Long Beach’s Most Iconic Dishes
Each city is home to its own signature dishes – Long Beach’s just happen to be the tastiest dishes you’ve ever heard of. From tacos to pizza – we’re revealing the local favorites!
Domenico’s Special Pizza - Domenico’s Italian Restaurant
Domenico’s is Long Beach’s oldest restaurant, so we think it’s fairly obvious that their signature pie is a Long Beach signature dish. Topped with ground sausage, ground pepperoni (I know, sounds weird, tastes delicious), ground salami, fresh mushrooms, black olives, onions, oregano, green peppers this pizza has all of our favorites. Making fresh pizza dough each day & fresh mozzarella, Domenico’s is the real deal!
Honorable Mention: Just take a look at the Domenico’s Favorites section of the menu.
Famous Brussel Sprouts - Bo Beau Kitchen + Rooftap
Bo-Beau’s Famous Brussel Sprouts got that title for a reason. Because it’s all anyone can talk about when you mention the restaurant. Not that everything else on the menu isn’t delicious, it’s just that these Brussel sprouts are life-changing. Their cooked with house-cured lardon and topped with parmesan cheese and a to-die-for balsamic glaze. Plus, this appetizer is gluten-free! Fear not friends, the Brussel sprout trend is still going strong in Long Beach.
Honorable Mention: House-made Sausage. Any place that’s actually making the effort to make its own sausage deserves a mention in our book.
Garlic Cheese Bread Burger - Parkers’ Lighthouse
Allegedly invented by a member of our own staff, the Garlic Cheese Bread burger combines two of the best menu items at Parkers'. This enormous creation consists of an 8 oz. ground brisket & sliced tomato, sandwiched between their famous garlic cheese bread. Enormous but delicious, this burger is not for the faint of heart. If the rest of your group starts to drool, just order the appetizer of garlic cheese bread for them to share & go back to eating in peace.
Honorable Mention: The Crab Cake Sandwich. The “Jumbo lump” part of the description is no joke; this crab cake is jam-packed with crab!
Lamb Chops – George’s Greek Café
Imagine asking your SoCal friend where to eat in Long Beach & they suggest Greek food…not the first thing that comes to mind but you’ll understand once you taste these lamb chops. Beautifully grilled with the perfect grill marks, these lamb chops will make you reconsider all the other chops you’ve ever had.
Honorable Mentions: From the Saganaki Flaming Cheese to the gyro (seriously, try the chicken gyro), there isn’t a thing on this menu we wouldn’t recommend. One thing you have to try, because you won’t find it anywhere else, is the gyro falafel (Falafel stuffed with Gyro and Feta.) – life changing. Thank us later.
Mexico City Street Corn – Lola’s Mexican Cuisine
With locations in Bixby Knolls and on 4th Street Retro Row, it’s obvious that Lola's is a local favorite. We could write all day about their signature green sauce, (so secretive that we literally don’t even know what it is) but that’s not really a dish, per say, even though we occasionally make it one. We also, however LOVE their version of Mexican street corn! Off the cob & perfect for sharing, if you can manage to part with it long enough, this dish involves toasted heirloom corn, roasted garlic cream & chile dust, topped with crumbled queso cotija and cilantro.
Honorable Mention: Honestly anything on the menu. Seriously.
OG Mac N Cheetos – The Attic
Honestly, this list would be 100% incomplete without featuring the Mac N Cheetos that have brought news outlets from far and wide to our city to try this signature dish. As the name suggest, this dish consists of macaroni & cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, & Jack cheese) topped with crumbled Flaming Hot Cheetos. There are several variations, but for the true taste of Long Beach, we recommend the OG.
Honorable Mention: The Bloody Marys. Believe it or not there is a full menu (novel) dedicated to their Bloody Mary options – some even come with a slider on top!
S’mores Cutie Pie Jar – The Pie Bar
First, understand that Cutie Pie Jars are individual servings of pie packed into a cute 8oz mini mason jars. Next understand that this pie is the most decadent pie you will likely ever indulge in. It’s sweet alright, from the marshmallow topping (broiled to perfection), to the Nutella-esque filling, to the graham cracker crust. Eat this with a tall glass of milk & cancel your plans for the rest of the day because this pie deserves time to digest. Now fully engrained in the Pine Avenue culinary scene, Pie Bar owner, Laurie Gray, started by selling pies made from her family’s recipes in the local Co-op, Made by Millworks. She grossed over $1 million the first year her storefront was open.
Honorable Mention: We can’t turn down an apple pie & The Pie Bar is serving up Dutch Apple Pie done right.