TOKO RAME by ROSHEILA ROBLES

BEST RECESSION-BUSTER: AT LAST CAFÉ At Last Café’s menu is so obscenely affordable, you’ll almost feel compelled to plunk down extra change. There’s brick chicken ($9.25); stir-fried veggies ($7.25); French pot roast with red wine and honey-cured bacon served on fettuccine with fresh vegetables ($10.25!); a tomato and basil omelette with mozzarella cheese ($6.75); center-cut pork chop with apple herb stuffing ($10.95); and, at $12.25, the most expensive item to be found at the place: a beef Flat Iron steak cooked to order with sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions and smashed potatoes. 204 Orange Ave., Long Beach 90802. 562.437.4837; jmchefcatering.com

BEST GUILTLESS GLUTTONY: BAJA FISH Baja Fish has plenty of tacos to choose from, but it’s with the halibut taco that the restaurant truly makes its mark. Here, the weightier corn tortilla is wisely swapped for its flour counterpart, a thin thing pocked with crisp brown spots collected by just the right amount of time on the grill. Piled inside are hunks of grilled and scored halibut tossed with cabbage, pico de gallo and Baja sauce. The halibut taco eats exactly like a fish taco should: guiltless and light, but still every bit as pleasing as even the most charred carne asada. 611 S. Gaffey St., San Pedro 90731. 310.521.1931

BEST LAST MEAL: BRITE SPOT How can you not love a place where carne asada will always be wafer-thin flank steak with the edges charred; where chile verde is always tangy and hot—but not too hot; where a simple mojarra frita (fried tilapia) eats like your last meal; and a breakfast burrito is like a party in your mouth? 412 W. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach 90806. 562.591.9016; 1614 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach 90813. 562.591.8060; 3721 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach 90804. 562.494.4903

BEST VEGETARIAN ORGY: CAFÉ AMBROSIA Ambrosia has always had great choices for vegetarians (a falafel pita the size of a small nation, great garden burgers, an excellent veggie platter), and its meatless meals are still strong. One of the best bets on the vegetarian menu is the combo for two ($30), which comes piled with two falafel patties, two dolmas, spanakopita (yummy) and moussaka, made with eggplant, zucchini and potatoes, and served with a béchamel sauce—it’s a ton of great vegetarian food for $15 per person. 1923 E. Broadway, Long Beach 90802. 562.432.1098; cafeambrosia-longbeach.com

BEST MEAL ON A PLATE: DELIUS The best way to get your fill at Delius is with the lamb shank, a huge hunk of meat about the size of a bulked-up bicep. The shank is dressed simply, but cooked perfectly—so tender you can practically strip the entire thing with a single scrape. There’s also your choice of mushroom orzo pasta or mashed potatoes, and a heap of vegetables on the side for a complete meal all on one plate. And if you feel like dessert, skip straight to Delius’ sticky toffee pudding: fluffy bits of dense date bread turned soft with a rich toffee sauce. 2951 Cherry Ave., Signal Hill 90755. 562.426.0694; deliusrestaurant.com

BEST BITE FOR TWO: EL GALLO GIRO The tacos at El Gallo Giro are as good as any, wrapped up in in-house tortillas, stretching to the size of softballs. But the real draws are the restaurant’s tortas: thick cuts of just-baked bread housing meats scooped from the grill and shoved right into the sandwich. Whatever protein you pick (chicken’s a good choice), make sure your torta has everything on it: lettuce, tomato, avocado, a pepper or two and a slice of queso fresco. Split in half, the sandwich is a slice of pure efficiency, an impossibly layered mix of tri-colored ingredients that, even when halved, is nearly as big as any burger. 1795 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach 90813. 562.591.3180

BEST GOO: HONDURAS KITCHEN Honduras Kitchen keeps conch on the menu for more native tastes, but the restaurant’s pollo frito is excellent, too—a few lightly fried hunks topped with chismol, a fresh salsa familiar to fans of pico de gallo. On the side is a hearty slop of beans and some rice. You get your choice for a third side, but this is an easy one: sweet plantains. The restaurant offers a few different varieties of plantains, so make sure you pick carefully: You want the charred spears grilled to a dark caramel brown, the insides so sweet and gooey they could pass as banana pudding. 1909 E. Fourth St., Long Beach 90802. 562.624.8849

