Long Beach, CA

Going to LB in April - any suggestions?

Plenty.......give me an idea what you're looking for.

Well, limiting us more than anything will be the fact that we will be on East Ocean Blvd. at the Renaissance. We like just about everything, but won't be that mobile (no car, attending a conference). What is LB known for? Seafood? Mexican? I am very open.

Thanks.

Shoreline Villages Parkers Light House is an upscale Seafood Place with a great view. Jump on the Shuttle Boat, cross the small bay and enjoy a great meal at The Reef. And of course visit the great ship The Queen Mary. Next to the queen Mary is a Russian Submarine (real not a sandwich) you can take a tour of. Tour the queen Mary too I believe they still have artifacts from the titanic on display too. You can see all this from your hotel balcony. There is more to do and places to eat all with in a short stroll from your hotel. The Shuttle Bus and The Shuttle Boat will take you across the bay to eat and visit the Queen Mary, the Reef and a couple of more restaurants over there. No need to rent a car or leave the downtown area. Just start walking....LOL
I lived in Long beach for 21 years. But I know Ed Sails will have a few more ideas too. I wished I still lived there, I would come and show Ya around. Have Fun!

At the Renaissance puts you right in the downtown area. Virtually everything is in walking distance. What isn't is easily accesible by the Aqualink shuttle. You're right at Pine Avenue which is the the heart of the downtown district.
My favorite new place in Shoreline Vvillage is the Springbok Bar and Grill. It's new but making big waves here. It's a South African sports bar on the water. Plasma TV with soccer, good beers and wine, nice outdoor area and good people. My favorites so far include the Freestate Brai barbeuce plate (with awesome homemade beef sausage, lamb chops and filet mignon) for the unbelievable price of $19.95. I also like the curries, the tiger prawns sauteed in a sweet chili sauce and one of the best fish and chips I've ever had. Great atmosphere too!
Springbok Bar and Grill
423-A Shoreline Village, Long Beach, CA 90802.
562 437 3734.
http://www.springbokbar.com/

Just off Pine at Broadway, practically across from the Renaissance, is King's Fish House. Upscale dining with a nice oyster bar and really fresh fish. A little pricy but it's well worth a splurge.
100 W. Broadway Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90802
Tel 562-432-7463 Fax 562-435-6143
http://www.kingsfishhouse.com/

Decor and pricewise it's at the other end of the scale, but I really enjoy Uncle Al's Seafood too. African-Cajun food, and Saturday eves early they usually have a jazz jam. Some of the best fried oysters I've ever had were here. Try the African style rice, unique and delicious. Po'boys for lunch are a treat. Very unpretentious, it's a true roadfood place.
400 East First Street
Long Beach, CA 90802
Phone: 562-436-2553
http://www.unclealseafood.com

A few blocks up Pine is George's Greek Deli. Not really a deli, but a nice yet reasonable Greek restaurant. I found the combo plates to be especially good there.
Georges Greek Deli
318 Pine Avenue 562 437-1184

As BigGlenn mentioned, The Shuttle boat/Aqualink is a great way to see the Harbor. It goes by the Queen mary and then over to Alamitos Landing. At Alamitos landing, there is McKenna's on the Bay. Awesome view and great seafood. Especially good are the scallop dishes and their "seafood roasts". Live music in the bar area on some evenings too and generous martinis. Friends swear the sand dabs are the best fish you can get there. Good steaks too.
(562)-342-9411
190 Marina Drive
Long Beach, CA 90803

Johnny Reb's has been a hit with everyone I've taken there---you can find it mentioned plenty of times in the threads here. From the Renaissance it should just be a short trip up Long Beach Blvd. on the bus. Really good chicken fried steak, barbecue and fried chicken in an authentic Geogia Roadhouse atmosphere.

4663 Long Beach Blvd.
Long Beach, CA
562-423-7327
http://www.johnnyrebs.com

Another short bus trip is up Ocen which turns into 2nd Street in Belmont Shore. This is the other shopping/restaurant/nightlife area and great for walking. Too many good places to go into detail, but my recommendations include Kelly's Steak House for a "rat pack era" fine dining experience, the Shorehouse Cafe for a casual place (try the fried mozzerella with marinara), Lucille's Barbecue (great fried green tomatoes)and La Creperie for crepes.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask.
Hope this starts you off
/

Wow! Lots of great suggestions! Thanks! I'll give a full report when we return. If you think of any others, let me know!

