Ever since moving to Long Beach 3 years ago, I’ve commiserated with friends about the lack of good eateries.  When we want to go someplace special, we drive south or to LA.  Long Beach is full of chain restaurants, but when you’re not feeling like Outback Steakhouse or Mimi’s Cafe, you’re hard-pressed to find a way to spend your date night.  Then came Starling Diner.  I know it’s been around a long while, but we just discovered it.  It’s convinced me that there’s an underground of locally owned restaurants just waiting to be found.

On the recommendation of Yelp, we ordered the stuffed french toast with brandy butter apples along with a applewood bacon, tomato and cheddar scramble the first time we went.  It was a sunny morning and as much as I wanted to enjoy the inside of the tiny restaurant, we ate outside on the orange laquered patio tables.  Neighbors walk by with their dogs and it’s quite charming.  You know what else is quite charming?  And delicious and amazing?  The french toast.  I liked the scramble, but I fought for the last bite of the french toast.  It’s a piece of baguette stuffed with some sort of mascarpone and crème fraiche combination.  Then.  Then it’s topped with apples sauteed in brandy butter.  Did I have you at stuffed?  I should.

The menu has a little info on the back about the owner and how she came to open Starling.  My favorite part was when she talked about how as a child she would open a restaurant in her parents garage every summer for the neighbors.  I can’t wait to explore more of Long Beach and find restaurants where people are living their passion.  And it shows through the food.