{"id":8708,"date":"2019-10-01T07:39:25","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T14:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=30000002627"},"modified":"2020-09-16T09:01:00","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T16:01:00","slug":"addison-favorite-things-september-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/addison-favorite-things-september-2019","title":{"rendered":"Favorite things I am eating right now in Long Beach: September 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Missed one or two of these monthly lists? Click here for the full archive of Favorite Things I’m Eating<\/a>. Looking for other food listicles? Click here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\r\n

****<\/p>\r\n

A few years back, I wrote an Essential Long Beach Dishes listicle<\/a>. I wrote it because there’s something so elemental and useful about a specific great dish at a specific place; it was less about some grander proclamation than it was about, “This is just great food.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And I want to return to that, but the reality of that list is that some restaurants went out of business, some ingredients aren’t around, moods shift, seasons alter, food changes. Constantly. So why not just own the moment? Without further ado, here are the favorite things I’m eating right now\u2026<\/p>\r\n

****<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
Ammatol\u00ed\u2019s Hola Schwarma wrap. Photo by Brian Addison.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Hola Schwarma at Ammatol\u00ed<\/b><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

285 E. Third St.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If there is something to be said about the span of human cuisine this deep into our recorded existence, it is that all food is a fusion of some sort thanks to a seemingly ever-strange mix of colonialism and pillaging paired with an appreciation and love for new foods.<\/p>\r\n

But hefty fusion food is one of the great hallmarks of the Americas: from tacos \u00e1rabes<\/em> out of Puebla, Mexico to the Thai curry pizza out of Dean’s in Long Beach, great fusion comes when the things being fused seem polar opposites\u2014like Levantine and Mexican foods.<\/p>\r\n

Much like the aforementioned tacos \u00e1rabes<\/em>, Ammatoli’s “Hola Schwarma” wrap is, basically, a Levantine burrito.\u00a0Chef Dima Habibeh’s spectacularly spiced chicken schwarma\u2014what one of my friends who lived in Jordan called the best he’s had outside the country\u2014is wrapped in a pita and then slathered in a tomatillo sauce, drizzled with labneh\u2014a yogurt, sour cream-like side that you can also order as a dip\u2014feta, cilantro, onions, and a sprinkle of sumac for extra tartness \u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Not feeling chicken? Get the beef schwarma. Not feeling meat? Get it filled with foul and falafel instead.<\/p>\r\n

One caveat: it’s only available during lunch and brunch.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

****<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
The spicy chicken chile verde omelette at Coffee Cup Cafe. Courtesy of Yelp!\/Nancy C. Edited by Brian Addison.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

The spicy chicken chile verde omelette at The Coffee Cup Cafe<\/b><\/h3>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n

3734 E. Fourth St.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

This dish isn’t something I’ve recently discovered, rather, for easily a decade, it has remained my favorite dish at The Coffee Cup, arguably the city’s best breakfast outlet\u2014at least tied with The Breakfast Bar.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The mood of the masterful breakfast slayers in the kitchen is what determines the heat of chile verde itself: sometimes it packs a severe punch while other days it seems a bit more under control. Either way, the slather of bright green atop folded egg and melted cheese creates an addicting combo. Pro tip? Ask for the potatoes well-done and a side of sour cream; they act as break-givers to your tongue should the sauce be too spicy for your taste.<\/p>\r\n

****<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
Nam Tok, or crispy cold beef salad, is one of Tasty Food to Go’s many highlights. This particular photo of Nam Tok comes from Ayara in Los Angeles. Courtesy of Yelp!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Nam Tok at Tasty Food to Go<\/h3>\r\n

2015 E. 10th St.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Next door to Lam’s Barber & Beauty Salon is Lam’s Tasty Food to Go, situated just east of Cherry Avenue on 10th Street, and since opening some three years ago, it is quickly becoming one of my favorite go-tos for Lao and Thai food. In fact, it will have a spot on my annual Underrated List<\/a> come next year.<\/p>\r\n

And while Lam is the face of the outlet, it is his aunt and uncle\u2014mortaring spices, chopping vegetables, ladling scores of various liquids\u2014that are the masters in the tiny-but-mighty kitchen that churns out the very specific, 24-item menu represented by each numbered plate photographed and framed on the wall.<\/p>\r\n

This menu includes their nom tok<\/em>, a cold, lime juice-marinated beef salad layered with punches of Thai chile and sweetness to counter the tartness. Yes, it’s like a carpaccio ceviche\u2014or, in this case, Lao ceviche, as my fellow writer and Suppertime in the LBC co-host Sarah Bennett once put it.<\/p>\r\n

It’s beautiful.<\/p>\r\n

And yes, there are plenty of other items worth getting, especially Tasty’s pineapple fried rice. And while their pineapple fried rice is delicious…<\/p>\r\n

****<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
Thai District’s pineapple fried rice. Courtesy of Yelp!\/Maxine D.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Pineapple Fried Rice at Thai District<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

149 Linden Ave.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

…the pineapple fried rice at Thai District is outright spectacular.<\/p>\r\n

A partnership between former Frenchy’s Chef Andre Angles and Thai chef\/pastry chef Ty Theara, Thai District serves up some of the city’s most refined Thai food and this particular dish is no exception.<\/p>\r\n

Chunks of seared pineapple accompany golden raisins, cashews, curry powder, and green onion in rice that is fired in a wok to subtle crispness. After that, it is topped with lightly scrambled egg\u2014always pseudo-scrambled; the white and yolk remain largely separate\u2014some rousong\u2014basically a meat cotton candy, with Thai District using the pork version\u2014and more green onion.<\/p>\r\n

The result is a somewhat sweet, definitively flavorful heap of rice that is so layered in texture and taste that repeated returns with your chopsticks or spoon are warranted until its completion.<\/p>\r\n

****<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a>
Beachwood’s hard seltzer. Courtesy of business.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The hard seltzer at Beachwood BBQ & Brewing<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

210 E. Third St.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

So how to wash down all this spicy and heavily-spiced grub?<\/p>\r\n

Forget White Claw. Go to Beachwood. No joke.<\/p>\r\n

While they were too skeptical to jump on the Hazy Beer Craze when its popularity skyrocketed<\/a>, Beachwood seems to have taken a hard look in the mirror to realize that trends change, and if there was something annihilating the malt market right now, it is hard seltzer.<\/p>\r\n

The thing with Beachwood versus its inferior competitor White Claw is that Beachwood doesn’t release products that are OK; they release stellar concoctions and their seltzer is one of them.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

My suggestion? The guava seltzer, an absurdly addicting, dangerously drinkable cup of happiness.<\/p>\r\n

***<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But, if I had to pick just one to live with for the rest of the month\u2014just one\u2014it would definitively be The Coffee Cup’s chicken chile verde omelette. It has comforted me through many a hangover in college and it still provides a wonderful warmth to both my soul and stomach.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Brian Addison is a columnist and editor for the Long Beach Post.\u00a0<\/em>Reach him at\u00a0brian@lbpost.com\u00a0or on social media at\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Food changes. Constantly. So why not just own the moment? Without further ado and in no particular order, here are my favorite things I am eating right now\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":70535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[8260],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[2691],"class_list":["post-8708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-favorite-things-im-eating","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8708"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=8708"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=8708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}