Eat LBC Long Beach Restaurant Week Kicks Off Spring Fever

You know I love Restaurant Week when participating restaurants create special menus, typically 3-course with appetizer, entree and dessert at a special (discounted) price. To me, it’s the best time to try new restaurants or revisit old favorites. I’ve been to many in OC but last Sunday I was lucky enough to be invited to attend my first Eat LBC Long Beach Restaurant Week Launch Party. Located at the Hyatt The Pike (285 Bay Street Long Beach) the event showcased many of the fine food and restaurants that would be participating in the second year of Eat LBC from March 22nd to the 28th.

Along with all the wonderful bites, there was Wine Tasting with Celebrity Cruises and a Stella Artois biergarten. Partial proceed from the event also benefits Food Finders, a multi-regional food bank and food rescue program headquartered in Signal Hill, CA. Food Finders picks up donated food from hundreds of local grocery stores, bakeries, restaurants and produce markets and distributes it directly to missions, shelters and social service agencies to feed the needy and impoverished. Volunteers and staff drivers pick up and deliver on a same-day basis. Attendees were able to buy raffle tickets for a chance to some fabulous prizes.

Eat LBC is a great chance to awaken your palate at some of the city’s top dining destinations as well as its best-kept secrets and local gems.

One of the first restaurants we got to sample was Hyatt’s own Bay Street Bistro which offered a variety of delicious samples. From Korean beef skewers, mini shrimp rolls on a Hawaiian bun, exposed Spinach Empanada and Lemon Creme Fraiche with Tobiko.

Of course Allen could not be stopped from getting his share of Eggplant Roll and Gourmet Pizza from Buono’s Authentic Pizzeria. That, along with the Stella Artois, and he was a happy camper.

One of my favorites was the simple, but absolutely delicious  Creamy Mushroom Chicken Penne from La Strada Italiano.

We both enjoyed the Shrimp Cocktail with a Marie Rose Sauce from Auld Dubliner Irish Pub & Restaurant and sipping on bottles of New Zealand Native‘s refreshing sparkling Lemon/Lime Green Tea.

We also enjoyed many great bites from Honduras Kitchen (Baleadas, Pastelitos, and Platano Maduro), Gladstone‘s very tasty Lobster Mac N’ Cheese, Kihon Sushi and Japanese Tapas‘ Smoked Octopus Carpaccio and Callaloo Caribbean Kitchen‘s Jerk Chicken Wings.

Of course we saved room for desert. The Sacchetto Di Cioccolata (dark chocolate cup, chilled Zabaione and fresh fruit) was lovingly provided by L’Opera.

We where happily stuffed, but I must say after years of being a step child to L.A.’s dining scene, Long Beach has taken its place in the culinary spotlight. It has many new spectacular restaurants, cafes, and bistros. From Bixby Knolls to Belmont Shore, the East Village to Naples Island, to surrounding neighborhoods, Eat LBC is a celebration of global cuisines for both locals and visitors alike. It’s an invitation to break out of that culinary rut and try a restaurant for the first time or maybe even revisit a favorite. Each restaurant offers a prix fixe menu priced at $20, $30 or $40 per guest for dinner with wine pairing options at select locations. A special Chef Tasting Menu will also be available at select fine-dining restaurants for $50. There’s something for every taste and budget.

Check out the list of participating restaurant at EAT LBC and start making your reservations. I can’t wait to hear about your EAT LBC restaurant favorites!