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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.

The Auld Dubliner celebrates 20 years of pure Irish awesomeness

The Auld Dubliner, owned and operated by Limerick-born David Copley and his Long Beach native friend Eric Johnson, is Long Beach’s most traditional Irish pub—its name was borrowed with permission from the original in Dublin—and it is officially celebrating two decades of Irish love and service. Tucked between movie theaters and corporate restaurants in the middle of Conventioneer Central, the Dub has long pushed beyond tired pub stereotypes to create an essential social space that connects people to community and culture—just like in Ireland. It’s entire interior? Designed and built in Ireland before being shipped in pieces. Its collection of Irish artifacts and antiques? Hand collected and chosen throughout swap meets, yard sales, and antique malls from the mother island.

And come Saturday, May 4, from 2PM to 6PM, there will be everything from live music and traditional Irish dancers to drink specials, $1.50 oysters, pass arounds, and a blessing of the pub that is located at 71 S. Pine Avenue in Downtown Long Beach.

Speak Cheezy and Shlap Muan to collaborate on Dirty Elvis chicken wing pizza

It is the season of pizza collaborations: Shortly after announcing that Pizza Parlor LB and Tacos La Carreta will be collating on a pizza, Belmont Heights staple Speak Cheezy and North Long Beach wing master Shlap Muan have announced they will be also doing a collaboration come Tuesday, May 21, from 4PM to 7PM (or sell-out).

Their offerings? A Dirty Elvis chicken pizza—the Dirty Elvis wings at Shlap Muan are lathered in a sweet, smoky, spicy, wok’ed sauce and topped with dried chiles and green onion—that will also use Chef Hawk Tea’s “Cambodian Dirt” seasoning—a lemongrass-based lemon-pepper-on-steroids dry spice mixture. Plus they’ll offer regular wings. Plus they’ll have Durian coconut cream shaved ice.

Granada Deli & Liquor permanently shutters after decades of serving Belmont Shore

Granada Deli and Liquor, the mini-grocer and liquor shop that has served Belmont Shore for decades, has permanently shuttered. A longtime staple of residents (and a convenient snack option for the heavy drinkers when Ripples used to be one of the few shoreside queer bars when it operated from the 1980s into 2010s), it was opened every day of the year, from the morning until the wee hours.

“I used to bring the workers food on Thanksgiving and Christmas when we would go for a walk on the beach after dinner,” said resident Lacey Quinn. “So bummed.”

Tap House on 2nd Street in Belmont Shore closes; transfers lease to new owners and concept

Long Beach Tap House owner Dena Jones—who took over the space with business partner Brent Scheiber in 2019 when Tavern on 2 formally closed—announced they will not be renewing their lease and that the space will be taken over by a new whiskey lounge and restaurant dubbed Angel’s Share with Chef Melissa Ramsay heading the kitchen. (More on that in the coming days.)

“We hope everyone got to enjoy some delicious craft beers monster burgers and good times amongst friends over the last five years,” Jones wrote on social media. “It’s been an amazing ride with ups & downs we never could have imagined. Thank you to our awesome staff & loyal locals for being a part of this fun burger & beer concept in the Shore… However we decided to not renew our lease which was up at the end of April and Tap House has closed its doors.”

East Long Beach’s Kpasta closes to become taqueria

After 15 years of serving East Long Beach, Kpasta—the Italian eatery opened by the owners of the neighboring Enrique’s Mexican restaurant in 2009—will be shuttering the business in order to make way for Kique’s Taqueria. A note posted on the front door from owners Enrique and Michelle Perez read: “Dear Patrons, Thank you for all the years of support at Kpasta. We want to inform you that Kpasta is now officially closed as we prepare for a new concept. We look forward to welcoming you soon to Kique’s Taqueria. With heartfelt thanks, The Perez Family”

Pepe and Chepito’s Tacos near CSULB to rebrand as Sinaloa-style space

Pepe & Chepito’s Tacos opened mid-pandemic in 2020 to corner a market underserved when it came to classic street tacos: Palos Verde Street Avenue and Atherton Street, feeding college kids and neighborhood families alike with your classic assortments of pastor, carne asada, birria, carnitas, and more. The owners have opted to temporarily close and come back Oct. 1 with Ceneduria del Arc, an estilo Sinaloense shop that will likely harken to the Mazatlán-style of Long Beach’s most popular Sinaloa-style joint, Tacos La Carreta.

Tony’s Kitchen in Bixby Knolls to offer AYCE buffet for Cinco De Mayo

Tony’s Kitchen, Bixby Knoll’s Mexican-meets-Italian-meets-American-meets-Kinda-Everything restaurant, is sticking to their Mexican roots with an all-you-can-eat Mexican buffet come Cinco de Mayo. The price is great and the flier says it all.

ICYMI: L.A. taco institution Guisados to open first Long Beach location

Surely, Long Beach already has its much-loved guisados space at La Chancla near 10th Street and Cherry Avenue—but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more: The Boyle Heights-birthed institution Guisados will finally move beyond the confines of L.A. proper and into Long Beach, where it will take over the former Long Beach Fish Grill on Redondo Avenue.

Click here to read the full article.

ICYMI: The Wild Chive named one of the best brunch spots in the nation

A huge win for Long Beach and our vegan food scene.

Chef Soozee Nguyen and the entire The Wild Chive team have definitive reason to celebrate: Yelp!—the user-determined restaurant aggregator that is simultaneously useful and one of the worst parts of the food industry—has determined that the Bluff Park vegan spot is one of the country’s best for brunch.

Click here to read the full article.

ICYMI: Pizza Parlor LB is East Long Beach’s hidden, underrated carby gem

Let’s get some major clarity points out of the way here: Pizza Parlor is East Long Beach’s best pizzeria—no questions. Their fusion of Mexican and Californian-meets-Italian sensibility (with a few dabbles into other cuisines, especially with their collab pies) is pretty much par none.

But they’re also home to some of the city’s best house-made ranch dressing and certainly its most underrated desserts, from a mascarpone-meets-Madeira wine tiramisu to a panna cotta that could be called the best in the entire city.

Even better? The whole Parlor family are a mixture of food vets and greenhorns with one goal in mind: To make East Long Beach have better access to higher quality food.

Click here to read the full article.