the interesting part about it was what i found rummaging through a pile of old mail. my mom subscribes to a bunch of magazines for my nieces and nephews fundraisers and i don't even thinks she reads half of them. they usually end up in the bathroom with the other outdated books with BabyLo's scribbles on them.
so i found myself jotting down a bunch of online blogs recommended in an article of Sunset Magazine and i noticed that the next couple pages were all about Long Beach. I've been living down there for a while (right now i'm back in Walnut visiting the fam) and have seen some amazing things! Most of the places they talked about were on 4th street and if you're wondering "Where at!?" don't worry i'll hook you up.
i'll start off with some personal favorties....
Portfolio Cofeehouse
2300 E 4th StLong Beach, CA 90814
(562) 434-2486
http://www.portfoliocoffeehouse.com/
Hours:
Mon-Thu. 5:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri. 5:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sat. 6:30 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 6:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
the homegirl Anna took me out there one night to see a friend perform for Open Mic night. They have them on Wednesdays @ 9pm, signups start at 8pm. Also check out a weekly open mic event in Long Beach called Soul Fire.
this place gets packed on Wednesday nights, on the daily you can find different desserts being served and if you're lucky you'll be there when they serve their Boston Cream Pie. If you're looking for something new, the Peanut Butter Iced Mocha is bommmmmmb. maybe you're thinking about a drink that has a wierd consistency, but you.are.soooo.wrong! haha try it! Another thing i like is that they always display artwork from local artists and change it up often.
Fingerprints Music
4612-B E 2nd St. // Long Beach, CA 90803
(562) 433-4996
Hours:
Mon-Thu. 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
this spot is right down the street from where i work so i'm glad i can just walk down there during a long break. I'ts next to Buffalo Exchange and 2nd street overall is a really cool place to be. but back to the store... it offers a respectable mix of new and used CDs, DVDs, Records, Books, T-shirts, Posters, etc... think of a mini version of Amoeba. i wish they had a larger selection of hip hop, but it may have been the reason i found a bunch of out-of-the-ordinary music for my taste. my art teacher at the time had us read a lot of Beat poetry and i was surprised that they had original recordings from the poetry lounge where Jack Keroac and other beats performed.
i personally haven't gone to the next couple of places, but i'll let you know when i do!
so far the info i'm giving out is from the articles. so if you haven't yet figured it out, i support small independent stores, second-hand stores and family businesses so the bulk of what i write (on fashion at least) will probably be about that.
Meow
2218 E. 4th St. // Long Beach
this vintage store also carries inventory from closing department stores, so the condition of their clothes are pretty new!
Open
2226 E. 4th St. // Long Beach
hand selected arty leftist counterculture books
look for "short attention span fiction"
Art Theater
2025 E. 4th St.
a throwback theater
the longest running single-screen theater in LA
Art du Vin
serves wines based on the movies from ^^^
now for some foooood
Number Nine
2118 E. 4th St. // Long Beach
pho & soju mojito
sorry that's all i wrote down :P
Pike Restaurant and Bar
1836 E. 4th St. // Long Beach
beer and lobster tacos
diner restored by punk rock dummer, Chris Reece
i'll probably blog more about Long Beach and definitely about outdoor markets etc...
if you beat me to it you can let me know if it's a yay or nay, what you thought, etc
hope you enjoyed!
oh and i'm still tryna hunt one of these down!
