The Tasman Sea Motor Hotel sits on that funky stretch of Western Avenue where Rancho Palos Verdes descends to earth. Bread is still the staff of life in the Baltic countries, and Foad bakes her own. In three visits, I've tasted seven kinds of wonderful bread here, from thick-sliced black rye to slightly sweet egg bread. The best was a chewy dill seed rye with a crunchy crust.
Most dishes are Russian, however.
The restaurant's specialty is pelmeni, a bowl of 15 Siberian ravioli in chicken broth with a spoonful of sour cream. The pasta is al dente and has a really meaty filling. You can get it as an appetizer or an entree, and there's also a potato-filled version. It comes with a pampushka, a walnut-sized bun served in a ceramic peasant soupspoon in some garlic butter. It comes on toast, looking like the world's most luridly red strawberry jam.