Cameron Slaugh proves he is Long Beach’s most underrated chef with The Attic’s ‘Southern Nights’ dinners

Chef Cameron Slaugh—the man behind both the stellar Nonna Mercato in Bixby Knolls and The Attic on Broadway—is the city’s most underrated chef. He has somehow escaped regional coverage while remaining under the radar at home. And this is all even though he and his business partner Steve Massis turned The Attic from Insta-centric to Michelin-recognized while also opening one of the city’s best pasta joints.

But who needs accolades when the food can speak for itself? And with Chef Cameron’s “Southern Night” prix fixe dinners every Friday and Saturday evening—along with his stellar team, including General Manager slash All Things Vino and Beer Person Iano Davi and master cocktail maker Nathaniel Ochoa—one needs little more proof than this.

And with four hefty courses at $55 per person, it’s not just the quality—but the value.

For Chef Cameron Slaugh, food is always about community—which is precisely what Southern Nights is about.

Lately, there’s been more extensive discussion surrounding cost in the hospitality industry. And it is an important one: In the world of $100 bagels and $85 calzones, whom food is for becomes crucial to those who can’t consistently afford the seemingly endless uptick in the costs of eating out. Some are straying away from the luxurious and focusing heavily on the valuable. Take Chef of El Barrio, who has created a “recession menu” that includes tons of items under $10 and nearly every hearty dish under $15.

For Chef Cameron Slaugh, it isn’t just about the value but the expereince.

“I think there’s value in more than just, well, value,” Chef Cameron said. “I’ve long grown up with food as an experience, where you sit at a table for hours as tray after tray of dishes are brought out. And while I can’t perfectly mimic what I experienced in my home growing up in a restaurant, I can certainly create an experience for people that also happens to be valuable.”

Even more, the patrons can tailor the experience through various upgrades. Want a steak instead of one of the other two options? No problem; it will cost you $10. Want an additional item? They’ll happily oblige if you are willing to pay. Ultimately, without or without the upgrades, one thing remains clear: Southern Nights at The Attic is one of Long Beach’s most quality experiences for its cost.

What to expect from Chef Cameron’s Southern Nights at The Attic?

The food at The Attic’s Southern Nights is perfectly Chef Cam. It is a Californian sensibility, all through the lens of a southern culinary angle and tinged with bits of Italian love.

The “Snacks” starter—a beautiful array of everything from freshly fried okra to beautifully baked oysters to creamy cheddar biscuits—has gorgeous salt-cured southern pork from Benton’s in Tennessee drizzled with olive oil and perfectly paired with his Benne seed cracker. The result? An Attic take on Chef Cameron’s prosciutto-wrapped sesame stick that was part of his “Summer Nights” dinners at Nonna Mercato.

As always, his mastery of the salad proves unmissable: his “Little Gem” is the textbook example of a stellar gem salad. But it’s his bitter greens salad, where leaves of radicchio and boats of endive are melded with house-made cheese, pears, and smoked almonds. A perfect salad if there ever was one, where fans and skeptics of bitterness might actually come together with hands held. Add a pour of Moscato from wine master and General Manager Iano Dovi? Perfection.

In perhaps one of his wittiest creations yet, Chef Cameron Slaugh takes the humble chicken and dumplings and converts them into a pasta dish that also reminds us how he is one of our city’s principal pasta purveyors. Feathered bits of fowl. Pillowy rounds of ricotta gnocchi, eschewing the heft of the traditional dumpling of the South. A brown gravy sauce that is as light as it is deep. Bits of pickled pearl onion. Wonderful, warming, welcomed.

The shift in The Attic has not been solely Chef Cameron Slaugh—but the entirety of the team behind him.

It’s nearly impossible for me to write about The Attic without mentioning how Steve and Chef Cameron—along with longtime employee Iano—partnered to take what was otherwise an out-of-the-park success and bring back some soul to the space.

Chef Cameron Slaugh didn’t remove the defining characteristics of the menu; no. The famed mac’n’Cheetos have been elevated and, to this day, remain a dish that sells and sells damn well. But his other offerings have defined The Attic. His tartare is a beef lover’s dream meets classic white-cloth dining: raw bits of filet—tart with hints of mustard and vinegar—are laid out in three pillows atop a massive bone’s burrow of marrow. Creamy, earthy, and bright, it is a shareable that will quickly put your mind to what is ahead.

It’s been watching Iano’s evolution: Having been in space since day one, he witnessed the Basic Brunch crowd invade the space every weekend, only to watch it mature into the space he has always wanted it to be—a space where he can explore wine and beer, create experiences that are distinctly hospitality-centric, and hone his own skill as a hospitality leader.

In this vein, the same could be said of its cocktail program: The Attic has not remotely ditched its (even better) Bloody Mary menu that came to define its Instagram era but embraced and elevated it. And when it comes to cocktails specifically, current lead cocktail developer Nathaniel Ochoa has welcomed the space’s classic cocktail past and the current.

Some highlights from the Southern Nights menu at The Attic

Here are some of the dishes you will get when you participate in the prix fixe menu being offered on Fridays and Saturdays at The Attic.

Snacks: Cheddar biscuits | Benton’s Southern ham | Pimento cheese | Fried okra | Benne seed crackers | Baked oysters | Heirloom pickled veggies

Bitter Greens: Radicchio | Endive | Fresh cheese | Pears | Smoked almonds | Chef Cameron magic

Little Gem: Grilled gem greens | Blue cheese | Candied walnuts | Grapes | Celery heart | Buttermilk

Steak au poivre ($10 uncharge): Green peppercorn | Au jus | French fries

Chicken & Dumplings: Heirloom chicken | Ricotta gnocchi | Carrots | Celery | Pickled pearl onions | Brown gravy sauce

Strawberry Cobbler for Two: Crumbled biscuit | Strawberry | Lemon | Vanilla ice cream | Thyme

The Attic is located at 3441 E. Broadway.