La Parolaccia’s expansion means you now have even more reasons to visit

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES

Bread sticks at Ecco’s. Minestrone at Brogino’s. House salad (and suckers!) at Domenico’s. Tequila chicken at Pasta al Dente. If you were to trace my years growing up in Long Beach like a progressive dinner through some of the city’s best—and, in the case of Brogino’s, terribly missed—Italian eateries, this would be my story. From smoking bread stick cigars as a kid to feeling sneaky as a teen for getting away with eating tequila, these eateries—and don’t forget Ferraro’s—were the second homes at which my family celebrated nearly every important occasion.

Today, there are a few more stops on the list—Café Piccolo (for lentil soup, always) or a slice of vegetarian pie at the Pizza Place—but by far my favorite is the one closest to home: La Parolaccia, just a few blocks away on the corner of Broadway and Orizaba.

What was once a best-kept secret, raved about by neighbors but not requiring reservations, now has a line out the door most nights—especially on the weekends. But La Parolaccia—even after expanding into what used to be Toto’s Revenge and adding a brick-enclosed wood burning oven for pizzas—maintains the simple look and feel of the little Italian place up the street.

You start with the bruschette della casa ($6.95), toasted slices of fresh-baked bread piled with juicy, ruby red diced tomatoes and topped with garlic and shredded basil. A drizzle of olive oil holds it all together—but don’t expect to finish in a bite or two. These slices are meant to spill out of your mouth—all the better for scooping off the plate. (But do take caution: Garlic breath is an inescapable side-effect, and will last six to 12 hours.)

Next, you could order a soup (changes daily) or a salad—caprese, Mediterranean or baby spinach with artichoke hearts and pine nuts—but I typically skip straight to the entree.

At La Parolaccia, it’s tough to order a bad dish. If you’re in the mood for something simple and light, there’s spaghetti con gamberi e asaparagi (Angel hair with bite-sized sauteed shrimp, fresh tomatoes and just-right asparagus, $13.75) or tag-liatelle all’Amatriciana (fettuccine with chopped onions, pancetta and tomato sauce—a spicy favorite, $13.50). For the pant-busters, there’s gnocchi, risotto, or the cappelletti alla piacentina (assorted cheese tortellini with Italian proscuitto, green peas and mushrooms, $14.50) or rigatoni tric & trac (tube pasta, sausage and mushrooms in Sherry cream sauce—another good choice, $13.95). In the case of almost every dish, you’ll be taking home leftovers. The restaurant also serves a number of tasty-sounding meat-based dishes (variations on chicken and veal) though I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure—mostly because the specials, like the wonderful seared tuna topped with pink peppercorns I recently enjoyed, are more tempting. (Also, the vegetables served with all specials and meat dishes  inspire envy with their seasoning—if only I could season like that!)

But I can’t afford to eat like this all the time—in deference to both my budget and caloric intake—which brings me to why I’m most pleased by La Parolaccia: Given everything—its rocketing success, its sold-out wine tastings—the restaurant’s expansion could have simply resulted in more space for more patrons, with higher menu prices.

Instead, in what I hope is a nod to its surrounding neighborhood, the restaurant added high quality pizzas and calzones—one is enough for two—at reasonable prices (at $11.95, the margherita is simplicity perfected; add a small side of pasta for $5.95 and you’ll be all sorts of full). Like those many restaurants from my childhood, La Parolaccia will always remain a place for special occasions—but now I can walk over just because I’m hungry, too. That’s all the reason you need.

LA PAROLACCIA OSTERIA ITALIANA 2945 E BROADWAY | LONG BEACH 90803 | 562.438.1235 | LAPAROLACCIAUSA.COM | OPEN SUN-THURS 5:30-10PM | FRI-SAT 5:30-10:30PM | FOOD FOR TWO, $25-75 | BEER, WINE

Tags: Food, italian, la parolaccia, Long Beach, Restaurants