BEST SMALL PLATES: IZAKAYA ZERO Every plate is a small one at Izakaya Zero, but some are more suited to a start than others. For the best possible beginning there’s the okonomiyaki, a Japanese-style pancake loaded with octopus, pork, cabbage, green onion and ginger, topped with scribbles of citrus aioli and tonkatsu sauce. But it’s the heartier dishes that do best at Izakaya Zero, like the balsamic-teriyaki spare ribs. The ribs initially seem like they could pose some logistical problems, but Izakaya Zero cooks away all concern—with just a single swipe of a chopstick, the pork slips off the bone. 412 Walnut Ave., Huntington Beach 92648; izakayazero.com

BEST TRAINING FOR COMPETITIVE EATERS: JOHNNY REBS’ Nothing out of the restaurant’s country kitchen at Johnny Rebs’ satisfies home-cooked cravings more than its ribs. The baby back pork ribs are perhaps the most pleasing of the bunch, colored such a potent pink from slow smoking that the meat almost seems unnatural. The beef ribs, however, are just as good, trading in the pork’s pink streaks for sheer tenderness—the meat can practically be massaged off the bone. For the gluttons, there’s the combination plate, which allows for a pairing of any two of the restaurant’s smoked eats. But any of those items together is a portion prepared for only the most competitive eaters, the plate all but buried under the stack of bones. 4663 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach 90805. 562.423.7327; johnnyrebs.com

BEST PUB TIME: K.C. BRANAGHAN’S The standards by which you can judge any Irish pub are its french fries (aka “chips”) and curry (which, in Ireland, can be found dumped over thick fries at nearly every chip joint). Its flavor is precise: sweet, well-seasoned and bright yellow (even the just-add-water curries in Ireland taste like it). This certainly isn’t your take-out-menu curry—a friend said it was most reminiscent of Japanese curry—but trust us when we say K.C. Branaghan’s gets it right. Dip a fry in the curry and chase it with a gulp of Guinness. Then, sit back and relax. Leave the worrying (and your hunger) out on Second Street—you’re on pub time now. 5734 E. Second St., Long Beach 90803. 562.434.3600; kcbranaghans.com

BEST LIL’ ITALIAN JOINT ON THE CORNER: LA PAROLACCIA Even after its brick pizza oven add-on, La Parolaccia maintains the simple look and feel of the little Italian place up the street. If you’re in the mood for something simple and light, there’s spaghetti con gamberi e asaparagi (angel  hair with bite-size sautéed shrimp, fresh tomatoes and just-right asparagus, $13.75) or tagliatell all’Amatriciana (fettuccine with chopped onions, pancetta and tomato sauce—a spicy favorite, $13.50). For the pant-busters, there’s gnocchi, risotto, cappelletti alla piacentina (assorted cheese tortellini with Italian prosciutto, green peas and mushrooms, $14.50) or rigatoni tric & trac (tube pasta, sausage and mushrooms in Sherry cream sauce—another good choice, $13.95). La Parolaccia is still a place for special occasions, but more than ever, you can walk over just because you’re hungry. 2945 E. Broadway, Long Beach 90803. 562.438.1235; laparolacciausa.com

BEST TRADITION: LE YEN Like its décor, Le Yen’s food sticks to what it has always done best: Cantonese-inspired dishes that, over the years, have taken as much from American cuisine as Chinese. A great mainstay is Le Yen’s excellent moo shu pork, which has long suffered a fading fate similar to egg foo young’s. It begins as a jumble of pork, cabbage, wood-ear mushrooms, carrots and onions. Then, it’s packed hot into Le Yen’s nearly translucent wraps and paired with hoisin sauce. Some lesser Chinese places substitute tortillas for the wraps, but Le Yen keeps with tradition—and it’s good. 4140 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach 90807. 562.424.2817

BEST BASS: MICHAEL’S ON NAPLES There aren’t many entrées at Michael’s, but this provides a fine focus that’s put into good use by the restaurant. A clear example is the branzino con zucchine al vino bianco (sautéed Mediterranean sea bass with zucchini, fingerling potatoes, cherry tomatoes, Gaeta olives and white wine). The fish is cooked perfectly, completely tender to even the tiniest tap of the fork and touched with a certain citrus capable of balancing the briny Gaeta olives. On the meatier end of the menu is the costoletta di maiale alla Milanese, a breaded Kurobuta pork chop fried up and served with braised baby artichokes and a potato cake. 5620 E. Second St., Long Beach 90803. 562.439.7080; michaelsonnaples.com

