Suppertime in the LBC

Grocery shopping. Cooking at home. How to read recipes. These things, though things that should be well-known among most, are genuinely stressful. Instead of talking about restaurants, we record inside Brian Addison's apartment for two hours so we can hit on the issues inside the home kitchen. Joined by Sarah Bennett (along with an appearance by our producer, Steven Smith), this trio goes through their tips, their admitted lack of knowledge, and more in this all-new, all-home Suppertime in the LBC.

Grocery shopping. Cooking at home. How to read recipes. These things, though things that should be well-known among most, are genuinely stressful. Instead of talking about restaurants, we record inside Brian Addison's apartment for two hours so we can hit on the issues inside the home kitchen. Joined by Sarah Bennett (along with an appearance by our producer, Steven Smith), this trio goes through their tips, their admitted lack of knowledge, and more in this all-new, all-home Suppertime in the LBC.

Try. Fail. Try again. Fail better. This was the mantra Arturo Enciso when approaching bread—and his undeterred ambition has made him and Gusto Bread one of the most respected bakeries in the city. Now moving into a full brick-and-mortar—*whisper* we know the location!—Arturo and his partner Ana are ready to take Gusto to the next level. Join Brian Addison and Sarah Bennett on this wonderfully carb-y journey with two of Long Beach's most beloved food makers.

2019 was a year of changes for Long Beach's evolving food scene: Homegrown chefs launched brick-and-mortars, more than a few classic local restaurants shuttered and new hi-rise apartment buildings added residents and retail space (that are both still figuring out what they want to eat). From Milk Barn pizza to gold-crusted salmon burgers to the power of Long Beach as a regional food destination, Sarah and Brian tackle the openings, closings and experiments that defined the last year of food in a city in transition. They talk what's working, what's not and what can we expect in 2020. Yes, there will be lots of tangents.

Self-care. Health amongst the entirety of the kitchen staff. Knowing when to stand your ground on your food and when to walk away. These are some of the things many folks in the restaurant industry _don't_ talk about—and in order to talk about it correctly, you need experience. Enter Chef Arthur Gonzalez, the man behind Panxa Cocina and who founded Roe in Belmont Shore. Brian Addison and Sarah Bennett sit down with the veteran to talk about how he has re-approached his own self in order to find a new found love for the future and food.

The world of veganism is often casted into many stereotypes and cubbyholes: From "Does it taste like _real_ meat?" to "Why even go vegan?" the conversation surrounding veganism is often dictated by, well, non-vegans. That's why we brought on Dennis Dean, a lifelong vegetarian and now vegan, to talk about why he makes the decisions he makes—despite the constant pressure from society to do otherwise—and why being a vegan makes one more mindful. And yes, we go into what he makes for Thanksgiving.

Long Beach has long been a breakfast (and drinkin') town—and The Breakfast Bar has stood out as one of its most popular and dedicated joints. With a second location on the way, we discuss how Pamela and Joshua Beadel have created a space that is distinctly its own, why Long Beach loves breakfast so much, and how the service industry breeds some of the best small business owners.

For nearly three decades, Long Beach resident Russ Parsons served as food editor at the Los Angeles Times, overseeing and working with tons of critics, researchers, and writers, including the late and great Jonathan Gold. Brian Addison and Steve Lowery, sitting in for Sarah Bennett, sit down with the retired editor to talk about everything from his massive culinary collection housed at the Long Beach Public Library to how food journalism has changed.

From managing one of the state's leading buyers of Guinness—no joke: Auld Dubliner in DTLB is usually #2 or #3 in the state for the amount of Guinness they buy and sell—to creating The Ordinarie, Christy Caldwell has built up a name in and out of the Irish community along with altering the local bar scene. That name has also reached New York, where Miracle Pop-up, one of the country's most recognized holiday pop-up bar brands, decided for the first time it wanted in on the Long Beach scene by turning The Ordinarie into a Miracle at The Ordinarie. Listen to us explore American hospitality, cocktails, holiday kitsch, Irish bars, the importance of immigrants, and more on this all-new episode of Suppertime in the LBC.

With Halloween around the corner, the American focus on candy becomes an almost dominating force. The sugary world of confections has its own set of issues, from arguments about what defines candy—is chocolate _really_ candy?—to trends and innovations—"unicorn poo" really is a thing. We sit down with Nicole Marte, manager of the sweet, sweet heaven known as Candy Warehouse to discuss these things and more.

Popups and food trucks often provide communities and cities with food they would otherwise have not experienced. Some popup owners have no interest in expanding to a full brick-and-mortar and food trucks are much more affordable ways for business owners to serve their food. Brian Addison and Sarah Bennett sit down with Jairo Bogarín of Hamburgers Nice, a breakfast burger popup at Zaferia's Commodity space, to discuss this, along with the intimate ties this type of food has in Wilmington, San Pedro, and SoCal as a whole.

What do we _really_ mean when we call a dish 'authentic'? The fact of the matter is that every single food we eat is a fusion of some sort—and no place exemplifies that more than SoCal and its seemingly endless spectrum of cuisines. Brian Addison and Sarah Bennett sit down with a master of fusion, Chef Beeline Krouch of Chinitos Tacos, to talk about his Mexican-meets-Asian grub, growing up in Long Beach, and stepping into the wild suburb of Lakewood.

Brian Addison and Sarah Bennett sit down with Wade Windsor, founder and roaster for Lord Windsor Coffee, Long Beach's first third-wave coffeeshop and roaster. Wade talks about the learning curve with specialty coffee, keeping up with the times, and when Costco called because they wanted his canned cold brew on their shelves.

