Sideburns is Long Beach’s most underrated burger joint in a city rife with plenty of solid burger contenders. (And yes, Nonna Mercato, I know it’s not your style, but I think the town agrees that you must bring back your burger.) Charming and definitively diner-y, Sideburns is the food sister to Stache Bar’s drinking culture. (A culture, mind you, that is having a renaissance of its own.)
With that, it is time to celebrate this little griddle gem.
To talk of Sideburns is to talk of The Stache Bar and its history.
To talk about Sideburns, you have to start at The Stache Bar, the bar now intimately attached to Sideburns and vice versa. And to begin at The Stache Bar is to start at Cheapshots. Oh yes, before Stache, owner Brett Gallo grasped the space as it was before The Stache in 2009. And that was Cheapshots, a bar dedicated to boxing but confused drinkers with the word “shots.” And shots? There was not a single shot of liquor to be found, given that the space only has a beer and wine license, which made Brett realize he had to shift gears.
“It was so hard—at one point we had $1.50 beers,” Brett said. “And then, on a Saturday night, there wasn’t a single soul in here when this guy popped his head in. ‘What kinda shots you have?’ the guy said. And I said, ‘Oh, it’s only beer and wine.’ And he literally said, ‘Womp, womp, woooomp’ as he slowly pulled his body outside.”
Pulling some strings with the conditional use permitting process, Cheapshots became Stache Bar—and soon, it would not only offer the food of one of the city’s most revered chefs, but the food would also take on a whole new identity.
Sideburns was never intended really intended to come into existence.
And in all honesty, Sideburns wasn’t supposed to happen. Before, it was La Frida. Before that, Habaneros. And before that, La Palapa de Michoacan.
“The door between Stache and Sideburns was initially sealed off,” Brett said. “I was still the GM at V2O [the massive, $10M DTLB club operated at 81 Aquarium Way from 2004 to 2017]. This was a side project with my partner Erick [Verduzco-Vega]. And the last thing I wanted to take on a restaurant—so we had zero intentions of taking the space if it became available.”
However, with the closure of V2O in 2017, Brett had some expanded time on his hands and was met with the vacancy of La Frida. Two years later, enter Chef Melissa Ortiz. Fresh off her wildly popular albeit short run at The Bamboo Club and before her stunning offerings at the now-just-a-coffeeshop Rose Park on Pine. And the timing could not have been more perfect: Debuting the offerings from the kitchen of La Frida and into the bar at Stache for a later night menu, the world got introduced to their famed cheese curds and Chicago dog, both of which are on their menu.
Serendipity amped up the space’s menu, presence, and long-term sustainability.
Of course, it should be noted that they debuted this late night menu in November of 2019, just four months before COVID enveloped the industry. And while the pandemic did many things to the food industry, for some, it prompted a fire to shift, adapt, and evolve—or in the case of Brett, take on a space he hadn’t fully given himself to.
“With no bars being open, we knew we had to create a concept that would work,” Brett said. “With Melissa gone, we used her initial menu—which was created to never really change because it was bar food—and then develop a full menu out of that.”
Under the watchful tutelage of Chef Thomas Beyrooty—for whom we can say is really the owner of the space, taking it to the level and creativity it currently stands—Sideburns has become a stellar, consistent burger, dog, and grub hub.
Here are some highlights from the menu at Sideburns.
Whether it is what is quite possibly the city’s best fried pickles, definitely the city’s best cheese curds and Chicago dog, its second-best wings (sorry, but Shlap Muan takes the top tier), and some of the best hamburgers, here are some personal faves from the menu.
Let’s start with the sides’n’starters.
Fried pickles: House-made pickles | IPA batter | House-made jalapeño ranch dressing
Brined’n’Fried Wings: Celery | Carrots | House-made jalapeño ranch dressing | Your choice of flavor: “Nekked” (plain); Buffalo; garlic lemon pepper; house barbecue; Nashville hot; or sweet chipotle creeper
Cheese Curds: Wisconsin cheese curds | IPA batter | House-made jalapeño ranch dressing
Breakfast Poutine: Kennebec fries | Beef gravy | Wisconsin cheese curds | Fried egg
Funnel Rings: Onion | IPA batter | Powdered sugar | Fresno chile honey
The burgers at Sideburns are many.
Triple-stacked heart attacks. Cheese-crusted buns. Blankets of blue cheese. Vegan options. Plenty for everyone.
Burger Don Chendo: Jalapeño-cheddar crusted bun | Red onion | Cilantro | Tomato | Salsa “Don Chendo”
Hulk Smash: Three smashed beef patties | Three slices of bacon | Three slices of American cheese | IPA-caramelized onions | 1,000 Island
Mushroom Swiss: Smashed beef patty | Swiss cheese | Caramelized onions | Mushrooms | Dijon aioli
Tailgate: Charbroiled beef patty | American cheese | Lettuce | Tomato | Pickles | Red onion | Mustard | Ketchup
Backyard BBQ: Charbroiled beef patty | American cheese | Onion rings | Lettuce | Tomato | House-made BBQ sauce | Spicy mayo
Meat & Potatoes: Charbroiled beef patty | A-1 sauce | IPA-caramelized onions | Kennebec fries
Bacon Bleu: Charbroiled beef patty | Strawberry-onion jam | Bacon | Bleu cheese | Arugula
And some of the non-burger offerings…
Nashville Hot Chicken: Buttermilk-brined fried chicken | House Nashville hot oil | Bread’n’butter pickles | Lettuce | Mayo
Vegan “Fish” & Chips: IPA-battered Portabella mushroom chunks | Kennebec fries | Furikake | Vegan tartar | Dill | Malt vinegar
Grilled Chicken: Brioche bun | Blacked grilled chicken breast | Red onion | Tomato | Arugula | House-made jalapeño ranch dressing
The Stache Wedge: Iceberg lettuce | Bacon | Wisconsin cheese curds | Grilled tomato | House-made jalapeño ranch dressing | Fresh black pepper
Sideburns is located at 939 E. 4th St.
So proud of my brother, he ROCKS