Missed out on Brian Addison’s Favorite Things of past? We got you covered—just click here.
Too many years back, I wrote a very self-indulgent listicle that was about so-called “essential” Long Beach dishes; dishes that I loved and could depend on as long as that place existed—and I wrote it because there’s something so elemental and useful about a specific great dish at a specific place. It was less about some grander proclamation than it was about, “This is just great food.” (I’ve done a much more comprehensive, similar list since then.)
And after a year of not doing such lists, I want to return to it. Not some grand list of “essential dishes”—that is too hard of a burden to put on a restaurant: You better have this and you better have it all the time. But for now, in this moment, I am happy to share some of my favorite things.
In other words: Why not just own the moment? Without further ado, here are the favorite things I’m eating right now…
Molokhia from Ammatoli
285 E. 3rd St.
Every year, Chef Dima Habibeh at Ammatoli creates a special Ramadan menu. I was way too busy to step in for it this year, but she put two of the plates on the permanent menu—and, per usual, they’re amazing. Do not skip the Levantine rolls as they are nothing but addictive but for certain do not skip the molokhia.
Molokhia is one of the most beloved comfort dishes across the Levant (hence Chef Dima serving it during Ramadan). And at its core, it is a deeply savory green stew made from finely chopped leaves of the jute mallow plant. The texture is wondrous: velvety and viscous, it sits somewhere between spinach soup and okra, just more delicate. The flavor is earthy, herbal, and deeply savory, sharpened by garlic and coriander and brightened with lemon.
Served atop rice and the space’s rightfully famed roasted chicken, it is a dish that is, simply put, overtly comforting in every way.
Pasta criollo from Selva
4137 E. Anaheim St.
This gorgeous pasta can be broken down, mechanically, into two parts: the incredible shape, casarecce lunghe, comes from Chef Cameron Slaugh at Nonna Mercato. A beautifully lengthened version of the hand-rolled pasta shape, it looks like a narrow strip of dough twisted into a loose scroll—almost like a curled, thick ribbon folded onto itself.
And it is used to grasp the sauce and ingredients of one of the most distinctive plates of pasta in the city. Set to be unveiled next month, Chef Carlos Jurado of Selva continues his year of ambition with his Fuego Lento menu, where he uses hand-crafted pasta from Nonna Mercato to craft uniquely Latin American pastas. Spaghetti with huancaina from Perú. A tagliatelle layered with cream and a gloriously copious amount of green onion…
But nothing feels more Selva than his bowl of pasta criollo. It is doused in the man’s heavenly hagao sauce—the same he uses to dress his equally stellar tomahawk pork chop—where heirloom tomatoes and black garlic combine with the slightest bit of cumin and turmeric and tons of scallion and cilantro… An ode to his mother’s caldo de pollo, this is a Colombian soup gone pasta that reeks of nostalgia whether you’ve tasted it before or not.
Look for the full feature in the coming days.
Pork chop from Bar Becky
3860 Worsham Ave.
Chef Johnathan Benvenuti of Bar Becky—backed by Chefs Oriana Aguilera, with him since day one (and also when the space was formerly Remix Kitchen) and Chef Nathon Vo—has proudly entered his Don’t Care era. He doesn’t care about what the landlords want or where the trends are pointing or… He only cares about the people who care about his food.
Perhaps no dish better captures Chef Johnathan’s current mindset than the pork chop: originally developed for the chef’s counter tasting menu, it is now reborn as a kind of anti-signature signature.
Built as a play on pineapple pizza, a massive, sliced chop sits atop a pool of a yeasted cream sauce—deeply savory, almost cheese-and-bread-like—and topped with grilled pineapple, Thai basil oil and leaves, and a hot honey glaze. Then, hiding off to the side, a tomato jam that feels like a bright barbecue sauce, cooked down until it carries concentrated pizza-parlor sweetness without becoming literally that.
For Brian Addison’s full feature on Bar Becky’s spring menu, click here.
Breakfast croissant from Colossus
4716 E. 2nd St.
Fresh off a glowing review from Jenn Harris at the Los Angeles Times (which also praises this very creation), Colossus founder, owner, and master baker Kristin Colazus-Rodriguez and Chef de Cuisine Jeff Paletz have locked into the branding and culinary creation that have come to define the space.
Touring pizza maestro and Chicago food legend Steve Dolinsky—which now has Colossus appearing at his upcoming Pizza City Fest and might just include Foodologie in the dessert section come next year—Chef Jeff was lucky to provide us with some breakfast essentials. And that included their incredible breakfast croissants.
A pillowy square of an egg fluff, painted with blistered Muenster cheese—and, in the case of two, the addition of mushrooms or bacon—stuffed between a sliced, beautifully buttery croissant, there is nothing else needed for this little bit of perfection.
Prime rib from Marlena
5854 E. Naples Plaza
Ah, the glory of a prime rib on Easter Sunday. And there is likely few better places to experience it than the the open-air glory that is Marlena in Naples. Also, if Chef Michael Flores has a special going on, get it.
In this case, a weekend-only offering of Creekstone prime rib. Served with creamed spinach, a buttery delight of a compressed potato pavé, and a side of creamy horseradish, this dish represents everything delicious when Chef Michael veers from the coastal and goes for the comfort zone.
Look for the full feature discussing Marlena’s spring menu in the coming days.
Missed out on Brian Addison’s Favorite Things of past? We got you covered—just click here.
