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…

Chanterelle panna cotta from Alder & Sage

366 Cherry Ave.

Unh, this dish. (Yes, the world of onomatopoeias has entered the world of food writing.) Just… Unh.

Chef Matthew Roberts—the newly minted head chef overseeing Alder & Sage in Long Beach’s treasured Retro Row neighborhood—is doing the hard part quietly.  In his short tenure at Alder & Sage, he has impressed owner Kerstin Kansteiner to the extent that she doesn’t even pre-approve menus; she lets Chef Matt run freely. The kitchen staff has altered, both professionally and mentally. Employees want to come in earlier. They want to truly learn the ropes. And they even freely work the grueling brunch shifts with pride.

And his first wine dinner gave us a wonder of a dish: a chanterelle mushroom panna cotta. Yup, mushroom panna cotta. It was topped with a house-made cajeta layered with rosemary sea salt. It is one of the most gorgeously layered, savory-on-the-front desserts I’ve experienced—and a masterclass in melding Californian, Mexican, and Italian sensibilities seamlessly.

Pastrami banh mi from Gold Banh inside Loose Leaf

315 The Promenade N.

Owner Tommy Liu (who operates the space with Jasmine Yip) consistently asked his patrons one question as he expanded from a tea operation with Loose Leaf into the world of bánh mìs. (Gold Banh, which has a full brick-and-mortar in Glendora and is also located inside Loose Leaf). And that question is: Have you pastrami made from beef belly?

Stellarly salty and marvelously meaty, these hunks of beef belly are sliced with the brightness of cilantro, the creaminess of pâté and the acidity of pickled carrots and radishes while stuffed between a sliced Viet baguette. The result? Honestly, one of the best pastrami sandwiches I’ve yet to try. Shout-out to James Tir (aka @LBFoodComa on IG) for the wondrous recommendation.

Lasagna di Bologna from Nonna Mercato

3722 Atlantic Ave.

There are many wonders of Chef Cameron Slaugh’s first take on winter dinners at Nonna Mercato. His tortellini en brodo, for one. A from-beginning-to-end handmade endeavor and a hyper-traditional take on the Emilia-Romagna legend. Rounds of pasta—topped with a mound of ground mortadella, prosciutto, and parmesan—whose edges are melded and inverted to create brilliant little pockets of meat-stuffed magic. Then it is laid in a capon, a beef broth that is shockingly soft but resolutely rich. 

But, perhaps, the most surprising pasta of the evening: a Bologna-style lasagna partially deconstructed into long strips, folded, and thrown into a pizza oven. The result? A crispy-meets-soft creation where a pork ragù comingles with béchamel and pecorino. Crunch and richness folded into a splendid salt-bomb.

Chilled mussels from Liv’s

5327 E. 2nd St.

There are many warming options at Liv’s when it comes to their winter menu. Chef Kristine Schneider’s Tuscan clams dish is about as warming as they come. A massive bowl of The Manila clams—clean, meaty—with a classic salsa verde inspired by a trip to Italy and a sauce her mom would often cook when she worked at The Stinking Rose. (RIP to the permanent shuttering of its L.A. location.) Plenty of parsley. Copious garlic and olive oil. Chunks of sun-dried tomatoes. Or her roasted rockfish. Seared beautifully with little more than butter, it sits atop a mound of creamed spinach—done so with brown butter, shallots, and crème fraîche—paired with succulent, almost-too-cute-to-eat bunapi mushrooms sautéed with a little bit of wine.

But I am going to suggest a cold dish. Yes, a cold dish. Middle of winter. That will still warm you. And that’s their wildly good chilled Hollander mussels from Maine. Unlike the smaller, more common blue mussel farmed in Prince Edward Island, Canada, these mollusks are bigger, meatier, and cleaner. Steamed and then chilled, Nam Prik-style Thai sauce is built from fish sauce, lime, and a touch of mint.

Biscuits and gravy from Marlena

5854 E. Naples Plaza Dr.

Ah, this brunchy wonder of a dish. And, it should be noted: Never underestimate Chef Michael Flores’s brunch. His résumé spans from Rustic Canyon and Felix to Win Son and Faith & Flower—and, important in this conversation, first came to Long Beach with the transformation of the menu at Claire’s at the Museum. (Yes, he is why Claire’s became significantly better.) A longtime apprentice of Evan Funke, he leans into a Californian sensibility.

His biscuits and gravy are no exception.

Laminated biscuits—rosemary-tinged biscuits treated like croissants—slathered in a wonderfully meaty, Long Beach Mushrooms-filled gravy. This time, Chef Michael Flores is using blue oyster mushrooms; before, he’s used chanterelles or yellow oysters or… With a splash of sherry vinegar, the gravy is beautifully bright and, when combined with an egg and the biscuit, delightfully rich.

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