Terra Firma

I had dinner at Terra in Malibu shortly after it opened in August 2007. There was a fire in the canyon that ended up destroying Lilly Lawrence's castle on the hill, Malibu Presbyterian Church, and part of the Cross Creek mall. There were no vehicles on PCH except for fire trucks, and thick smoke was in the air. When I got to the restaurant, however, there wasn't an empty table. I'm at Terra again for their second anniversary, and this time the station fire is still smokin'. Even more cinder related, Suzanne Somers is here. Back in early 2007 her Malibu pad burned to the ground during a quickly moving blaze. But all is mellow inside the mosaic-tiled, living room-esque eatery. The wine is flowing (ONEHOPE wines, which donates sales proceeds from each bottle to research on such causes as autism, breast cancer, and the environment—great idea) as exec chef-owner Chris Bocchino, his wife, Kristine, and third owner David Price flit about chatting up the guests. Lots of folks from the 'Bu or 'Bu-adjacent and little tastes of the miso-glazed cod with shittake mushrooms. Next time I'm at this joint, though, I hope the flames are confined to candles.