In the heart of Long Beach, the pop-up concept Got Your Back has quietly been shifting what it means to dine, drink, and connect in a city bursting with food talent. And with it, its garnered a rightful following: praised by everyone from the L.A. Times to LAist, it is founded and operated by hospitality veterans Sasha Schoen and chef-partner Brennan Villarreal.
And now, they’re stepping away from the backyard as the cooler weather descends toward the house of Selva every Monday and Tuesday with an all-out dinner offering that allows them to flex in ways they haven’t been able to.
“This is a full restaurant takeover, with our own staff, menu, wine list, and hospitality,” Sasha said. “We’re very excited to have the opportunity to execute our vision in a professional space—instead of a backyard.”
And the food?
“I cook with bits of nostalgia and pops of California,” Chef Brennan said. “I love local produce and I love the dishes of my family’s dinners—whether those dinners were in the Philippines or all over L.A. and Long Beach. This is the biggest menu I’ve produced since starting to cook as Got Your Back and I can’t tell you how excited I am to have a professional kitchen at my fingertips.”
Hold up. What is Got Your Back?
Having met at the (much-missed) Rose Park Roasters on Pine when it operated as a full restaurant under Chef Melissa Ortiz, Sasha and Chef Brennan already had the wine and kitchen knowledge down for a project beyond Rose Park’s closure. Got Your Back, as a food venture, took root after the pair identified a need for more community-focused and accessible food and hospitality experiences.
With that, Got Your Back’s backyard-pool-party feel was born. Events held in relaxed spaces—and yes, that included almost entirely actual backyards—for an entry fee as low as $5, where food, art, drink, and people come together.
Chef Brennan? He brings to the table his Filipino heritage and extensive experience in the kitchen. And Sasha? She blends front-of-house finesse with a deep appreciation for natural wine and craft drinks, both cocktails and mocktails alike. Their synergy allows Got Your Back to serve dishes that feel rooted yet inventive—local produce meets Filipino flavor, shared plates, and drinks curated for both the wine enthusiast and the sober-curious.
But beyond the cuisine, what really shines is the ethos: build community, uplift fellow creatives, and make something that people feel they belong to. It’s not just implied in the name itself. Everyone in the food industry understands its highs and lows. Or the immense emotions that often increase senses of loneliness or disposability. Got Your Back is a reminder that there are some out there that are here to support you.
The food at the Got Your Back residency is wonderfully distinct.
Sasha and Chef Brennan’s pop-up might trade backyard vibes and friendly chaos with the stability of a brick-and-mortar with their residency, but make no mistake: Their menu at Selva is deliberate, elegant, and deeply rooted in Filipino comfort made modern.
There are classics like pancit, using hefty yakisoba noodles instead. Bibingka for dessert. A calamansi-drenched market salad. But it’s in the deeper dishes where Got Your Back lets Chef Brennan’s roots shine.
His tuna kinilaw—what some in California might call Filipino ceviche—has a double punch of sunny and saline flavors, with the brightness of a coconut-ginger vinaigrette, the creaminess of young coconut, and the crisp crack of rice paper. There are sinigang wings that meld the tang of tamarind around herby nuoc cham, turning a bar-food staple into something soulful and sharp, as if the Filipino sour soup had decided to go out dancing. Or Chef Brennan’s kamote: sweet potato kissed with calamansi-whipped tofu and date honey.
And of course, Bicol Express, that slow-burn masterpiece of pork shoulder simmered in spicy coconut and bagoong XO, brings it home: fiery, funky, lush. The kind of dish that demands rice (and, thankfully, there’s garlic coconut rice).
Got Your Back is at Selva, located at 4137 E. Anaheim St., every Monday and Tuesday through November.