BEST SANDWICH MENU: NOSH CAFÉ What sticks strongest in the mind is Nosh Café’s long list of sandwiches. There are 16 regular recipes here, and nearly every one is good enough for a repeat meal. Some stay satisfyingly simple (an excellent egg salad with shards of radish and a handful of greens, a surprising shrimp salad cooled with cucumber), while others build slightly more complex flavors. Regardless, the café’s roast beef sandwiches come out on top, the best of which has piles of caramelized onions, horseradish and grain mustard. Despite the stark sharpness of the mustard and horseradish, this isn’t a spicy sandwich—the sweet rings of caramelized onions make sure of that. 617 S Centre St., San Pedro 90731. 310.514.1121

BEST MOLE FOR NEWBS AND VETS: OAXACA MIO Oaxaca Mio’s mole negro, the most common mole, is a wonderfully semisweet, mildly spicy mixture of Oaxacan chocolate, nuts and dried chiles—great for mole first-timers and veterans alike. Most interesting of all the moles, however, is the mole amarillo, with its chowder-like consistency and flavoring of hierba santa (like cilantro, only spicier). But there’s more to Oaxacan cuisine—and Oaxaca Mio—than mole: There’s empanadas stuffed with squash blossoms, cecina oaxaqueño (thinly sliced pork slathered in chile paste) and the tlayuda, a flour tortilla covered in a thin layer of spiced pork fat and black bean paste, sprinkled with cabbage, tomato, avocado and a protein of choice. Nearly everything here eats like a fantastic multi-course meal. 1169 E. 10th St., Long Beach 90804. 562.599.7212

BEST GUACAMOLE BURGER: THE PIKE BAR Central to any good bar menu is a good burger—and the Pike has plenty. Best of all is the guacamole burger, a simple thing turned great by a spoonful of mashed avocado and a handful of crispy fries. To truly appreciate the potatoes, though, go for the fish and chips. The Pike’s excellent version of this ubiquitous dish focuses on three or four long fillets of sole, a flatfish so perfectly suited to a deep fry that its evolution seems little more than preparation for a dip in boiling oil. 1836 E. Fourth St., Long Beach 90802. 562.437.4453

BEST MEAL FOR MEN: SHENANDOAH AT THE ARBOR Shenandoah at the Arbor has the same menu as the original Shenandoah, so let’s just get right to the food. It’s great—and yes, yes, they still have the fritters. The brisket is still tender enough to cut with a fork. Suffused with barbecue sauce, the meat has just enough tang; and when paired on the fork with the mashed potatoes and gravy, the hearty back-and-forth of sharp and soft makes a body feel like he should commence to doing whatever it is men did when they were men. 10631 Los Alamitos Blvd., Los Alamitos 90720. 562.431.1990

BEST LILAC-COLORED SLUSH: SIEM REAP With all its overwhelming options, you learn to rely on Siem Reap’s amiable wait staff, a quick, efficient bunch who always serve up their suggestions with a smile. The ground pork curry (its spice tempered by a few slices of green eggplant) is a good start. And beef lok lak is a great follow-up, with cubed cuts of beef served over a mound of rice, and paired again with a small side of vegetables and a fried egg. And to beat the Sieam Reap’s heat, grab a taro shake, a lilac-colored slush thick with mild tinges of vanilla and coconut. 1810 E Anaheim St., Long Beach 90813. 562.591.7414

BEST BLACK RICE: SLOWFISH The black rice at Slowfish isn’t just a gimmick—it’s an essential component of the restaurant’s subscription to the Slow Food movement. More important, though, is the black rice’s taste, which conceals a few nutty notes that pair perfectly with the restaurant’s sushi bar. Among Slowfish’s so-called big plates, the beef ribs easily eat best. The ribs come with sides of both salad and rice (again, black rice is still best), but the beef, of course, is the centerpiece, perched on thick bones that serve as sturdy supports for the wobbly blocks of meat. Braised at what’s surely the highest heat, the ribs are tender enough to mimic even the fattest pork belly. 16051 Bolsa Chica St., Huntington Beach 92649. 714.846.6951; slowfishz.com

