4 days in Long Beach + LA

Hopped off the plane at LAX...and went immediately to In-N-Out.

I have a love-hate relationship with LA. The things I hate:

• How people dress at LAX. Like come on, you're getting on a plane.

• The traffic and lack of public transit infrastructure

• The fact that people shop at Erewhon non-ironically

• All the weird services rich LA people pay out the ass for (e.g., having a spirit medium come to your house and scribble on a paper to connect with your dead relative or reiki for your pet - lookin' at you, Bling Empire)

• Spencer Pratt even being considered as a mayoral candidate

The thing I love:

• The food

This is obvious an uneven balance, but I continue to be willing to go to LA because the food available there is just that good. Here's the rundown of my latest culinary adventures in the LA area (both LA proper and Long Beach).

In-N-Out

The only reason I actually came on this trip was that my husband said we could go to In-N-Out if I joined him on his work trip. He is a notorious In-N-Out hater. My go-to order is well-done fries animal style and a double-double with either pink lemonade or a chocolate shake to drink.

I (obviously) highly recommend In-N-Out.

Ammatoli (Long Beach)

Friends recommended this place to us and it was within walking distance of our hotel so it was easy for our first night. We were able to walk in and sit at the bar even though it was pretty busy! Every bite was phenomenal. We got a selection of mezze (beet hummus, foul mudammas, and muhammara), insanely puffy house-made pita bread, beef and lamp dumplings in yogurt sauce, and cheese manoushe. We finished the meal with a giant piece of carrot cake. As a bonus, our server looked like he could be Mike White's brother and was an utter delight.

I highly recommend Ammatoli.

Kainan Sa Kanto (Lakewood)

We went to this Filipino fast food spot on another friend's recommendation, specifically seeking out their daily special, laing, which is made of braised taro greens in coconut milk with lots of delicious aromatics like lemongrass and shrimp paste. It looks like creamed spinach, but it was so much more delicious and flavorful (and I say that as someone who loves creamed spinach). We rounded out our meal with pork sisig and lumpia. Everything was insanely delicious.

I highly recommend Kainan Sa Kanto.

Street Tacos #1 (somewhere in Long Beach)

I didn't get the name of this spot or save its location. I simply saw a sign for tacos de canasta on the side of the road and told my husband to pull into the nearest parking lot. We tried four tacos: beans, potato, chicken in mole, and chorizo. They weren't as good as my favorite tacos de canasta in Mexico City, but they were very good. The salsas were also quite excellent.

I realize I can't exactly recommend these specific tacos because I don't know where they were, but I do highly recommend stopping at a random street vendor to get tacos.

Observation Bar at the Queen Mary (Long Beach)

The Queen Mary is a restored historic cruise ship that the city of Long Beach has turned into a hotel and museum with a few restaurants on board as well. We visited the Observation Bar for live jazz and happy hour. The bar itself was beautiful and provided sensational people-watching as there were a plethora of old people dressed in historic outfits (do note that some were historically inaccurate to the ship's time period, however, which really frustrated me). The live music was great.

The drinks were okay to good, and the food we tried was bad. I don't want to completely shit on the food because we only tried the spinach artichoke dip, but our experience with the dip was enough to convince us to eat our dinner elsewhere. The dip was lukewarm, flavorless, and somewhat gluey and an extremely small portion for $15. The menu itself was written in a hilariously descriptive manner:

I recommend the Observation bar for drinks, atmospherem, and music but skip the food.

King's Fish House (Long Beach)

This is a somewhat regional chain mostly in southern California. I typically try to avoid chains, but it was conveniently located, well-reviewed, and we were very hungry after the sub-par spinach dip.

The meal started in a somewhat annoying manner as our server asked us if we had dined there before, we said no, and he proceeded to basically read the entire menu to us, pointing out each section as though we would be otherwise unable to understand the various sections of the easy-to-read, logically-organized, and straightforward menu. It was very much a "we do things a little differently here" millennial burger joint vibe. In addition to the overzealous menu orientation, every item he recommended as his "favorite" was the most expensive item in its section.

We got a selection of west coast oysters which were fresh and good and served with a variety of accoutrements. My favorite was a habanero salsa that had surprisingly sensational flavor. I also had grilled fish tacos, which were fine but nothing to write home about. There was also too much filling for the tortilla size, so they were difficult to eat.

I do recommend King's Fish House for oysters and rose, but maybe skip the rest.

Night + Market Song (Silver Lake, LA)

They aren't messing around with the spice levels here (in a good way). We got chicken larb and ordered it mild per our server's recommendation, and it still packed a very spicy punch. The mix of the heat, herbs, and fish sauce were perfection. I also obviously had to try their grapow crunchwrap, which I loved. My husband's reaction to the crunchwrap: "I hate this because now every time I have Taco Bell I'll want this instead." For me, it was different enough from Taco Bell for me to love both options.

I highly recommend Night + Market Song.

Holbox (South Central LA)

Holbox is a Michelin-starred counter service restaurant inside LA's Mercado La Paloma. They specialize in seafood. We got an absolute feast and everything was perfect.

We tried a ton of things, including ceviche mixto, scallop aguachile, tuna tostada, guacamole, smoked kanpachi taco with salsa macha, baja shrimp taco, fried kanpachi collars, and the sea urchin in its incredible presentation. The tortillas were excellent, the seafood fresh, and the flavors balanced. I'd go back in a heart beat.

I highly recommend Holbox. (Get there early because the line gets really long!)

Phnom Penh Noodle Shack (Long Beach)

Long Beach is home to the largest population of Cambodian people outside of Cambodia, so we obviously had to get some Cambodian food while we were there!

We went to the highly-recommended and somewhat legendary Phnom Penh Noodle Shack for lunch. They have a variety of noodle soups and stir fried noodles as well as a few breads. We started with the meat bread, which reminded me of an empanada. The meat filling was perfectly seasoned and very savory.

My husband had noodle soup with rice noodles, shrimp, and beef. The broth was super flavorful and bright and it was served similarly to pho where you get to add your own sauces and accoutrements to customize it. As a noodle soup hater, I had stir fried pin noodles - one of my favorite noodle shapes! The noodles were beautifully chewy.

I highly recommend Phnom Pehn Noodle Shack.

Buvons Wine Bar (Long Beach)

We did happy hour at Buvons, a natural wine bar with a bottle shop, full restaurant, and bar bites. We sat on their lovely patio and enjoyed natty orange wine, smoked fish dip, and fries. A great spot for a few drinks in the sun.

I highly recommend Buvons Wine Bar.

Street Tacos #2: Tacos Lionydas (Long Beach)

I sought this place out for the tacos al pastor as they have a full trompo set-up in their tent and they did not disappoint. The lengua was also great. The tacos al pastor were beautifully seasoned and the char from the trompo was amazing. The lengua was moist but not greasy. Their salsas were also fabulous, as was their agua de jamaica! Excellent tortillas as well.

I highly recommend Tacos Lionydas.