Bar Becky’s ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ alumni dinner proves it’s Long Beach’s most underrated dining space

Bar Becky—Chef Johnathan Benvenuti’s massively underrated space over at East Long Beach’s LBX retail complex—brought together a powerhouse of a “Hell’s Kitchen” alumni crew for a multi-course dinner. A genuinely happy spread that spanned summer vegetables to Iberico pork to witty plays on carbonara. Hosting Chef Ryan O’Sullivan—the Irish powerhouse from County Cook that took out Johnathan in the Season 22 finale—and Chef Sammi Tarantino—the charismatic fan-favorite of the season who ended in third place—the trio kept the dinner Bar Becky in spirit but highlighted each of their strengths.

And that is the fact that they were the proper chefs of their seasons. Collectively, they proved that Bar Becky, whether hosting guests for a collaboration dinner or focusing on something as simple as the farmers market for a tasting menu, is the city’s most underrated space.

Chef Ryan personally flew out. Chef Sammi was present (with Layla Bagels attached). And I sat there pondering why the dinner wasn’t sold out, when last year’s version was impossible to get into. Of course, there are deeper things to discuss—patronage, across the board, is dropping, and that has larger implications about affordability and accessibility—but that isn’t for this specific space.

But before going on, no, I didn’t have my proper camera so these photos were taken on my iPhone; please, leave your judgement behind the screen.

Bar Becky’s one-night-only tasting menu proved—yet again—it is the city’s most underrated dining destination.

Once again, Chef Johnathan—certainly with some hefty assistance from his camarades—reflected his dedication to what can simultaneously be called sexy and fully, in-the-thrall-of-nostalgia, comforting food. (Think In n Out “animal style” beef tartare and you’ll understand.) And it is all embodied in a healthy dose of SoCal-centric thoughtfulness.

A monkey bread-like focaccia. Or a plate smeared with burrata, topped with peaches and tomatoes. Spaetzle carbonara. Iberico pork. D’Artagnan duck breast. These are the bases. But then there’s the quirks of Bar Becky that make the space, well, Bar Becky.

Ramp butter and duck liver mousse with rhubarb for the focaccia, topped with Aleppo pepper and sesame. Chef Sammi’s famed togarashi futikaki sourdough bagel as croutons and an oil drizzle that feels like a salsa macha oil was released from its nuts and chiles for the burrata salad.

A soppressata XO sauce blended with shaved truffle, pecorino, zucchini, and egg yolk for a carbonara spaetzle gone umami bomb. Iberico pork layered with apricot galore—grilled apricot, apricot mostarda—pickled white asparagus, and watercress. Duck breast topped with duck fat-fried onion rings. Drizzled with ramp oil and a black garlic aioli. Paired with rapini, its beautiful bitterness is sliced with lemon and complemented by the fat of the duck.

“Hell’s Kitchen” can host plenty of folks who don’t belong in a kitchen. Season 22’s Top 3 was certainly not the case.

Chef Johnathan brought a powerhouse crew that should have brought a powerhouse patronage. After all, Gordon Ramsay is no fool. Beyond the man’s culinary talent—his Restaurant Gordon Ramsay has maintained three Michelin stars since 2001, placing it in the nearly impossible-to-reach stratosphere that hosts Paul Bocuse, Troisgros, and Les Prés d’Eugénie—he is also a businessman. And not just a restaurant businessman. He is a show businessman. Unlike his Food Network counterparts in the 2000s and 2010s, Ramsay understood reality television in a way that went beyond standing in an on-set kitchen and cooking. Yelling. Cursing. Criticizing.

Building up what could is almost inarguably the strongest relationship between a chef and a network—his programming with Fox Television—raamsay has used his seemingly endless iterations of cooking programs to not just bring the drama but also harness talent. His winners are given paid positions at some of his most popular spaces.

“I asked what I would be doing in Vegas,” Chef Ryan said, touching our table. “And I was told I wasn’t going to be in the kitchen; that I would be mainly taking photos with fans.” And this, like any true chef, was not what Chef Ryan was seeking. Telling Ramsay he would be a “dishwasher” if he opened a Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in the States, Ramsay gave the man what he wanted: A month-long internship at the famed London restaurant.

The chefs Bar Becky attracts lends to its stance as a solid culinary space.

Chef Ryan’s admission tableside—led by other amusingly acidic anecdotes like telling Ramsay his steakhouses are rather kitsch—showcases not just the Irish chef’s clear inheritance of his heritage’s charm and charisma. It showcases Chef Johnathan’s own credibility in having these chefs fly out to Long Beach and their own comfort in Chef John’s space.

And that, in turn, has the ability to show off Long Beach in a way that isn’t often attainable. International chefs cook for us on an intimate level. They grasp and witness what is going on with our food scene. And we get to connect with culinary talent that is also otherwise largely unattainable.

Bravo, Bar Becky—may you continue to provide East Long Beach a light toward something different.

Bar Becky is located at 3860 Worsham Ave.