Brian Addison and Sarah Bennett sit down with two-thirds of the trio behind Long Beach's massively popular pizzeria, The 4th Horseman. Ryan Hughes and Martin Svab, along with Chef Adam Schmalz, have carved out a space that, even though it hasn't been open a year, feels like it has been a part of the community forever. Add to the fact that they became the unofficial hub for the CA Craft Beer Summit, and you'll begin to see how The 4th is quickly becoming its own drunk pizza institution.

Brian Addison and Sarah Bennett sit down with Chef Philip Pretty, co-owner and executive chef of Restauration, following the catastrophic fire that has left the space closed for nearly a year. Long Beach's first contemporary California bistro, Restauration represents one of the initial cogs that spurred a food renaissance in the city—and with months of exploring a food scene he was once too busy to do before the fire, Pretty shares his thoughts on existing staples, his hopes for the re-opening of Restauration, and how he plans on reconnecting chefs and citizens with their farmers market.

After exploring Mexico on their own trips, Brian and Sarah (along with guest speaker and co-traveler Areli Morales) discuss the complexity of Mexican cuisine, which shifts state by state in Mexico, and how that has both complicated and transformed what Californians view as Mexican food.

Cities often have restaurant and cuisine deserts—and Long Beach is no exception. East Long Beach has long been relegated to chains and fast food joints but the addition of the Long Beach Exchange has introduced the neighborhood to a new type of dining experience. Eastsider Jason Ruiz joins us to talk about why the development couldn’t work elsewhere, the implications of importing an OC-like food scene and what the whole city could use in terms of trends.

It's time to get a little trashy, Long Beach. As half of Suppertime's crew (the lovely Ms. Sarah Bennett) takes a vacation in the woods, Brian Addison is joined by The Hi-lo's head honcho Steve Lowery to talk about low-brow food—How _dare_ Portuguese Bend put American cheese on a sandwich!?—and the way in which classism reveals itself by way of food in childhood, culture, and beyond.

With the closing of Lasher's Kitchen in Belmont Shore—one of several over the past year—the area once known as Long Beach's prime destination is now facing an identity crisis as other neighborhoods like Retro Row and Downtown flourish. Sarah Bennett and Brian Addison sit down with veteran Chef Raquel 'Roq' Jubran, who has not only been the chef at both Lasher locations but has also proved to be one of the most resilient people in Long Beach's ever-changing food scene.

While alcohol may seem part of our everyday culture, the history of booze has been one that is rife with controversy—and its connection to Long Beach is a rich one. Portuguese Bend, Long Beach's first distillery, is a unique example of what the world of spirits has had to go through in order to make something like this specific distillery a reality. In this episode, Sarah and Brian sat down with Master Distiller Simon Haxton to talk about the history of booze, Long Beach's love affair with booze, and, well, booze.

Filipino food is more than just the next so-called “ethnic” food fad. From the country’s unique takes on everything from spaghetti to adobo, it’s the ultimate fusion cuisine. Or, as Filipino-American chef AC Boral -- who after six years of pop-up brunches as Rice & Shine Eats is finally opening his first brick and mortar in Long Beach -- would say, “it’s history on a plate.” In this episode, Sarah and Brian sat down with Boral and his sous chef, Westside Long Beach native Janice Dig Cabeysa, inside what will soon be Long Beach’s first modern Filipino restaurant for a discussion of all things Filipino food, from the often-dark history that created some of the cuisine’s most famous dishes to the importance of family to the Filipino dining experience. We also talked about why Filipinos love Wu-Tang clan so much (whyy?!) and how a search for identity led both Amerian-born chefs right back to their roots.

In honor of this year’s LA Beer Week, Suppertime in the LBC hit the road to talk about the city’s rapidly growing craft beer scene and why you should ditch the wine and fizzy yellow stuff for a locally-made brew. With Brian Addison on leave for the week, the Post’s resident beer guru Sarah Bennett sat down with Dennis Trilles of Craft Beer Long Beach and Hi-Lo editor (and craft beer neophyte) Steve Lowery to talk about the city’s world-class breweries, why tasting rooms are the new local pubs and how to find your gateway beer. Recorded live over sour ales and pilsners at Long Beach Beer Labs’ Wrigley tasting room.

On Wednesday, June 5, Long Beach’s growing community of home chefs, bakers and makers collaborated on an intimate dinner as part of the second Long Beach Foodways Summit. The evening featured more than a half dozen people who are somewhere along the pipeline from home kitchen to brick and mortar, a model now increasingly possible thanks to loosened restrictions and an emerging restaurant scene that supports it. To look more into how this pipeline breeds the next generation of local food entrepreneurs, Sarah and Brian chat with Chef Paul and Dana Buchanan (of veteran farm-to-table catering company Primal Alchemy) to discuss the growing community of makers now serving Long Beach and to talk about the good, the bad and ugly of scaling up a cottage business.

Last week, Brian asked the Long Beach Food Scene Facebook group their thoughts on the most overrated restaurant in the city. Over 500 people responded. As the comments and threads detailing bad experiences at some of our favorite spots piled up -- yes, nearly every eating establishment in the city made the list at some point -- so did the few who thought the question itself was unfair. “Why are you bashing on small business?” “This is just inviting people to be mean.” In Episode 2 of the Post’s new food podcast Suppertime in the LBC, Brian and Sarah sit down for an impromptu discussion on the cult of boosterism, why restaurants really close in Long Beach (hint: not because of a Facebook post), and why in our changing city, it’s important than ever to question the places that don’t live up to what Long Beach deserves.

Food writers Brian Addison and Sarah Bennett gush about Bamboo Club, Long Beach's new Tiki-themed dive bar, and discuss how executive chef Melissa Ortiz is elevating the city's food scene. Fellow Long Beach Post staffer (and resident Tiki buff) Kelly Puente dishes on Tiki history, why Tiki bar food usually sucks and more.