The Starling Diner is one of those quaint little Long Beach restaurants that can be found nestled away in a residential area. This one is on a quiet tree-lined street in Belmont Heights. A few friends and I decided to give it a try for brunch one Sunday morning, and we weren’t disappointed.
We spotted the chalkboard as we walked in with the day’s specials, and we were intrigued: Peach French Toast? We had to ask. The friendly waitress then proceeded to explain the whole delectable array of choices we had for French toast, and we finally opted on the berries and cream—not the caramelized peach. Not your typical French Toast, what we received was broiled slices of a crunchy baguette stuffed with creamy Mascarpone cheese, topped with Crème Fraiche and berries. More of a dessert than breakfast I’d say, and we actually shared it as such after all splitting a sandwich and salad.
The salad was a blue crab-cake salad with nice greens, and the sandwich was pulled pork served on soft roll. The crab cakes came out flaky and flavorful, and the pork was seasoned well. I think the sandwich had a bit too much bread for the amount of meat, and perhaps needed something more of a topping than cheese, but it was tasty nonetheless.
Later on, after cleaning our plates, we noticed that they had quite a selection of wines on the shelves, so we asked about dinner service and were told they currently were only opened for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. This, we agreed, was something to look forward to, as we enjoyed this meal, and a return visit was definitely in order. Until next time….Bon appetite!
Starling Diner is located at 4114 E. 3rd St., (562) 433-2041
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