A New Chef and Direction Help to Reinvent Long Beach’s Eight-Year-Old Attic

Just like everyone else during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, eight-year-old Long Beach restaurant the Attic has been forced to reinvent its own restaurant multiple times over the past six months. But it’s the most recent iteration, complete with a well-known new chef in Cameron Slaugh, that seems to be a marker for the future to come.

The Attic has always played at the fringes of general Southern food and New Orleans cuisine, offering dishes like chicken and okra gumbo alongside more attention-grabbing plates like pastrami poutine and a twist on mac and cheese that comes topped with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. The primary difference now is that Cameron Slaugh is on as executive chef. He had previously run Melrose favorite Osteria la Buca up in Los Angeles since 2015, and gained some early acclaim there after coming over as sous chef from the vaunted Eleven Madison Park in New York City.

Together, Slaugh and Attic owner Steve Massis are turning over the menu with dishes like pig ear salad and skillet cornbread, with dives into Southern ingredients including Benton’s ham and Anson Mills grains. The pair are also planning a fine-dining project to come at some undisclosed time down the line, and will be previewing the more seafood-focused menu at a private dining space attached to the Attic in the future.

As for the space itself, the Attic has a new coat of paint and interior banquettes, while the outside (and already large) patio has been expanded to include a parklet next door. It’s unclear when indoor dining will resume in Long Beach (though it could be just weeks away), so for now the shaded exterior works for those who wish to sit down and dine on Slaugh’s food. And yes, the Instagrammable mac and Cheetos is still available, but with housemade noodles of course. The new menu is below.

Sterling Reed

Sterling Reed