Glenn and Ed,
You guys did a great job with a broad spectrum of recommendations. Thanks. I have printed this thread and stuck it in my travel guide for use on a future roadtrip. I can only add that Parker's LightHouse in the Shore-Village was a great stop for us several times in the late 90's when we had visiting family who wanted to see the Ocean and the city...

There is a beautiful little Italian place downtown, I cannot for the life of me remember its name. They served really awesome crepes, filled with meat. The bannister was custom designed & the marble imported from Italy.

I wish I could remember their name.

How come no one has mentioned Joe Jost's.....a Schooner and a Joe's special with a pickled egg on the side........can't beat that!

excellent list, Ed Sails...

I used to really like Johnny Reb's , but the last time I went I thought the beef ribs had gone downhill. Still worth a shot, as maybe it has gone uphill again.
Plus that was just MY experience (with what I ordered, etc.)
The atmosphere and the service are incredible...

What about Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ ? (big huge place, about 5 locations now)....located on the Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach......I've enjoyed their beef ribs, chicken, and their biscuits with apple butter. It's pretty decent.

Also, I'd recommend the Rock Bottom Brewery , mostly just to get a table outside to people watch , and look at the view. I believe you can see the Queen Mary from there.
The food is just okay there. I remember them having a soft pretzel on the menu, though. (which I liked) Can't go wrong with beer and pretzels, huh?!

give us a full report on your trip, old doc diner , okay?!?
ellen

First of all, thanks to Roadfood regulars who gave us some great tips!! We used many of them to find some outstanding dining experiences.

First night, we ate at King's Seafood, just across the street. Good seafood, moderate prices in a very busy restaurant. Wife had some excellent fish and chips, I had truly scrumptious broiled scallops. Excellent. Place was hoppin'!

Visited the nice microbrewery on the corner called Bottoms Up. Lager was hoppy and light brew was tasty. We didn't eat there.

Second day, had lunch over in Ventura with family. Dinner that night was at Parkers' Lighthouse. Really tasty and a good experience. Wife had a platter that was excellent with good shellfish and excellent sides. I am a sucker for grilled Ahi tuna (medium rare with wasabi). Outstanding!! View was great, looking out over the Queen Mary, and fireworks lit up the night sky as we sipped out Grand Marnier. Dinner for two with wine and after-dinner drink, $78 + tip (always 20% for me, unless really bad or really good).

Sunday, we started out with breakfast at Long Beach Café. A diner atmosphere with HUGE portions at a good price. Omelet for me, eggs Benedict for the wife, coffee, juice = $24 +. For lunch, we went down to Belmont to a nice Italian place where we could sit outside. Bono's had bistro style food – I had a pasta with sun dried tomatoes dish, wife a chicken salad. Nice ambience in the al fresco dining of a beach town. $57 + with a couple glasses of wine each.

We drove on down to Newport and visited the sea side, and ended up skipping dinner.

Monday evening we went to McKenna's on the Bay. Just a truly magnificent place to spend an afternoon. We started with an appetizer of coconut shrimp that was excellent, sweet and meaty shrimp with mandarin oranges. For dinner I had the sand dabs cooked in a buttery meuniere sauce that was just amazing!! Smooth, light, very satisfying. I had never eaten (or even heard of) sand dabs before. I loved it. My wife had shrimp cocktail for her dinner and enjoyed the house cocktail sauce and huge shrimp. We sat a long time next to the fire outside enjoying the yachts bobbing next to us or cruising past and watching the palm trees sway. A great experience. With a couple glasses of wine each, $79 +.

We liked McKenna's so much, we returned the next day for lunch. Excellent fish (fresh and not at all greasy) and chips with way, way too many fries to eat. With a beer each, $41 +. In the evening, we went to Taco Beach, just near the hotel. The only truly bad experience the whole trip. Not good, loud (I'm getting too old for this), and not recommended.

So that's my report. Thanks again for the great suggestions!

I ate lunch at Joe Jost's yesterday.
 
www.joejosts.com
 
I can't believe this Roadfood establishment has only a mere mention here.
 
I had to be in Long Beach again for yet another followup to my toe surgery and I remembered putting a restaurant name and address into my notes on my Iphone.  (Very useful App!)
 
