Belmont Grill
Belmont Grill is impossible to miss, a loud place that occupies the same space on Second Street where Los Alamitos import Paul’s once cooked its burgers. And unless you made a habit out of Paul’s, chances are you won’t be able to tell the two apart—the menu is practically identical, the tiny interior space [...]

Although Volcano Burger does just about everything right, the place is still renowned primarily for one dish: its chili cheese fries. Regardless of whether you order them in or for take-out, the chili cheese fries are served in something resembling a pie tin—a metal dish easily capped with a plastic lid for leftovers. The fries [...]

Central to any good bar food 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 [...]

A self-proclaimed gourmet stand tucked behind Wilson High, Mosher’s spreads its focus wide: plenty of burgers and sandwiches, but also burritos and regional dishes like Louisiana sausages. Some of these offerings don’t fare as well as others, but that’s to be expected, since the best choices at Mosher’s are also the simplest: hot dogs. Mosher’s [...]

John’s is a little burger place near Millikan that seems like it could’ve been recast from any number of big-name chains. The place offers a mostly traditional helping of burgers, but the standout is its chicken club sandwich. Crammed into a thin yellow wrapper (like all of John’s hand-held dishes), the chicken club is hearty: [...]

More than just a French-inspired ploy, “bouchée” best translates to “mouthful”—a clever naming scheme that promotes Bouchees’ miniature side, as the restaurant offers scaled-down versions of nearly every dish on its menu, turning its sandwiches and burgers into bite-sized mouthfuls. And its burgers are easily some of the best in town, grilled from fresh sirloin, [...]

As bars with food go, the Tavern is a lot like Joe Jost’s: they don’t make it until you order it—and they make it right there. At a place known for burgers, one of the best is the Pendejo Burger: served with a split ortega chili atop the patty, a slice of jalapeño jack cheese, [...]

AKI SUSHI’S HOME DELIVERY The reasons I am obsessed with Aki Sushi/Bai-Plu are infinite. Since it’s both a sushi joint and a Thai restaurant, I find myself voting for Aki in the Where to Eat? straw polls roughly five nights a week—and if I could, and my friends wouldn’t kill me, I’d gorge on edamame, [...]

Head back to school at these local burger joints

MOSHER’S by ROSHEILA ROBLES
It wasn’t too long ago that I spent my lunch hours sneaking across the street from my high school, hurrying through lines to grab a burger or some chili fries before the bell rang. But even if I made it back to campus in [...]

Power down a burger at the 49er Tavern and a beer at the other Nugget

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
The Gold Rush connection to Long Beach lives on in about seven institutions—all very likely traceable to Cal State Long Beach, which was founded in 1949. There’s the university, its athletics teams, the campus Nugget Grill and Pub, [...]