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I’ll get this off my chest early — this will be a biased newsletter. I went somewhere I’ve been to just under a million times before and I know I love it. 

Last week, I went to Zankou Chicken.

Long Beach got its first Zankou location and I’m not going to take credit for that, but I will say I think God knew I’d miss it when I moved to cover this city from Orange County.

I practically grew up at Zankou’s Anaheim location. The LA-based chain has gained a cult following over the years. It’s popped up in a music video, and the HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm even paid homage. It was one of the few restaurants my parents, who are Lebanese, would actually go eat at. Ironically, when I was younger my mom would have described me as a picky eater, and I never ate big quantities at once, often picking at a few bites of my mom’s home-cooked meal and complaining until she finally let me unglue my butt from the dining room table. But with Zankou, I was always happy to keep scarfing food down until my stomach felt like bursting.

I think it’s fair to say their most popular items are their rotisserie chicken, wraps, and perhaps most of all their toum. Toum is a garlic paste that’s become so trendy it’s even at Trader Joe’s now. Ten years ago, I used to yell at my mom for sending me to school with chicken wrapped in pita smothered in that pungent, creamy paste. Now I’m watching TikTokers eat it on keto bread.

And Zankou’s is hard to beat. All the other food you’ll order is basically a more socially acceptable vehicle than a spoon for shoving toum in your mouth.

But their other stuff is great too. On this occasion, I went with a 1/2 chicken platter, which comes with hummus, fresh tomatoes and pickles. The hummus, like the toum, is made from scratch with simple ingredients. In between bites of toum-dunked chicken I like to switch things up with some hummus-dunked chicken. I took my coworker, Thomas, who had never had Zankou before. Both Zankou co-owner Vartkes Iskenderian and I recommended Thomas grab a Chicken Tarna wrap.

His verdict: He’d eat there again, high praise if you know Thomas personally.

And finally, and most impressively, their prices remain affordable and consistent. My 1/2 chicken plate came in at $15.99 and Thomas’s sandwich was $9.49. I’ll fondly remember the good ole days when extra cups of toum didn’t cost you 60 cents, but it’ll be my little secret that truthfully I’d pay much more.

Check out the grand opening festivities here. 

Zankou Chicken is at 2590 N Lakewood Blvd. Directions | Website

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Dishes on my to-try list

• In response to last week’s newsletter, a kind reader, Rosi, suggested I check out Viaje on Second Street. Taking a skim over their menu, I immediately have my eye on their Robalo Con Almejas — Chilean sea bass, clams, squid ink rice, smoked chile ($48). Yes, please. I’m on my way.
• Manaow Thai came up in conversation recently and I’m a sucker for Thai food. My instinct would be try my go-tos like Tom Kha or Drunken Noodles, but looking over their menu I’m excited to try one of their salads, either the Crying Tiger Salad with marinated, grilled ribeye steak or the Seafood Glass Noodle Salad with shrimp, mussels, mushrooms and more ($16/$19.50).  

New eats around town

PlanTita’s Kitchen recently opened on the Westside serving classic Mexican dishes, but vegan. Owner Aileen Castañeda is just 28 years old, but she wanted to create a space that combined her vegan diet with her love of the recipes passed down through generations of her family. Check out our story on her journey here. 

A unique shop is in its soft-opening phase right next door to PlanTita’s Kitchen — Twelfth House Tea Sanctuary is a reservation-only community space with unlimited special-blend tea. I spoke with co-owners/best friends Jasmine Thong and Ana Luna about their reasons for opening and space and what they hope it’ll be for the community. Read that here. 

Black Dog Coffee Roasters’ second shop is now officially in its soft opening. The popular coffee brand, which has its first location in Signal Hill, took over the former Lord Windsor space. Owner Francisco Portillo, who roasts coffee from his family’s farm in El Salvador in-house, has been working on getting the spot open for months. Read more here. 

Have you been to any new restaurants or have some recommendations for me? I would love to hear your thoughts. Make sure to reply to this email or email [email protected]. 

Events and Specials

El Barrio Cantina is introducing a weekly prix-fixe chef’s dinner priced at $45 with one complimentary cocktail available every Monday through Thursday. Follow El Barrio Cantina for more. 

It’s never too early to start planning for the holidays. Michael’s on Naples is offering a three-course, $55 per person Thanksgiving prix-fixe dinner on Nov. 22 and Nov. 24. Details can be found here. 

555 East will also have a pre-Thanksgiving three-course prix-fixe meal on Nov. 23, this one priced at $68 per person. The menu can be found here. 

Alder & Sage is doing a six-course meal paired with Chikurin Sakes provided by Sake Secret. Tickets go for $150 per person (plus fees) which will benefit Long Beach Organic, a nonprofit that manages multiple organic community gardens. Spots are limited.