Going to be in Long Beach in a month, near the convention center. Any must go places within walking distance? Also looking for a bottle shop where I can get gems not available in Ohio.
You are in luck...tons of amazing stuff to check out! Beachwood BBQ (brewery / restaurant) Congregation Ale House (bar / restaurant) Public Beer and Wine Shop (bottle shop / bar / restaurant) A lot of the local bars have stepped up their beer game with Beachwood & Congregation moving into town. A couple that come to mind are Clancy's & Stache Bar...both divey bars but fun. Just keep an eye on your surroundings if you venture up to 4th near Stache Bar, it's a little seedy in that neighborhood, but nothing that should deter you. The best bottle shops are a drive away (ex: Stearns Liquor), but I'm sure someone will chime in with an option. Have fun...if anything Beachwood & Congregation are a must!
As mentioned. . .Beachwood BBQ & Brewing is a must. They are closed on Mondays. Congregational Ale open on Mondays. If your planning on checking out the LA/OC area renting a car is a must. Public transportation in LA is the worst. It's doable, but it would take you several hours to get to where you want to go. When a car, even with traffic would take less. Use Uber. Otherwise stick to your plan, walking distance. You could always take the Long Beach bus and hit up the original Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach.
Actually it would be the number 1, OCTA (Orange county transit authority) bus going south, to get to Beachwood Seal. As a side note, if you're a fan of whiskey there's a great bar off of broadway and linden called the blind donkey. They specialize in whiskey but also have some great beers on tap as well. Last time I was in they had a keg of hoppy birthday from Alpine. While I would definitely recommend Beachwood LB over it, the blind donkey is still a nice alternative with a very cool atmosphere. Also hit up simmzy's on 2nd! Stearns is a great bottle shop, but definitely stop by the Whole Foods off PCH, Lazy Acres off Bellflower, and Bensons off 4th and Ximeno. Fridays are good days to go to bottle shops in Long Beach
This is about as funny as asking the question "I'm going to be staying with relatives in Alpine. Is there anywhere worth checking out beer wise?"
DEFINITELY hit Beachwood. Like for every meal of everyday you are in town. Very walking distance of convention center. As others have mentioned, both Congregation and Blind Donkey are great spots to drink (although I wouldn't recommend either place on a Friday/Saturday night). Also within walking distance is Rebel Bite which does a pretty great happy hour special of a personal pizza and a pint for about $7 - they have about 20 taps of mostly local stuff. As for bottleshops, Stearns/Stearns Bixby are the top choices but both would require a drive. The only bottleshop in the downtown area is Public Beer and Wine (full disclosure, I am an employee there) and there is a decent sized fridge for bottles to go or onsite consumption, as well as twelve taps at the bar. Whole Foods in LB is easily reachable by bus, the 121 line on Ocean runs every 20 minutes and will take you right next to Whole Foods. If you decide to come into Public let me know and I'll bring something to share with you.
Very true, I forget about breakfast haha. I hear the Breakfast Bar on Ocean/Atlantic is a great spot for the first meal of the day, but I have yet to go. I'm more of a cereal person...
Has anyone mentioned Beachwood? But seriously, I think what you can walk to has been covered. If you have a day with a car rental you can hit a ton of breweries in OC and/or LA. Or just ask someone from here to take you to some breweries.
Good call out for Simmzys, we take it for granted as its one block from our home but they have a killer tap list and really good food. Cheers,
Great visit to Long Beach, and thanks for all of the suggestions. Made it to Beachwood BBQ, Public (thanks again for the hospitality Eric!), and also found great selection at Yard House, Bo-beau, and Brix (I think) down on E. 2nd (mid point of a bike ride). Brought a couple of gems home to remember warm and sunny socal while we're freezing in the midwest.
If you're ever around Dayton OH let me know and I'll take you to the source. I don't recommend this week though, winter storm warning tonight.