BEST OBLONG MEATBALLS: SUNNIN There are all the foregone conclusions here, like hummus (a creamy chick-pea dream spritzed with just enough lemon) and baba ganouj (roasted eggplant elevated with an exacting amount of garlic), but to stick only to these standards would be to slight one of the strongest pages of Sunnin’s menu. Instead, dip through an order of shanklish, a Lebanese cheese crumbled into the consistency of grain mustard. Even deeper in Sunnin’s menu is kibbeh, torpedo-shaped shells of burghul formed around a center of ground beef, onions and pine nuts. The oblong meatballs do get fried, but it’s only to create their carefully crisped skin, a crusty coat of wheat that conceals the kibbeh’s meaty innards. 5110 E. Second St., Long Beach 90803. 562.433.9000; sunnin.com

BEST SNACK-SIZED BITS: SURATI FARSAN MART Gujarati food is regarded as remarkably clean and simple, with predominantly vegetarian dishes that work wonders with only a few Indian flavors. It’s what Surati Fursan specializes in. There’s pani puri, fried wheat shells puffed up and stuffed with beans and potatoes. And then there’s khandvi, steamed gram flour rolled up and topped with mustard and sesame seeds, shredded coconut and a few leaves of cilantro. But these are just a few of Surati Farsan’s excellent snack-sized bites. And while you may not be able to eat everything at once, it won’t take long before it all starts adding up. 11814 E. 186th St., Artesia 90701. 562.860.2310; suratifarsan.com

BEST RICE POCKETS: TOKO RAME To get into Toko Rame’s Indonesian state of mind, the best bet is the nasi bungkus. The dish is fitted for on-the-go appetites: rice, chicken, beef rendang, tofu and a hardboiled egg, all piled inside banana leaves and wrapped up for what’s close to pocket-like portability. But the miracle of nasi bungkus isn’t just in its convenience; every element of the dish remains distinct, barely touched by the taste of the banana leaves. It’s what makes nasi bungkus such an excellent meal—under every pocket of rice is something new, from a soft block of tofu to a square of beef easily turned to shreds with a single stroke of the fork. 17155 Bellflower Blvd., Bellflower 90706. 562.920.8002

BEST PURPLE POTATOES: TRACHT’S At its core, Tracht’s is a steakhouse—and it shows. The restaurant offers seven different cuts of beef and five different sauces. Not surprisingly, one of Tracht’s signature dishes is the pot roast, a sizable hunk of beef slow-cooked until it nearly falls apart under your fork. The roast is topped with onions caramelized to a deep, sweet brown and flanked by a couple soft baby carrots. But the sides are beautiful, too. Take Tracht’s play on the stuffed potato: Japanese purple yams—tiny little balls that look and feel like potatoes, but whose dark, Laker-purple flesh tastes just like a yam. 111 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach 90802. 562.499.2533

BEST FAKE DUCK: VEGI WOKERY It’s not exactly culinary subterfuge, but nothing at Vegi Wokery is quite what it seems. That’s because Vegi Wokery specializes in vegetarian and vegan interpretations of classic Chinese dishes, with probably the most unique plate being the vegi-Peking duck. What’s usually a brutally fattening dish (duck skin literally bathed in oil) is completely transformed here, as slices of soy-based duck are paired with plum sauce, a pile of broccoli, a strange sprinkling of cilantro and a row of steamed buns in which to stuff the faux-duck. The cilantro doesn’t fit, but scrape it off, and it’s great from there: a faintly sweet meal worthy of whatever excess there is at Vegi Wokery. 11329 183rd St., Cerritos 90703. 562.809.3928

BEST BOWL MOVEMENT: ZEPHYR For those looking to enjoy a hearty meal, Zephyr has the requisite overflowing bowl mixtures, such as the garden tempeh bowl, filled with veggies, tempeh, beans and other goodies. Or there’s the tofu steak plate, which, true to its name, is a plate lined with bricks of flame-broiled tofu. But the best and most cost-efficient discovery are the Vietnamese spring rolls, which can double as a meal or appetizer. 340 E. Fourth St., Long Beach 90802. 562.435.7113

Tags: at last cafe, brite spot, el gallo giro, Food, johnny rebs, Long Beach, San Pedro, slowfish, toko rame