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…

Sea bass larb from Second Owl

5272 E. 2nd St.

I’ve long extolled the wonders of Second Owl, a Thai space like no other in the city. Chef Regan Chantrirak’s witty, playful takes on Thai dishes, while also nudging the boundaries of the cuisine, have created some of the most distinct Thai dishes in the region. One of my favorites that blends this line? The stellar, umami-bomb that is his sea bass larb. 

Poached sea bass is layered with green onion, mint, cilantro, chili flakes, shallots, fish sauce, lime. The result? A savory, sour, salty concoction that, when placed onto prawn crackers, provide the perfect pass-around for the table. Light, comforting, fulfilling.

Yong kang beef noodle soup from Midnight Oil

255 Long Beach Blvd.

Paying homage to the famed beef noodle soup outside the Dongmen Station in Taipei, this beef noodle soup is everything you want from Taiwanese beef noodles. The broth is somehow simultaenously deep but light while the beef is braised for hours on end to achieve a wonderful tenderness. The noodles are wide, hefty strands. And the heat isn’t near the pinnacles of SoCal heat but a nice, subtle one.

And this is only available in “The Apothecary,” or center space of Midnight Oil.

It marks an uplift in the evolution of Midnight Oil, as it becomes a multi-room experiential space more so than a singular, culinary cog. There’s Hao Peng You Hand Laundry, the hyper-themed room toward the westernmost edge of Midnight Oil. You have the former Roadkill space that is now The Creature of the Black Lagoon speakeasy on the west side. There’s Midnight Oil’s “apothecary” in the middle with its array of cocktails, Chinese-American fare, and dim sum. (Don’t skip the shrimp fried rice or beef noodles.) There’s a Terrible Burger pop-up on Tuesdays.

Katsu burger from Tanuki Curry House

2201 E. Willow St. #G (in Signal Hill)

Tanuki Curry House is no exception to Chef Erwin Angeles’s dedication to traditional Japanese cuisine, which he first explored at Kihon. It brings the type of curry that is found on nearly every street corner in Japan—think CoCo Ichi or Hinoya—and, more locally, Gardena and Torrance. (Fun fact: Curry is Japan’s most consumed dish, surpassing sushi or ramen in Japan—and, more locally, in Gardena and Torrance.

Brought on as a special for this year’s Long Beach Food Scene Week, he created what could arguably be the perfect katsu burger. A golden, panko-crusted beef patty—juicy, medium-done inside, shatter-crisp outside—between a pillowy, lightly sweet milk bread bun. It’s dressed with tangy, bright tonkatsu sauce, a hint of mustard, and a drizzle of Kewpie mayo, then topped with a mound of finely shredded cabbage for freshness and crunch. Each bite delivers hot, tender meat, crackling breading, bright cabbage, and sweet-savory sauce in perfect balance. Indulgent yet clean, comforting yet refined.

And though he stopped the special for LBSFW, the katsu burger is returning next week.

Causa from Lima Cebicheria Peruana

3851 Atlantic Ave.

Lima Cebichería Peruana in Long Beach, the latest project from the team behind Sushi Nikkei, has officially bought traditional Peruvian seafood—particularly cebiche, or what many know as Ceviche-with-a-V—to Bixby Knolls. Beyond the cebiche, there is a plate of wok-fried rice, layered with bits of octopus, scallops, and shrimp. Arroz con mariscos, a more Peruvian-centric take on rice and seafood. A classic lomo saltado that distinctly differentiates itself from fellow Peruvian joints Ají and Casa Chaskis…

And, in all frankness, one of the finest causas in the region. A creamy seafood mix—highlighted by chunks of sweet, raw scallops—sit atop a bright, hyper-savory huancaina sauce before, tableside, noodle-like strands of starchy, deeply gold potato are sifted through a ricer.

Sourdough bagel from Solis Bagels

130 Cherry Ave. (at the Bixby Farmers Market every Saturday 10AM to 3PM or until sell-out)

They’ve had pop-ups at places across Long Beach, such as Moonbridge Donuts (where their bagels definitely outshone the donuts) or CoffeeDrunk, where they heftily dress up their bagels, like “The Garden,” where dill’n’chive schmear, Persian cucumber, heirloom cherry tomatoes, red onion, dill, capers, black pepper, and sea salt dress a bagel of your choice—plain, rosemary, everything, or specials like sun-dried tomato. Or you can opt for the classic lox, where scallion schmear sits beneath smoked salmon, red onion, dill, capers, sea salt, and a side of lemon to squeeze.

But in all frankness, their plain bagel is simply spectacular. Grab a pack of four and a tub of house schmear and you have yourself one of the best toasted bagels around.

Missed out on Brian Addison’s Favorite Things of past? We got you covered—just click here.