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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, is developing, or repeated news where you might have missed the full features.

Social List launches spirit-free cocktail menu

The perpetual innovators of 4th Street comfort, The Social List has created a fairly extensive, four-cocktail, spirit-free menu just in time for Dry January. Those drinks include:

• ISLAND IN THE SUN: Passion Fruit, Orange, Guava, All Spice Syrup, Giffard Orgeat, Citrus, and Grenadine
• SUNSEEKER: Giffard Coconut, Pineapple, Citrus, and Hibiscus
• LOVE POTION #9: Strawberry, Lemongrass Ginger Syrup, Citrus, and Ginger Beer
• SMOOTH OPERATOR: Blood Orange, Vanilla, Citrus, and Egg White

Recreational Coffee is prepped for beer, wine, and late hours

After announcing the acquisition of their beer and wine license last summer, Recreational Coffee is happily returning to the post-pandemic times of community coffee shops being, well, there for the community. Starting this week, the space will be open until 10PM on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

“It’s not hust so we can start serving wine and beer,” said co-owner Brooklyn Warden. “It’s also so we can spend more time with our customers. And that means figuring out how these hours are going to work. Which means hours are subject to change as we’re trying to feel out how busy we are, so bear with us, please.”

It adds a very important element back to the Downtown: extended hours. Because as of right now, only a handful of spaces are holding down the late-night scene in DTLB. While businesses along The Promenade coalesced in the hopes of having a late-night corridor alive, it has primarily been The Ordinarie who has kept the late-night food scene alive within that space, with The Auld Dubliner holding down the fort south of Ocean. With Recreational now expanding hours following Sonoratown now open late on weekends and the upcoming Midnight Oil planning on staying open late, we could end up finally seeing a late night revolution in DTLB.

Sugar Taco will be closing both locations: its flagship and its Long Beach space

Vegan cuisine in Long Beach is struggling: With The Wild Chive facing an uphill battle along with the closure of the much-loved Seabirds Kitchen as well as the closure of the down-the-street V-Burger, Sugar Taco now joins. The vegan Mexican restaurant headed by a trio of women—Jayde Nicole, Nia Gatica, and Tina Louise —was founded shortly before the pandemic in the heart of the Melrose district near Fairfax. It opened its Long Beach location in 2023 after the brand had become massively popular, amassing over 100,000 followers on Instagram.

“This is the post we had hoped we would never have to share,” they shared on social media. “Both locations will be closing. Rather than focus on the heartbreak, we want to thank you all for the incredible run. The past five years have been exceptionally difficult for small businesses and we count ourselves lucky to have remained open as long as we did. Please come join us one last time this weekend… Thank you for all the love and support, but mostly, thank you for caring about the animals. Whether you are vegan or occasionally eat plant-based, it makes a difference.”

El Viejón takes more step toward its full remodel of Congregation space

With an unexpected takeover of the entirety of the Congregation space—including the complete removal of the branding the owners purchased mid-pandemic when original owner Travis Ensling stepped away—El Viejón is making massive steps forward in its remodel. Multi-colored tables, signage—including a giant, all-caps Nayarit sign above the bar—alabrije sculptures… Definitively going for a mariscos-meets-Mexican-American vibe.

Wrigley Farmers Market put on pause as vendors become unavailable

After debuting last April and moving to the lot behind Long Beach Beer Lab in October, the Wrigley Farmers Market is being put on pause after multiple vendors have backed out.

It is a loss for the neighborhood, as the market continues to operate in an area in need of such activation: While more affluent, grocer-rich neighborhoods like Alamitos Bay, Alamitos Heights, and Downtown have long had weekly farmers markets, Wrigley—despite an uptick in great businesses like the Long Beach Beer Lab, with its amazing activation events, and The Wicked Wolf—and its adjacent Westside need far more lifting up when it comes to things like this.

ICYMI: Taking over Rosemallows in DTLB, Midnight Oil will bring late night dim sum and rotating speakeasy

I cannot tell you how excited I am for this: Not only is it from a seasoned veteran, but he is bringing something DTLB could truly use. Well, _things_: More late-night food. Chinese grub. A rotating speakeasy. And the eventual evolution into a new space without losing the original employees.

Midnight Oil definitely has a way to go—it will be reopening in the coming days as Rosemallows while it begins its transition—but once it becomes fully fleshed out, it will likely be a quick DTLB staple.

For the full feature, click here.

ICYMI: Dishes that defined Long Beach’s food scene in 2024

‘Best Long Beach food?’ is a question often asked in my food group and a phrase I don’t particularly like to use, especially when creating listicles such as these. I want to, first and foremost, celebrate more than rank—and in that comes an admission: There are certainly missing aspects or holes in this list as there are with every list. Because food is such a powerfully subjective thing.

But what I hope I _do_ accomplish is a sense of ownership amongst the chefs mentioned. Maybe a sense of achievement amongst the restaurateurs. And certainly a sense of pride amongst our denizens supporting these essential spaces. Our food scene is continually worthy of uplift—and these dishes, for me, exemplified just that.

In no particular order, here are stellar dishes from 2024, representing some of the best Long Beach food…

For the full feature, click here.

ICYMI: Food, culture, art, Long Beach: Top Longbeachize stories of 2024

Restaurant drama. White power clowns. $100 bagels. Jin from BTS. Serial killers. Underrated food. What a helluva year, Long Beach.

Nearly 600,000 unique visitors and 1.6M pageviews across 431 articles published this year made 2024 Longbeachize’s most successful year ever. If you were a part of this, a huge thank you and here’s to 2025. If you haven’t read my work, come for the food and stay for the drama. Eat well, be kind.

Click here to read the full article.