Open Sesame in Belmont Shore

Recently I spent a wonderful evening with my daughter- in- law Deborah. She was at a trade show in Long Beach for a few days, so I drove up to have dinner with her, then continued on to Los Angeles to visit my mom. Anyway, Deborah had never really been to Long Beach before, so I took her over to Belmont Shore on 2nd Street, the very trendy area of the city. I've been there many times over the past 15 years, as I have a friend that lived there and we watched 2nd Street grow and grow and grow. Today it is about 7 blocks of restaurants, bars, coffee houses and boutiques of all kinds. My friend Fran is there frequently to see her daughter and son- in- law, so I called her for a dinner recommendation. She gave me four choices. Deborah and I walked up and down the streets for about an hour, checking out all the eating possibilities, and ended up at one of Fran's favorites, Open Sesame w(www.opensasamegrill.com). Here's what I liked.

First, Open Sesame opened in 1999. It was started by Ali Kobeissi, a transplant from Beirut, Lebanon who came to Belmont Shore in 1988 and fell in love with the area. As a young child he would work in a spice factory on his vacations, where he learned to mix many exotic spices and developed a love for healthy, flavorful food. With that knowledge and his entrepreneurial spirit, he opened Open Sesame in 1999. He now has three restaurants.

The restaurant has both inside and outside seating. We chose outside as it was a beautiful summer evening, and we got to watch the walkers as they strolled by. But after eating, I went inside, and next time I will try the inside. It was small and somewhat crowded but had a wonderful feel to it, a little dark, with great smells emenating from the kitchen.

The food was as good as it smelled. They have lots of appetizers, entrees, salads, sandwiches, soups and special combo plates. We got two combo plates filled with falafel and pita, tabouli salad, hummus, both plain and spicy (very creamy), a garlic and puffy eggwhite dipping sauce, warm pita. Our other plate had chicken on a skewer(moist and flavorful), hummus, baba ghanniuj (egg plant, spices, tomatoes and onions) and rice. Everything was fresh, healthy and moderately priced.

Other dishes that they offer include labne plate (creamy kefir cheese dip, olive oil and mint and pita, vegetable kibbi (bulgar wheat, tomatoes and onion, herbs and spices and olive oil), fried cauliflower (with onion, tomato and pine nuts and a tahini dipping sauce). I can't wait to try that next time.

Belmont Shore is a great outing for those in San Diego looking for something fun and different. I think it's similar to Montana Ave in Santa Monica or Melrose in Los Angeles. Don't forget that Long Beach also has a great aquarium. So next time you're looking for something different to do on Sunday afternoon, drive on up to Belmont Shore (1 1/2 hour drive), take in the sights and have lunch or dinner at Open Sesame. You're gonna love it.