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SCA
Long Beach Visitor's Guide
[Please
click here to download
a PDF version of this guide.]
Long
Beach is the fifth-largest city in California and boasts
one of the busiest ports in the world. Among
the most diverse
cities in the United States, Long Beach is home to
the largest Cambodian community outside of Cambodia,
as well as large
Latino and African-American communities, and the Gabrielino-Tongva
tribe. Cal State Long Beach, the flagship campus of
the California State University system, is on the eastern
edge of the city.
The setting for Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil! (the
inspiration for the recent film There Will Be Blood),
Long Beach has
a rich and complex history, one exemplifying the intertwined
themes of politics, ethics and aesthetics that have
brought the Society for Cultural Anthropology to the
Queen Mary.
Orientation
Long Beach is in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles is inland,
due North; Orange County is to the Southeast; Riverside
is inland and due East. Long Beach is midway between
Santa Barbara
and Tijuana (each about 3 hours’ drive away).
Catalina Island is often visible, about 23 miles offshore.
The ocean is to the South. Looking inland from the
Queen Mary, you will see Signal Hill, where Shell
struck oil
in 1921, leading to the Southern California oil boom.
Looking East, the beach curves around to Belmont
Pier, where Belmont
Shore, one of Long Beach’s neighborhoods and shopping
districts, is located. The islands in the harbor are artificial,
built to extract oil, and named after the astronauts who
died in the Apollo I fire.
There
are two distinct street grids, one west of Alamitos, and
the other east of Alamitos,
but note that addresses listed as “W” (e.g.,
W 10th St) refer to streets West of Pine, which is now essentially
on the western edge of the city, and as a result almost every
east-west street is labeled “East” such-and-such.
Except for the development south of Ocean Blvd. toward
the Queen Mary and the ocean, the major east-west streets
begin
with Ocean and then are numbered consecutively beginning
with 1st St. Broadway is between 2nd and 3rd, Anaheim
is between 12th and 14th, and Pacific Coast Highway
(PCH) is between 17th and 19th.
Getting Around
The red Passport Bus connects the Queen Mary to
downtown Long Beach, and, from there, other points
of interest.
The Aqua Link and Aqua Bus leave from the dock
adjacent to the
Queen Mary – past the Russian sub – and
serve other points of interest. Taxis can be called
from the
hotel front desk. The Passport is free downtown and
$0.90 elsewhere.
Passport C will take you from the Queen Mary
to Pine Avenue, Shoreline Village, the Pike,
and the
Aquarium.
Passport B will take you from Pine Avenue to
the East Village and beyond to Alamitos and
6th.
For transit information, please go to: http://www.lbtransit.com/Services/
Neighborhoods
Long Beach is a city of neighborhoods and two
distinct “downtown” areas. “Downtown” proper
is the area centered on Pine Avenue. Here you will find many
restaurants and some nightlife. Belmont Shore, to the east,
is centered on the 2nd street shopping distinct. Broadway
between Alamitos and past Redondo is another busy street
with clubs, some boutiques and restaurants, and 4th between
Cherry and Junipero is “Retro Row” with a number
of consignment shops and boutiques, as well as the very popular
Portfolio Café on 4th and Junipero.
Adjacent to the downtown is the East Village,
home to a couple of truly special restaurants
and several
art
galleries
and
boutiques. Adjacent to the East Village,
Alamitos Avenue divides the older downtown
grid from
the 1920s developments
that were settled by oil workers and migrants
from the Midwest (hence the moniker “Iowa by the Sea.”). The Cambodian
Corridor is centered on Anaheim between Alamitos and Redondo.
Most of the city’s gay and lesbian nightlife
is centered on Broadway between Alamitos and
Redondo. Inland,
north
of the 405 freeway, is the neighborhood of
California Heights and the city of Signal Hill.
Shoreline Village, quite close to the Queen
Mary, is a tourist and local hangout and
there are
numerous large chain restaurants
and souvenir shops. South of Pine and Ocean
is “The
Pike,” an open-air mall with not much shopping to speak
of and a movie theater. Shoreline Drive, between the Aquarium
of the Pacific and Shoreline Village, has a number of large
chain restaurants like Outback and PF Chiang’s.
The large building covered with a Wyland whale
mural is not
the Aquarium but the Long Beach Arena.Restaurants,
clubs, museums:
The Queen Mary itself has several restaurants
and dining options. But if you feel like
exploring, read on.
There are decent guides to Long Beach at
http://www.pubclub.com/losangeles/longbeach.htm
and
on
http://www.yelp.com/
There
is an excellent and relatively accurate description of
the gay and
lesbian clubs
on:
http://www.yelp.com/list_details?list_id=HXjp9ou4JS2Ytus4YkNsXw
(do
not trust the pubclub list for guidance in this domain!).
