Long Beach Film and the Greek Food (PHOTOS)

Last Saturday, we were heading down to Long Beach for a selection in the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. It's a bit out of the way and I'm not familiar with the area. For a dinner suggestion, I asked Mr. Umbrasprite, who knows a whole lot about Long Beach for a man who does not live there.

My parameters? Someplace I can get a salad or in other words, something fresh. He texted back "Kafe Neo." 


Kafe Neo turned out to be perfect. It was just down the street from the Art Theater fest venue and had a nice selection of foods to choose from.

Spanakopita. 
Had to. A Greek classic. Flaky and crispy and cheese-filled. This was a no-brainer. Could have been better shaped, but I thought these were good anyway.

Here's a tip, if you're like me, you check in to places on Yelp solely for the deals and maybe because you're neurotic and like to keep track of where you've been and when. Good thing too, because this "spicy feta appetizer" was free with a check-in. It was also amazing.

Salmon and mash. 
A thing Ms. Aipohaku turned me onto earlier this year. Now when I see it on a menu, I feel compelled to order it. Each resto puts their own spin on it, this was no exception. This one was crusted with pesto and mizithra cheese. Served with pita and a nice light saute veg mix. Peppers, squash, zucchini, carrots, and celery(!) Was just barely cooked so it still had a nice bite to it. The salmon was cooked just a moment too long, but was still in the acceptable range for me. I'd get it again. This was the meal that made me wish I lived closer to LB.

Here's a pic from the Fest.
Paul and David from the band Dengue Fever join French Cambodian director Davy Chou. Golden Slumbers is a truly magical film about the lost cinema of Cambodia. 

Here's an excerpt of an IM with Liam...

Cari: I went to see a crazy good documentary yesterday

about Cambodian cinema before Pol Pot

biggest producer of films in asia before the regime

something like 400 films destroyed

there's nothing left but the memories of older cambodians that used to go to movies

all the actors and filmmakers were killed

so this French Cambodian guy about our age did some research

he was a film student and just stumbled onto the topic

and his mother finally told him that his grandfather was a movie producer (there were only a handful) and that's basically why they live in France.

He had no idea

the screening was in Long Beach and the filmmaker was there

he said that he was only able to find about 30 films that still exist

all in terrible condition

and mostly in vhs format in LB

and he was excited to screen there bc it's home to the largest enclave of Cambodians outside Cambodia

Liam: wow, thats pretty cool.

It's making the rounds on the festival circuit, I highly suggest you seek it out. Check this trailer...

Pre-show scone at Portfolio. Another great place for eating that's within walking distance of the theater. The iced tea was a nice treat and the lemon poppy seed scone reminded of the iced lemon cookies I made not too long ago. I've never baked (or done anything besides eat) with poppy seed. I'm inspired to try something. This place was cool. Lots of space to sit down and interesting people to mix with.

If shopping or street art is your thing, take a stroll through Long Beach. Lot of things to look at.