Ever since it sprouted up on Second St., Open Sesame has seemed like it was on the verge of taking over Long Beach, an unparalleled culinary force that could conceivably devour entire blocks. Eventually, it did. (Speaking of Open Sesame’s Manifest Destiny, there’s now a Manhattan Beach branch, too.) The Lebanese restaurant has been extolled [...]

Nazelie’s Lebanese Café’s warm embrace

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
Nazelie’s Lebanese Café seems a bit guarded—barred windows are practically standard in the San Pedro strip mall that houses the restaurant—but it’s an exceedingly friendly place, one staffed in alternating intervals by various members of the Kassabian family. Even though the restaurant has been serving up shawarma for [...]

Baba Ghanouj is an admirable lunch destination, offering daily specials that pull from some of the more neglected corners of Lebanese cuisine. On Tuesdays, there’s eggplant stuffed with lamb and pine nuts in a light tomato sauce. On Wednesdays, there’s bami, a baby okra, cilantro, garlic and lamb stew. Even if you don’t opt for [...]

Baba Ghanouj brings Lebanese uptown

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
Baba Ghanouj is brushed with the kind of rustic, earthen patina that colors all of Long Beach’s Lebanese restaurants, a brassy sheen that instantly cultivates an antique atmosphere. It’s a calculated design decision that not only lays out the restaurant’s commitment to the usual Lebanese tropes, but also [...]

The best way to experience Sunnin’s Lebanese tastes is by gathering up a number of appetizers. There are all the foregone conclusions like hummus (a creamy chick pea dream spritzed with just enough lemon) and babaganouj (roasted eggplant elevated with an exacting amount of garlic), but to stick only to those standards would be to [...]

Sunnin stands apart from Second Street’s Lebanese trio

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
Sunnin is a restaurant turned outside-in, an alleyway of a place where fake balconies bulge out of the wall and decorative shutters stay permanently sealed. In that faux courtyard, the restaurant feels as though it has an open-air café stuck inside, lights streaming off the [...]