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Long Beach Food Scene Intel is a series from Brian Addison that will recap food news throughout the city, both news that needs just a quick mention or repeated news where you might have missed the full features.
More parklets coming: Legends scores permit
After a long battle, Legends (and a not-so-long-battle because they faced little opposition, Cambodia Town bar Supply & Demand) has finally scored a parklet after (literal) years of battle, including an are-you-serious? battle cry from Parking Warriors saying the parklet prevents them storing their private property for free when people aren’t patronizing the businesses in the wee hours of closure. It joins Aroma di Roma as yet another Belmont Shore business to score a permanent parklet.
People and parklets > spaces for you to freely to store your car. It’s a business district; let the businesses survive.
Flamin’ Curry to open second location in Cal Heights
Flamin’ Curry, the (rightfully) lauded fast casual Indian space in Belmont Heights, is opening a second location in Cal Heights (just south of Bixby Knolls) at the former Mustard’s space (which closed over a decade ago so for those that are searching for other surrounding food landmarks: Across the street from Dave’s Burgers and the gas station and next to Bamboo Teri House).
Dirt Dog closed… Only to reopen
Hype food, do-it-for-the-‘Gram Dirt Dog has reopened their Long Beach location after shuttering back in September. Located at 1950 Ximeno Ave. by the Traffic Circle, the excessive hot dog joint specializes in one thing: hots topped with everything from esquite and pastrami to fries and chimichurri.
Mangosteen closes Belmont Shore location; searching for new home
The tiny-but-mighty Vietnamese fast casual spot Mangosteen—which saw its former Broadway location in DTLB closed in 2022—has permanently shuttered their Belmont Shore location while owners claim to be searching for a new home.
Crazy Creole Sausage King returns to Long Beach, opening out of Partake Collective
Crazy Creole Sausage King—which used to operate a brick-and-mortar at 900 Long Beach Blvd. before shuttering in 2019 and going to strictly catering—will reopen inside the Partake Collective in the coming weeks. Expect the usual from the King: his much-loved Bayou Bowls, fried baskets, seafood boils, po’boys, and, of course, Boudin sausage.
ICYMI: Long Beach Last Call event uplifts bar community with events across 10-day celebration
Long Beach Food Scene: Last Call—or Long Beach Last Call if you wanna keep it simple—will kick off March 1 and run through March 10 with a series of events on each day that celebrates the city’s rich bar culture, community, and its workers.
From industry only events and parties aboard the Queen Mary to dive bar bingo and proper Irish coffee lessons, Long Beach Last Call will celebrate the bar culture in a way no event has.
To read the full listings of events, click here.
ICYMI: Whiskey dinner at Auld Dubliner in Long Beach to feature some hyper-exclusive bottles of Bushmills
The amount of Irish whiskies that sit at home inside The Auld Dubliner wavers between 80 and 100 depending on what’s been finished, what’s been added, and what’s on the way—but it is definitively home to the city’s largest selection of Irish whiskies.
And with it, The Dub holds the deep relationship with these Irish brands to conduct business in a way that most pubs (let alone anywhere in Long Beach) can’t reach—and that means exclusive dinners with some exclusive bottles of some of the world’s best whiskies.
Chef Philip Pretty of Heritage Long Beach’s second restaurant? It’s in a place as surprising as it is cool
Chef Philip Pretty—riding high on the city’s first Michelin Star given to his Heritage space that he shares with his sister and co-owner Lauren—is opening a second concept, Olive & Rose, in the former City Center Motel at the southwest corner of 3rd Street and Atlantic Avenue.
And before you jump to conclusions about the dilapidated space, just know that Pretty himself couldn’t be more thrilled about a project that will likely become a destination for not just locals but those beyond the borders of the city.
