Gourmet wieners at the Dog House

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
There’s no denying the magnetic, carnal pull of a good sausage. And frankly, it has taken far too long for the ways of the gourmet wiener to filter into the Southland, traveling from national luminary Hot Doug’s in Chicago to Wurstküche in downtown LA and now, finally, [...]

The Factory delivers on its promise

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
Even before it opened its doors, the Factory positioned itself as everything Long Beach lacked: a farm- and market-driven kitchen, a serious beer bar, a progressive deli and a kid-friendly cooking school. Its outsize ambitions were so stunning that they produced a kind of culinary shock and [...]

Pho Hong Phat’s singular focus

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
When a restaurant’s scope is bound to just a single specialty, it’s a sign of complete confidence. There’s nothing more brash and bold than eschewing the variety that’s afforded by a full menu for but a few permutations of one dish. It’s also the most dangerous, precarious position [...]

New York by way of Signal Hill at Rocco’s Deli Italiano

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
There’s no dearth of delis around here. Above maybe all other foodstuffs, greater Long Beach loves its cured and smoked meats. But don’t go looking for matzo balls; our deli tradition is mostly an Italian one, evidenced admirably by Angelo’s Italian Deli, [...]

Marathon meals at Heritage Family Pantry

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
There are restaurants that long to stumble upon a single signature dish, and then there are dishes that, through what may very well be immaculate conception, simultaneously define and dominate restaurants, items famous for instilling fear or awe or joy. It might be a behemoth burger or [...]

The Corner Store is all you need

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
Nostalgia is a culinary commodity in constant demand, prized for its ability to drum up enthusiasm for the humblest, most homely dishes. It’s so effective that it can keep struggling restaurants on life support for years. Still, there are certain haunts that survive as a result [...]

Building an institution at Bouchees Bistro at Smooth’s

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
As the economy sputtered and the dollar slumped, even the most well-regarded restaurants struggled, forced to embark on wholesale downscaling. Elaborate seasonal menus morphed into bistro basics; single-item entrees were suddenly gifted two or three sides. But Bouchees Bistro took a step up. The restaurant, [...]

Continue your coffee-fueled creativity at Sipology

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
Little-known fact: this very paper was born in a coffee shop. Or to be more precise, conceived in a coffee shop and birthed in the living rooms of The District’s founding staff. We’ve long since acquired our own proper digs inside a cold office building—aren’t they always [...]

Thiptara and Thai on Main go upscale

THIPTARA PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
There arrives a time for most foreign foods to be transformed by classic American gentrification, the moment when a canon of recipes become so familiar that the easiest way to tweak them is simply to lay them out on fine white plates. The cuisine of [...]

Kabob Curry feeds downtown

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
Kabob Curry might as well have been carved out of a cave. The new downtown restaurant lets in plenty of light, but it dissipates the deeper you go, replaced by the coral glow of over a dozen Himalayan salt lamps. Together they dominate an entire wall, a cluster of [...]