Ten Mile Brewing—the medal-grabbing brewery that might be in Signal Hill but is undoubtedly thoroughly Long Beach—has long been experimenting with food. They were one of the first spots to give Shady Grove Foods a residency as a popup. And they also blew up the popularity Cambodian Cowboy Chad Phuong and Battambong BBQ from their parking lot. They’ve hosted Cajun Fests to honor the Sundstrom family’s creole-cajun background and Cambodian New Year celebrations.
And when it comes to their own kitchen, owner and brewer Jesse Sundstrom has long been flexing his cooking skills with some of the best pizza in the city. With his pizza game established in a city rife with solid pies, he is now ready to begin expanding. The future? Cajun charcuterie plates with andouille sausage, remoulade, pepper jack, and in-house cajun pickles and spiced pecans. (And maybe—just maybe—them making their own bacon? Possibly.) For now: sandwiches and pickled eggs.
“Sometimes, people don’t want pizza—and they’re wrong for not wanting pizza,” Jesse joked. “So we want to accomodate that and just offer something different.”
Ten Mile Brewing’s new offerings harken to the past and offer up a challenge.
When Shady Grove Foods held a consistent presence at Ten Mile, few things were more popular than their bacon. Thick, cooked over wood on a Santa Maria, their slabs of bacon honestly became their defining offering—and with their tumultuous dip into a brick-and-mortar and now back on the popup scene across the region, it leaves what Jesse rightfully calls a hole in the food being offered at Ten Mile Brewing.
“So we went with a BLT,” Jesse said. “The bread—ciabatta—is sourced from Tribeca Oven. They par-bake the loaves, and we finish them. The aioli on it is my own creation—and I think it is what truly makes the sandwich stand out.”
Paired with a bag of locally-made dill and vinegar chips from Vesti and a beer, it is a distinctly different vibe from the pizza. Smokey, perfect char on both the bacon and bread, and that outright addictive aioli, the only thing that might be better is having a side of their newly minted pickled eggs.
“I will put money down that we have the best pickled eggs in the city,” Jesse said.
And he could very well be right: Served deviled, it uses the same proprietary brine the space will use for its cajun pickles, with a nice firmness and tarty bite that definitely rivals Joe Jost’s and (my current favorite pickled egg), ISM Brewing.
What’s this about Ten Mile’s extension into Orange County?
Opening last summer, Ten Mile Brewing in Ladera Ranch is a different Ten Mile beast. 40 taps. Full kitchen. With it, a full exploration of their pizza game, dips into the world of wine, and a better connection with breweries outside their own, given their tap system.
“It’s been wildly successful and such a cool way of extending our brand past the borders of Long Beach,” Jesse said. “The residents of Ladera Ranch have really attached themselves to the space with such support. It’s genuinely heartwarming.”
The success of Ten Mile in Orange County comes as no shock. While Los Angeles County is rife with some of the country’s best food, Orange County has long been dictated by corporate choices, McDonald’s to Morton’s. So when something truly independent and unique comes, people flock—think Smoke & Fire. Of course, Ten Mile not only brings something independently owned, but a Neopalitan-style pie that can’t be found in the immediate area.
And coming from Long Beach, all we can say is, “See Orange County? We told you it was good.”
Ten Mile Brewing is located at 1136 E. Willow St. in Signal Hill.
