At first it’s a novelty, a standout item on an already great-sounding menu: tortilla chips smothered in eggs, cheese, chiles, garlic and onions and served with pinto beans (and more cheese!), not potatoes. Sounds like breakfast nachos, you think, and you order accordingly. By the second time around, 212 Bistro’s brekkie specialty has become a new addiction. You’re savoring the garlicky aftertaste as you order. And when you decide to branch out on a third visit—there’s a tofu scramble on special; you panic and make a hasty decision—you immediately hate yourself when you see the waiter plant a plate of the stuff in front of someone else down the table. Chilaquiles—as the dish is formally known—is mighty powerful that way, like an evil, old, wizardly person (or particularly well-made Bloody Mary). and it doesn’t help that more people are getting hooked on 212 every week. Soon, this quaint new joint (housed in the former Hot Spot and muchly improved with a fantastic wait staff and nommy morning and noontime dishes—now served with cucumber water!) will be everybody’s destination. Earlier this month, their biweekly Saturday happy hour was jammed—a great sign for this little neighborhood. It won’t be long until there’s a line out the door for breakfast, too.

212 BISTRO 2708 E FOURTH ST | LONG BEACH 90814 | 562.439.8822 | HAPPY HOUR PATIO CELEBRATION WITH MUSIC BY CAT BLUES SAT 4-7PM | $1 TACOS, $2 DOMESTICS, $3 IMPORTS, WINE AND MARGARITAS

Tags: 212 bistro, chilaquiles, Food, Long Beach, SIDES