There are two museums worth visiting:
The Long Beach Museum of Art
is on Ocean past
Junipero,
and has
a nice permanent
collection of ceramics and California
art. www.lbma.org. It also has
a lovely restaurant/café overlooking the
bluff and the beach, Claire’s By the
Beach. The Museum of Latin American Art (www.molaa.org)
has arguably
the
best collection of contemporary Latin American
painting and sculpture
anywhere, and is easily accessible via the
Passport bus or via cab.
The Aquarium of the Pacific is
a fabulous aquarium. Its exhibits
focus
on the
various regions of
the Pacific Ocean.
There are many, many chain
restaurants at Shoreline
Village and along
Shoreline Drive
adjacent
to it. There are also
many excellent restaurants
on Pine Avenue, and, to the
East,
in Belmont
Shore. Ask
at the hotel
desk
for more information.
Some
locally popular restaurants
include:
$$$$ = entrees around $20-$40
$$$ = entrees around $15-$30
$$ = entrees around $10-$18
East Village:
(Take
the Passport or a cab)
555: 555 East Ocean
Avenue, between Linden
and Atlantic.
(562) 437-0626.
$$$$ The
best steak
in town. Excellent
fish entrees, too,
and a wonderful atmosphere.
Reservations
recommended.
Utopia: 445 E 1st
St., 562-432-6888.
Eclectic
menu features California
cuisine with a
Mediterranean flair.
Kamran Assadi, the
owner, also
is
a strong supporter
of the arts and often
has local artists’ work displayed in
the restaurant, as well as in his gallery adjacent
to it. Some outdoor
seating, in the heart of the East Village Arts
District. $$$. Reservations
recommended.
Pâtes Fraîches Restaurant: 400 E 1st St, (562)
437-2222. A small and elegant new restaurant boasting home-made,
whole grain “artisan pasta.” Some
outdoor seating. Reservations recommended.Downtown:
Take the Passport
bus or a cab.
There are number
of excellent restaurants
along Pine:
Sevilla;
King’s Fish House; L’Opera; Tracht’s;
the Madison. See the pubclub link for a complete
list. Two that
stand out and that you might otherwise miss
are:
George’s Greek Cafe: 318 Pine Avenue (north of 3rd),
562-437-1184. A Long Beach institution, family owned and
operated forever, welcoming and relaxed, live music on Fridays
and Saturdays, and flaming cheese. Some outdoor seating.
Reservations not usually necessary. It’s
a bit far up Pine to walk, but George runs
a bus from the
Pine and
1st Passport dropoff directly to the restaurant.
$$-$$$ depending on how you order.
Smooth’s Sports Grille: 144 Pine Avenue, 562-437-7700.
Australian transplant gone Long Beach native John Morris
is the owner-operator, and is known as the Mayor of Pine.
Don’t be fooled by the millions of flat
screen TVs and the sports-bar atmosphere: the
menu offers
the full
range, from burgers to elegant pastas, fresh
fish and creative salads.
Big outdoor seating area fronting Pine. Reservations
not usually necessary, unless you have a large
party. This
is the place for the Long Beach political crowd
to hang out
and debate local and national politics. $$-$$$.
Further
afield:
You will need
a cab. The restaurants
below
are listed
in order of
distance from
the
Queen Mary.
Aki Sushi Bar
and Bai-Plu
Thai: 1626
E 7th St.,
(562) 436-8180.
Sushi
and Thai,
together
at last.
A neighborhood
institution,
in a neighborhood
(Bill and Tom’s!) that
has depended on business owners like Tara keeping
the faith
despite
serious odds. A very, very casual, informal
and friendly atmosphere
with lots of regulars. Excellent sushi as well
as very authentic Thai. $$.
La Parolaccia:
2945 E Broadway,
562-438-1235.
The best
Italian in
Long Beach,
bar
none. Roman
transplant
Stefano
Procaccini
has recently
expanded
his modest osteria
to
include
a wood-fired
pizza oven
and a lot
more seating.
An immensely
popular
local favorite.
Reservations… unclear sometimes whether it’s
possible to make a reservation, and often there
can be a wait; if you speak Italian, call ahead
and use
it.
$$-$$$.
Lasher’s: 3441 E Broadway, 562-433-0153. An American/Californian
restaurant with French influences, located in a restored
Craftsman bungalow, Lasher’s is an area
landmark and a local favorite for special occasions.
Reservations
recommended.
$$$$.
Christy’s: 3937 E Broadway, 562-433-7133. Run by Christy
Bono (Sonny’s daughter), this highly
rated and elegant Italian restaurant has an
excellent wine list
and a classic
menu. Reservations recommended. $$$$.
Sophy’s: 3720 E Anaheim St., (562) 494-1763. A wonderful
Cambodian and Thai restaurant, on the edge of the Cambodian
Corridor. Matt Damon and other stars have dined here – the
photos on the wall prove it! Don’t limit yourself to
the more familiar items on the menu – ask
for the Cambodian specialties. Reservations
usually unnecessary.
$$.
Frenchy’s: 4137 E Anaheim St., 562-494-8787.
In a strange-looking strip mall, but easily
one of the best
French restaurants
in all of Los Angeles county. Reservations
recommended. $$$$
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