swimmer

We are excited to be going to Long Beach next week for the Olmpic Swim Trials! We'll be at trials in the morning and then semi-finals/finals in the evening. We hope to have time to leave the venue in between sessions, and would love some advice on favorite restaurants in the area.

We are looking for moderately priced seafood restaurants and some quick salad/California cuisine places. We also like Mexican food. Any place with a view would be outstanding.

Thanks!

suzanne

I recently ate at Parker's Lighthouse in Shoreline Village. It had very good seafood and a great view of the Queen Mary.

swimmer

Thanks, Suzanne. Is Shoreline Village a shopping area or ?

suzanne

Yes, it's a shopping area/restaurant area (kind of like a South Street Seaport or Quincy Market but much tinier). It's on a little peninsula that juts out into the water across the street from the Convention Center.

There's also Rock Bottom Brewery on the main strip of Long Beach that had good casual dining. A little bit of California cuisine, a little bit Mexican. No spectacular view, but it's just a short walk from the Convention Center, the Westin and other major hotels. I believe there was some outdoor seating at this place.

I'm not a resident...I was out there for a conference...these were places that our local clients recommended and we liked them!

If you do decide to do something fancy, I highly recommend L'Opera, a fantastic Italian restaurant.

rjw_lgb_ca

In Shoreline Village, Parker's Lighthouse is quite good-- and there's an even better seafood joint not too far away on Pine Avenue, called King's Pine Avenue Fish House (the same people run the Water Grill in downtown LA and Ocean Ave. Seafood in Santa Monica). In the Village, there is a Mexican joint called Tequila Jack's; it's fine for what it is (food's tasty, though not transcendent), and you can get great marina views. The Yardhouse is another place-- over 200 beers on draught, and surprisingly good food.

The Pike entertainment complex has a few eateries sprouting up around it-- mostly chains like PF Chang (Asian), Outback Steakhouse (three guesses), Bubba Gump's (shrimp), Islands (burgers), etc. There's a California Pizza Kitchen not too far away as well, which has moderately-priced salads.

On Pine, there are L'Opera (outstanding Italian), the Madison (fine steaks and chops-- old school joint), Alegría (tapas), and Wasabi (Japanese) that immediately come to mind. A great Mexican place not too far away used to be called Baja Sonora, but it's recently changed name to Margarita Grill or something.

Fast-food Mexican can be quite good. Two great chains are Baja Fresh and Rubio's-- the latter is in Belmont Shore, four miles east of the Trials. There are some wonderful places there as well. Let me know if you need some names (I live a couple of miles away).