many as 300 on a busy night. D'Angio calls the food a blend of French and Mediterranean, with some American whimsy. He would love to take the meatloaf off the list but "it's crazy how people love it." The menu is eclectic, from the steak frites au poivre (honoring D'Angio's homeland), to fresh spaghetti and clams (a nod to the local Italian culture), to the palate-singeing firecracker shrimp (the most popu- lar item on the menu). Phillips allows his chefs to paint with a broad brush and express their creativity. For example, a recent daily special: crab and smoked salmon croquettes with lemon-wasabi aioli, became such a hit with guests it was added to the regular menu. "We're too young to remember the Bath House," Sammut says. "We're just doing our own thing," It's not about erasing memories, but more about creating a new legacy. "It's just pure joy," Phillips says. "People absolutely love it." The Beach House is located at 620 Ocean View Blvd. in Pacific Grove. For more information, call 831/375-2345 or go to www.beachhousepg.com. 186-189 Beach House_Carmel Mag 1/26/14 12:45 PM Page 3