I had read about Joe Jost's in a newspaper article and it so happened it was located in the same Long Beach neighborhood as my doctor.
 
What a cool place!  When I walked through the doors I stepped back in time.  On the right of me were what looked like hand made, wooden seating booths and to the left of me was a long bar with a few open seats.
 
The booths were full so I took a seat at the bar along side a bunch of beer drinking men.
 
Oh, my reason for even putting Joe Jost's into my Iphone was the what the article about it said...  Pickled Eggs!
 
The men at the counter were dining on roasted, salted peanuts, pretzels and pickled eggs along with their beers.
 
I asked for a menu.  I was answered with, "First time here?"  I guess that was a given.
 
Then menu was on the small board behind the bar as were 4 men taking orders. 
 
Egg salad sandwich
liverwurst sandwich (I didn't need to read further)
salami sandwich
cheese sandwich and...
Joe's Special which was a Polish dog, split and grilled and topped with a slice of cheese and a pickle wedge.
 
All were served on rye bread.
 
Also on the menu were what I was there for...  Pickled Eggs...  1 - $1.25,  9 - $11.50,  18 for $23.00,
 
Roasted peanuts - 1/2 pound bag, 1 pound bag and 2 pound bag.  I didn't notice the price.
 
They also had Crackerjacks. Beer Nuts and...  Animal Crackers.  I thought the Animal Crackers were a strange item as this was not a kid's place.  Next thing I knew, the man beside me ordered a box.
 
I ordered one egg which was served with more pretzel sticks than come in an individual serving bag and a few hot peppers.  The egg was liberally sprinkled with black pepper.
 
Don't tell anyone but I also ordered a Widmer Heffeweisen.  My beer of choice if served on tap.
 
Joe Jost's had 10 beers on tap and a bunch more in bottles in the fridge along with jars and jars of pickled eggs.  (Dreamland!)
 
Before I knew it my sandwich, egg and drink were sitting in front of me.  The rye bread was the freshest I think I've ever had!  Nicely sliced liverwurst, a few rings of red onion and yellow mustard.
 
But the egg! It was delicious.
 
I really liked that as people came in to Joe Jost's, they were greeted with their name. 
 
I left Joe Jost's with a jar of 18.  They were THAT good!
 
Wish it were closer to me.
 
 
 
 

I always enjoyed getting a couple of hot dogs at the Pike.

This thread is a blast from the past.
 
Marlene - Have you ever tried Imperial Burgers?  Pie Diva and I ate there before our cruise from Long Beach two weeks ago.  We thought their Pastrami Burger could become a Roadfood classic.

IF you have never been before the next time you are in S.D. I HIGHLY recommend here:
 
http://dzakinsdeli.com/menu/lunchanddinner.htm
If you go there.......make absolutely sure you are hungry! 

Jim, I don't know of Imperial Burgers.  I Googled it and found one in La Habra.  La Habra really isn't close to Long Beach so I'm assuming it's not the same place.
 
Speaking of burgers and Long Beach, in my driving around yesterday I couldn't believe the number of independent burger places. 
 
I also drove through a Cambodian area with lots of restaurants and markets.
 
Long Beach is an interesting city.

We stayed @ the Queen Mary & had brunch there. It's kinda pricey, but they do any omelet you want, pancakes, waffles, meat galore & TONS of seafood.
 
We liked the bar, too.
 
I do believe the name of the restaurant we liked was Gazelle, but it is now called BLISS.

Oh my goodness, does this bring back memories!  I am assuming that none of the restaurants we would frequent (when we had a little spare change) are still around. My guy and I were talking about the House of Pies, going way up LB Blvd and up the hill to the left.  Also Mauri's Pizzia, somewhere close to downtown in a mixed commercial/ residential area,  Love's BBQ at Lakewood and also Clifton's caferteria in the Lakewood Shopping plaza.  Of course this was almost 45 years ago!  Fun to remember!

Hi MomComfort!
 
Welcome!
 
House of Pies sadly has been gone for almost as long as you have.  Used to go there when I was in college.  Okay.. 40 years ago.
 
Clifton's in Downtown, Los Angeles is being rebuilt.  I don't know about Long Beach. 
 
My doctor's office is on Atlantic and I drive back on Long Beach Boulevard.  I don't remember seeing a Love's BBQ, but they do still exist in some places... I think.
 
Again.... Welcome!