From pork cracklin’s to Filipino spaghetti to fried rice, Edna’s Filipino Cuisine is a casual stop with serious options, including a whole lechon. Just a note, Edna’s crew needs a week’s notice to roast a whole roast pig to eat at home, so plan accordingly.

Owners Dima and Sam Habibeh’s Downtown Long Beach restaurant Ammatoli has a menu straight from the Levant region that encompasses Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Palestine, with dishes that have a familiar and delicious Mediterranean ring. The details are beautiful, with tea service, gorgeous dishes and plates to display the fare.

While Sura may not compete with some of Koreatown’s finest dining gems, one of Long Beach’s only Korean restaurants does just fine by introducing the community to bubbling tofu soups, bibimbap, plus Korean tacos and sopes. Anything to save a trip up north to K-Town (or south to Garden Grove).

Adriana Moran opened Torrance’s La Esperanza Bakery in 1994, with a second storefront operating right in the center of Long Beach as of 2017. Moran continues to serve Guatemalan and Salvadoran dishes in a cozy setting, even as Long Beach’s bakery scene continues to explode.

With a menu that’s full of plant-based burger joint classics, VBurger has Impossible or Beyond Meat burgers on deck, along withbreakfast sandwiches, mac and cheese, quesadillas, and milkshakes. If that’s not enough, they also operate a vegan creperie next door.

When walking or driving by Aji Peruvian Cuisine after 6 p.m. any day, the place will likely be packed. The family-operated business opened in 2014, where Peruvian staples line the menu. The ceviches are a must, as well as the causa de camarones.

Head baker Arturo Enciso prepares far more than just bread at Gusto. Long before moving into in a larger space in 2020, the Long Beach bakery garnered national attention for its pastries, boules, baguettes, and cookies. Stop by to take a look at the day’s inventory, or head to the website for pre-orders.

A&J Seafood Shack owner Vannak Tan’s 280-square-foot stall produces a slew of fantastic dishes including family Cambodian recipes, along with traditional from Phnom Penh to Oahu’s North Shore.

José Morales Jr. and Sr. opened their taco cart (la carreta) in a Compton tire shop six years ago. The father and son ugraded to a truck last year where they produce some of Southern California’s best Mazatlán-style tacos. The truck is typically parked on the northernmost border of Long Beach, where they serve chorreadas, vampiros, tacos de carne asada, and papas locas. Check the Instagram for hours and availability.

Open in 1945, the Reno Room has established itself as a popular and longtime dive bar in a city that’s absolutely crowded with them. The pool table and reasonably-priced drinks certainly help, as does the menu of wet burritos, tacos, and asada fries.

The scent of the kitchen at work will keep diners at attention when eating inside at Vino E Cucina. It’s a cozy space with wooden chairs, tables, a great wine list, Mediterranean colors throughout, and a menu that includes a rotating risotto every week.

This unfussy strip mall gem is a solid standby for maki rolls and cheap-as-heck lunch specials, and while it may not satisfy stuffier sushi diners, its menu and prices are just right for Long Beach.

In Long Beach the party is most definitely at the Bungalow Kitchen, the multi-faceted Belmont Shore space with peekaboo views to the water. From the second floor of the 2nd and PCH complex diners can taken the music, the color, the flash and the fun of a restaurant crafted by two hospitality veterans, Michael Mina and Brent Bolthouse. Pair a cocktail with some raw bar starters and a phyllo-crusted sole for a not-so-serious night out on the town.