I can remember a time when here in Southern California we ate spongy air bread, devoid of both taste and nutritional value, and spread it thick with butter, margarine, peanut butter, jelly…whatever we could to help pretend it was good, or at least edible.
Then was then. This is now. And — boy howdy! — has there been a sea change! You could probably go to a different bakery every weekend for a year, and never exhaust the possibilities. From Seed Bakery in Pasadena to Clark Street Bread in Echo Park, from Lodge Bread in Culver City to Gjusta Bakery in Venice, superb loaves are everywhere.
And they’re also here at Colossus Coffee + Bread, on the eastern edge of 2nd Street in Belmont Shore — where the weekend line is constant, and tables along the sidewalk are packed with locals and their hounds, pausing for bread…and much more.
Colossus is the creation of a pastry chef from the San Francisco Bay area, who ventured south to bring the gospel of baked grains to the hungry folks south of Big Sur.
Kristin Colazas Rodriguez began selling her breads Sundays at the Long Beach Marina Farmers Market (6602 E. Marina Drive, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.), expanded to a brick-and-mortar in San Pedro (2311 S. Alma St., Wednesday through Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.). And now, can be found in her most ambitious location in Belmont Shore, where she’s open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends, with her Friday Pizza Night from 5-8 p.m.
For Kristin Colazas Rodriguez, her Long Beach shops are a homecoming; she was born and raised in town. It’s also a family affair, with the coffee roasted by her husband, Nick Rodriguez. And with “bread-centric dishes created by Long Beach chef Jeff Paletz, this NorCal creation has come home to SoCal, where locals greet it waiting patiently, while watching the baking process underway in the totally open kitchen.
The air is perfumed with the aroma of baking bread, driving those in line to near madness as they wait. Colossus is the sort of place where you show up with a roll…and leave with a bagful of loaves. It’s very much a Parisian experience.
In terms of bread, the choices are many — some of which are in stock at any given moment, others of which aren’t. There may be a country levain, a cinnamon-raisin levain, an olive & cumin levain, a baguette, a Danish rye, a superseed loaf, a challah — the list goes on. Pastries are many as well. Coffees are exotic, and richly curated; this is a universe away from the Yuban my parents thought was pretty good stuff. That world doesn’t even exist at Colossus.
And certainly, one can happily sit in the outside dining area, just drinking a cuppa, while nibbling on a pecan sticky bun or a chocolate cherry scone; there are worse things in life than that. But to come here for a proper breakfast or lunch is one of the great joys of Colossus. Chef Paletz has created a menu of dishes that are old friends — but in some cases with a new suit o’ clothes.
Consider, for instance, the old French breakfast standby of jambon-beurre, traditionally a loaf of thick rustic bread with butter, ham and cheese. And indeed, this variation begins with a proper slab of country bread. Seated atop is some very good smoked, uncured ham, and wonderful gruyere — a cheese I’ve long worshipped. As for the butter, it’s flavored with absinthe, the once banned French liqueur with its taste of anise. Fin de siècle writers and artists were addicted to it — literally. Back then, it wasn’t used to flavored beurre.
Or consider the avocado toast, the SoCal breakfast dish of choice at cafes near the coast. In this case, it begins with a thick slice of griddled country bread, with avocado mashed and smashed on top, the oddity of green garlic — and the even greater oddity of Indian podi spice, made from dried chilis, chickpeas, salt and sesame seeds. It’s more often called chutney powder, though the Brits referred to it as “gunpowder” back in the day.
At Colossus, temptations abound! The scrambled eggs come with house-made kimchi. The toast is slathered with jams made in-house. The biscuits with heirloom pork sausage gravy are made in-house as well. The smash-fried fingerling spuds arrive with house-made crème fraîche and chives. The vegan Weiser Family Farms cauliflower sandwich has a caramelized coconut cream and Thai nam chim dipping sauce. There’s triple creme brie on the roasted turkey sandwich.
But mostly, there’s the pleasure of sitting on 2nd on a Sunday morning, talking dogs, watching the faces of those who had a night to remember, that for better or worse they’ve forgotten, and feeling that this is as close to Paris as you can come here in Long Beach, without having to wear a beret or smoke a Gauloise.
Colossus began to the north, but has found a home to the south. It’s returned to its roots. And given us one of the best crusts in town.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.
Colossus Coffee + Bread
- Rating: 3 stars
- Address: 4716 2nd St., Long Beach
- Information: 562-285-3142; www.colossusbread.com
- Cuisine: Wonderful bread and pastries, along with fantastic egg dishes, sandwiches hot and cold, and toast done many ways! Lots of coffee drinks. Much outdoor seating.
- When: Breakfast and lunch, every day
- Prices: About $20 per person; no reservations
- On the menu: 6 Egg Dishes ($8-$12), 2 Side Dishes ($6.50-$11), 3 Hot Sandwiches ($10-$14), 3 Cold Sandwiches ($13-$14), 3 Toasts ($6-$10), 8 Add-Ons ($1-$3.50)
- Credit cards: MC, V
- What the stars mean: 4 (World class! Worth a trip from anywhere!), 3 (Most excellent, even exceptional. Worth a trip from anywhere in Southern California.), 2 (A good place to go for a meal. Worth a trip from anywhere in the neighborhood.) 1 (If you’re hungry, and it’s nearby, but don’t get stuck in traffic going.) 0 (Honestly, not worth writing about.)
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