Long Beach, CA

Long Beach is the big port city at the southern tip of Los Angeles County, where the Los Angeles River empties into San Pedro Bay and Orange County starts just across the San Gabriel River. It has its own downtown and its own working harbor, so it rarely acts like a suburb of anywhere. East along the coast, Belmont Shore packs cottages and small apartments behind the shops of Second Street. Inland, California Heights is a long run of red tile roofs, and North Long Beach is flatter and plainer, a grid of postwar stucco houses along wide boulevards. Houses get newer as you move away from the water. The coast holds 1920s courtyard buildings and Craftsman bungalows, much of it in historic districts, the east side is mostly fifties ranch tracts, and mid-century modern pockets turn up near the Cal State campus. Most change now comes as careful restorations and backyard units. El Dorado Park covers more than 600 acres on the east side with lakes, a nature center and trails. Recreation Park adds golf and tennis, and the river trail runs the length of the west side. Food follows the neighborhoods. Monorom on Anaheim Street in Cambodia Town is where people go for prahok ktis and papaya salad. Sal's Gumbo Shack draws drivers up Long Beach Boulevard for gumbo and po' boys, and George's Greek Cafe on Second Street still sets the saganaki on fire at the table. Parking is the recurring headache in the older coastal half, where buildings predate garages and summer weekends bring half the region to the sand. Most residents end up knowing two versions of Long Beach, the few blocks they live on and the part of town they drive to for one particular bowl of noodles.