I accidentally posted this message on another board. My appolgies if it creates any confusion.

My husband are making our annual trip to Long Beach May 30th - June 3. We pretty much know our way around the area and have done several day trips between Long Beach and Los Angelos. We are going there for leisure with the main attraction the Long Beach Coin and Collectibles Expo at the convention center. We are staying next door at the Hyatt. I am wondering if there are any new restaurants in that area. I checked out the Pike at Rainbow Harbor and it appears there are some additions to that area. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I know that I can count on advice from rjw_lgb_ca .... Is your relative in Lake Charles doing ok and settled from Hurricane Rita damage?

Both of your threads are in the same place -- "United States". Just like over on the Europe forum where all threads about London are lumped together w/ Sweden, Italy, Spain, etc.

Clicking on California or any other state just lets folks search for/locate some threads about that state.

Hello! New restaurants in downtown LB.... Well, one that's recently come to my attention is called Springbok Bar & Grill. As the Afrikaans name implies, this is a South African eatery and sports bar. One of my assistants is from South Africa and goes there a lot with her husband for football (soccer) and other international sporting events. I also hear that the food is actually pretty good.

There are a lot of chain restaurants springing up in the Pike area: PF Chang (Asian food, more or less-- a bit oversalted), Outback Steakhouse (dried-out slabs of meat, but try the bloomin' onion, mate!!), Gladstone's (even worse than the one in Santa Monica-- AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!), Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (*urrgh* excuse me, I threw up in my mouth a little there), Chili's (oh dear...), and Tokyo Wako (a local chain-let of teppan/sushi joints)-- buzz about this place is surprisingly great, so you might give it a shot as well as Springbok.

If you have a car and feel like a bit of a drive, there's a small-plates place in Belmont Shore called Bigg's that is great and worth the trip. But the real find of the last year for me was Benley Vietnamese Kitchen in East Long Beach (Wardlow at Norwalk)-- not your typical mom-'n'-pop joint, but thoughtful meditations on Vietnamese cuisine with a lot of French influence and California flair, all in a storefront BYOB joint. Reservations essential on weekends, BTW.

Another Belmont Shore fun place is a Greek-Cypriot eatery called George's Greek Café. NOTE: The original branch is in downtown LB on Pine Ave., but the Belmont Shore room is a bit nicer IMHO. Same tasty food, same cries of "OPA!" when they light the saganaki. Beer and wine only.

The family in Lake Charles is fine, all re-settled and back to business. Thanks for asking!

janisj
Thanks for pointing out that I posted this twice on the same board. I had a very long day and obviously was confused and thought I had posted it in the Europe/Great Britain section. Sorry...Do you have any suggestions about Long Beach, CA? Thanks again and have a great rest of the week! I've read your posts with recommendations as to where to stay in London. I've been there several times and my husband and I are going there again this time we will be there in November. I appreciate your participation on Fodor's message boards.

rjw_lgv_ca
Thank you for the great suggestions about new places to eat in Long Beach / Belmont Shores / The Pike. I'm glad you warned me about Gladstones. We were thinking about going there. I like the suggestion of Biggs and also Springbok Bar & Grill. The Greek restaurant in Belmont Shore also is appealing. Thanks again and I am glad your family in Lake Charles are settled and are doing well.
luvlondon / aka Molly