Anyone from Downey or who works in Downey or who drives through Downey knows Arthur’s, which is why the teeny restaurant—with about a dozen tables and a handful of seats at the counter—is packed virtually every morning. They come for the homemade chorizo, crisp and fluffy biscuits, potatoes O’Brien—home fries mixed with green pepper and [...]

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 [...]

Bouchees dropped from the sky and landed in a strip mall with the best burgers I have ever had in Long Beach—former victor was MVP and I will happily examine further contenders suggested—and so the announcement that Bouchees would be gently extending into weekly breakfast service gave me surprise reason to wake up certain mornings. [...]

Every day at the Gaffey Street Diner

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
A visit by any Food Network star almost assuredly brings restaurants some fame—a gentle influx, perhaps, of eaters looking to try all the lauded houses of home cooking. But at Gaffey Street Diner, it’s easy to forget that the network’s bleached-blond host Guy Fieri once made [...]

Bouchees Bistro—possibly best ascendent restaurant in Long Beach—is now offering a SUNDAY BUBBLY BRUNCH (or some similar name; I did not lift menu for fact-checking as I left) with sparkly wines for corner-cutters/slow risers but the colossal draw is of course a chance for Bouchees omelettes, Bouchees pancakes and special Bouchees breakfast burgers—special Bouchees breakfast [...]

Wake up right in Seal Beach with these morning meals

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
Seal Beach’s Main Street is a municipal anomaly, lined with quaint and quirky businesses that stand in contrast to the rest of the town’s upscale suburban sprawl. However, deeper examination (all it takes is a few hours eavesdropping on coffee shop conversations) reveals [...]

At Arthur’s, the eggs aren’t the only things that will catch your eye
Downey used to have two great coffee shops: Johnie’s, which was destroyed, and Arthur’s. Johnie’s was more beautiful and was the place you went to at night. Arthur’s has the better food, especially its breakfast fare. Anyone from Downey or who works in [...]

You’ll Welcome the Quaint Charm of the Starling Diner

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
For most people, I’d imagine, heading to one’s “happy place” involves multiple, spliced images of the tropical variety: piña coladas served inside coconut shells, a hammock tied between two palm trees, tanning without fear of UV rays and/or visible stretch marks. My happy place [...]