Sugar shock seekers lost their best options this winter when Two Umbrellas—home of the California toast, a stuffed-to-busting dessert sandwich so decadent that calling it French toast collapses into understatement—closed for remodeling, probably causing a spike in local Seasonal Affective Disorder cases on the way out, too. But Two Umbrellas is back for daily service with a new kind of California toast to celebrate: Manny’s Mess, a stack of French toast drooling with caramel, mascarpone and chocolate over mini marshmallows that is as close to fresh cotton candy as I can bring myself to eat before noon. Previous vice king the Flasher—the Elvis with added bacon—looks like a pile of rice cakes next to the Mess, which needs only a scoop of vanilla on top to satisfy every anti-nutritional requirement forbidden by the most worried departments of the federal government. This is so sweet it will make you dizzy, so sweet it might unscrew your back teeth from your jaw, so sweet it will totally perforate your abilities to focus or remember long-term and leave you with a grin sparkling from the sunlight hitting sugar crystals. The waiter seemed scared when he carried out the plate, but I ate it anyway, and probably shook a little as I left.

TWO UMBRELLAS 1538 E BROADWAY | LONG BEACH 90802 | 562.495.2323 | TWOUMBRELLAS.COM

Tags: breakfast, Food, Long Beach, manny's mess, two umbrellas