No Bitterness here.

Since my trip to LA I've eaten at a few new restaurants and I haven't even finished the California posts! Since the recent decision for my boyfriend of 12 years and I to finally take the next step in our relationship and get married, I've been wracking my brain and putting together ideas for our wedding. WOW. I'm finally getting married. For the last couple weeks I got really caught up in the excitement of the whole thing that I think I already got burnt out on wedding planning. I still have so much work to look forward to. :/

It also doesn't help that I'm delirious and seeing double suffering from an allergy attack. Damn cats- it was MY cat's fault! You can visit my personal blog for more info on weddings and cats. :)

I believe the last West Coast post I left you with was a quaint diner in Long Beach, called Shore House Cafe.

This next place we ate at, was the morning after the Shore House meal.
We left the hotel probably around 11am or so and figured we'd walk to Roscoe's right down the street (lucky us). If you don't know what Roscoe's is, please take this opportunity to acquaint yourself with the orgasmic joining of a waffle maker and deep fryer, here.
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Did you learn enough from that link? Do you have the images embedded in your brain of fluffy golden butter-topped waffles aside a juicy crisp fried breast of chicken, all slathered with maple syrup? Are you excited yet? I am!

Well unfortunately Roscoe's was packed on Sunday morning! So we walked further down the street to a little corner spot called The Bitter Chef. dun dun dun, I feel like I need sound effects here. No? ok. Sorry, like I said, I'm suffering from an allergy attack and my left eye will not stop watering. My typos are galore and the mountain of tissues next to my computer is rising.

So back to The Bitter Chef, some yelps here, and official website here. There was nothing really bitter about this place, aside from the, what David called, a baby cricket in Marcie's salad. We'll get to that later. The restaurant is really cute, on a corner with outdoor seating. You can people watch while you sip mimosas or iced tea.

Told you mimosas.
This cool bike lock up was right next to the restaurant on the sidewalk. these neat bike racks are all over Long Beach.

The food was good, seemed very fresh. The menu had a variety of offerings, and breakfast is served all day- a plus.

David studying the menu.

I think he finally decided on a Philly Cheese steak sandwich. "The classic sliced beef, onions and provolone on our homemade bread"- sounds good. Oh and it seems as though he got half fries and half onion rings. hmmmm.

My side garden salad with house dressing.

I tried to go the healthy route again. I got a Salmon burger with a side garden salad.

I don't ever order salmon burgers. I'm not a big fish eater, well I eat endless sushi but I'm really picky about cooked fish. I can't stand fishy flavors so it is vital that the catch be fresh and free of fish market taste if I'm going to eat. My mom did always make good salmon patties. So when I ordered this David sort of looked at me cockeyed in surprise- "what did you order?" I've been trying to change my diet for a number reasons, and part of it was eliminating meat (beef, pork) and replacing with fish or just straight up veggies. It's complicated. Plus I've been trying to order things that I normally wouldn't, to expand my palette even further than it already is.

My Salmon burger- "Homemade salmon patty with herbs & spices, served with aioli sauce" This was no patty, this was a fresh thick fillet of salmon. No mashed up canned salmon here. It was delicious and I was worried I'd hate it. It was really good and I didn't feel disgusting after eating it, which was the feeling I was looking for.

Noel was serious about that fruity waffle.

Belgian Waffle Supreme. Here's a closer look. mmmmm, wish I had one now.

Marcela initially ordered this salad. Romaine Wedge Steak Salad- "Wedge of Romaine, blue cheese crumbles, tomato filet, grilled steak & onion, served with Balsamic vinaigrette." She noticed something strange in it and pulled out what David called, a baby cricket. It's always risky ordering wedge salads, you can't really fully clean the inside unless you pull apart the leaves and wash individually, and then reassemble the wedge. She was a good sport about it, no biggie a little bug is expected, but she let the waitress know and decided on another salad, eating as much steak as possible before the new one arrived. Might as well.

She replaced it with this chopped salad. "Asparagus, green beans, tomato, cheese, chicken, beans, carrots, peas & corn, with lemon vinaigrette" It was very colorful and cricket free.

The Bitter Chef was a pleasant eatery with lots of options, fresh menu items and very friendly staff. Oh I forgot to mention that Marcela also got a free mimosa out of the cricket salad. That was cool. I would definitely visit this place again.

The Bitter Chef
601 East Broadway
Long Beach, CA 90802
562.435.4030