I second that, Rose Rabbit Lie - sit at the bar, the live music is phenom!

The Croft at Anaheim Packing House for their porcetta sandwich - fantastic! So many options at the packing house, grilled cheese, fish & chips, burgers, even a secret door bar!

Watermarc in Laguna on Coast Hwy is great. Fresh craft cocktails, fresh tasty food and great service. An absolute gem! Sapphire is fantastic for sitting outside and people watching plus the great food & cocktails. Two of my Laguna faves for Brunch/Lunch...

What If was good during my last trip, its down from the Hershey building. I did like Harvest at the Hershey Hotel too.. I generally like to branch out and drive out to Lancaster for either Plain & Fancy or Dienner Family restaurant if you want to try the Amish type meals - chicken is always FANTASTIC.

Headed back in October - post what you find! :)

Thanks!!! Sounds great.

its not the location of choice but if you get down to Long Beach check out The Stave on Broadway.... They do it right... They do a whiskey tasking every Wednesday that from what I hear is AWESOME too. Plus, for non-brown alcohol drinkers they make a GREAT winter white old fashioned with gin instead... Also, Bo-Beau just opened on Pine, supposed to be good too! For OC, check out 320 Main in Seal Beach....

Porchetta with broccoli rabe pesto and a fried egg ($9) is calling my name!

OMG yumm!!! Wishing I worked in BH...

I'm not a fan of chicken fried steak but ALWAYS order it at The Crooked Duck in Long Beach (PCH/Clark) the owner used to own Cafe 50's on Santa Monica in WLA. It seriously is sooo good!!!!!

Brix at the Shore in Long Beach on 2nd has a pretty good pastrami. I'm not usually a fan as I think it's sometimes too peppery but theirs is good & they griddle it so it has nice crispy ends! Definitely worth a try!!!

you'll never guess LOL. Andrea's Ristoranti @ Pelican Hill, opted for the splurge! It was fantastic as always...

nope, not to be healthy, the crunch of those chips with their egg salad is a match made in heaven :) we go too often, the guys who work there eat it that way lol.

The Interlude on Clark - one of the oldest bars in the LBC, free popcorn, free hot dogs, older crowd usually but lots of youngsters mix in, CHEAP stiff drinks, pool tables, 1-2 tvs, jukebox. Great neighborhood place for a drink!

fish grill is just that, fresh fish simple. decent prices, little casual place off ocean, if you blink you miss it! fresh made lemonades too. Known for their take on the lobster roll...

Gotta love joe's! egg salad in a boat with their rusty's chips YUM!

not a fan of the reno room... prefer Joe's or The Interlude for my local 'dive-type' bars

beyond dive bar. locals who have gone for years love it, I find it dark and depressing but glad the lights aren't on, might be scary! I think they have decent after-drinking food.

Captain Kidd's - casual, you walk up and order, they call your number. Between a parking lot and the ocean...

i know this has passed but still had to chime in - there are MANY reasons to dine in the LBC (BacoMan) I'll name some faves:
Michaels On Naples
Michaels Pizzeria
Joe Josts - a local institution!
Enrique's - amazing pork shank
Lola's
L'Opera
Crooked Duck
James Republic
76 fish grill

just to name a few - And The Stave for Craft Cocktails.... there are other places opening soon that should be notable too!!

Art Du Vin 4th St in Long Beach - love love love that game!!

just there saturday, ordered tons of starters as friends hadn't been. LOVED the stracciella (cheese) with kumquat jam & pink peppercorns served with toasted wheat bread, it was amazing. Loved the fried potatoes & herbs with their homemade ketsup & garlic aioli. Ordered the spring frittata, took a few bites, nicely flavored, the peas were sublime! as was the ricotta. HUGE fan, heck, even their scrambled eggs are fantastic! OOh and their combo of Rose sparkling and fresh OJ was fab!!

The Stave in LB (not divey tho)
The Interlude in LB (oldest bar in the city)

Nate & Al's hands down.... runner up since we're not local is the soup at Bristol farms....

Crooked Duck on Long Beach on the corner of Clark/PCH. The best, wifey gets it each time, breakfast or dinner!

Capicola's on PCH in Torrance, across from the Mercedes dealer has them, they do a few different flavors, best yet was the strawberries & cream. YUM! Even better is the mini ones, heaven right to my hips!