Finbars Italian
Kitchen
Hearty modern Italian in
Seal
Beach featuring traditional and
creative pastas, thin-crust pizzas, and meat/seafood
entrees. Full bar
service and small lounge area. Try the southwest
portobello ravioli, aglio y olio, and salmon with basil
cream. (Named
after a parish in
Brooklyn.)
Panini's
Grilled sandwiches with many fillings melted
in panini presses. Great salads, soups, and non-grilled sandwiches also
available. Very
limited street and lot parking in Signal Hill. Favorite combos
include mortadella/cheese and turkey/cranberry.
Cafe Hiro
Inventive
Japanese fusion menu served in a small Cypress mini-mall space at a fraction of pricier West L.A. clones
(Chef Hiro used to cook in
West
L.A.). Daily lunch and dinner specials -- try them, especially
if vegetable risotto is offered. From the regular menu,
stand-bys include jidori chicken or Japanese-style curry
served with pickled ginger and onions.
Benley's Vietnamese
Restaurant
Elegant Vietnamese fare at reasonable
prices, including a "taste of" menu (smaller portions of
classics such as pho soup or bun vermicelli noodles). Unusual desserts
(cassava cake) or European classics (panna cotta) keep the
Long Beach/Los Alamitos neighbors happy.
Park
Ave Restaurant
Retro 1950's fine dining restaurant that
serves up a New American breakfast/lunch/dinner menu in
Stanton. Well-executed homemade
favorites such as tomato soup, apple pancakes, and seafood
pie.
Website: www.ParkAveDining.com
Coffee Cup Cafe
Local
Long Beach breakfast and
lunch hangout that closes at 2pm -- you can order the entire
menu during business hours. Classic egg and
pancake combos, sandwiches, and a number of Mexican dishes
available.
Residential street
parking, usually on Grand.
E.J. Malloys
Local
Long Beach sports bar with
many beers on tap and a varied menu. Try the fish and chips,
gorgonzola fries, or burgers. Multiple screens tuned
to various sports channels particularly fun on big game
days. Street
parking in the busy
Belmont
Heights residential
neighborhood.
Enrique's Mexican
Restaurant
Cheerful crowded restaurant on PCH in
Long
Beach crisply executes Mexican classics
while offering more offbeat dishes such as grilled quail and
potato taquitos. Always a line at lunch and especially at
dinner.
Binh Duong
Restaurant
Homemade Vietnamese flavor with an extensive menu -- try any of their pho noodle soups made with excellent
broths. The
vermicelli (bun) with pork is fantastic and cheap! Street parking on busy
Anaheim
Street in
Long
Beach.
Jerry's Donut Shop
Long Beach home of the best
apple fritter -- crunchy on the outside and tender on the
inside. Choose
the hand-size fritter or the "small" palm-size. Also makes other
delicious doughnuts.
Prep Kitchen Essential (Cooking
Classes)
Fun weekday evening and weekend daytime
classes covering anything from artisan breads to Chinese dim
sum to soup stocks at this
Long Beach culinary retail
store and school. Class cost includes eating what the instructor and you
and your classmates make (don't worry, it's all
good).
Koi Restaurant
A top Japanese place in
Seal
Beach with a waiting-list-only sushi
bar. Order sushi
and other specialties from the tables as well. Favorites are toro
sushi, rainbow roll, and grilled yellowtail cheek.
California Shabu-Shabu
Worth the long wait (and drive to
Fountain
Valley) to sit at the counter and cook
your own thinly sliced meats, seafood, and vegetables in
boiling water (get the premium beef). Sesame and soy dipping
sauces and rice round out your meal.
Lotus Chinese
Eatery
Islamic Chinese in
Huntington
Beach? Yes! Order the sesame thin
bread with green onion or any lo mein with hand-cut noodles. Halal and no
MSG.
Native Foods
Vegan cafe serving lunch and dinner in a
techno yurt. Seitan, tempeh, soy, fresh vegetables, and
rice/noodles/quinoa/grains star in professionally prepared and
presented meals. Tasty favorites include the Azteca salad,
Palm
Springs wrap, and save the chicken
wings. Drive to
Costa
Mesa, eat at Native Foods, and shop at
its neighbors at The Camp (Adventure 16/Patagonia, Village
Bakery, etc.)
Cha for Tea
Boba drink outpost of the Ten Ren tea
empire, serving all manner of boba and boba-less hot and cold
beverages and food. Try the glass jelly iced herbal tea with sweet butter
toast for a light snack or order entrees like basil chicken or
vegetable dumplings. Near
Cal
State
Long
Beach and VA Hospital.
John's Philly
Grille
A three-location mini-empire featuring riffs
on the philly cheesesteak sandwich and hoagies. Highly recommend the
steak fries and cheese poppers. Wash it down with a
bottle of Stewart soda. We like the new
Seal Beach
location.
Johnny Rebs' Southern
'Jeet (Did you eat)? Should you go for the
biscuit sandwiches at breakfast, catfish po' boy at lunch, or
baby back ribs at dinner? Why not make a day of
it? Lovely sweet
potato fries and swamp water (half lemonade/half iced tea)
served in huge mason jars. See y'all in north
Long Beach (another location in
Orange)! |
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