Heritage Farm Long Beach. Photos by Karin E. Baker for The LA Beat.
Long Beach’s Heritage Farm celebrates its recent opening with an ongoing dinner series in collaboration with acclaimed local chefs.
A charming urban farm and event space, Heritage Farm is owned by Chef Philip Pretty and his sister Lauren. The duo also owns Heritage, the acclaimed zero-waste, fine-dining restaurant. Heritage is one of only five Long Beach eateries to be awarded Michelin Plate status in 2022.
Complete with chicken coop and garden boxes growing fresh produce, Heritage Farm supplies more than half of the produce used at nearby Heritage. “We plan to grow 42 varieties of produce by spring,” Chef Pretty told me when I attended one of Heritage Farm’s Saturday night dinners.
That dinner, a collab between Chef Pretty and Chef Yoya Takahashi of Kodo in Downtown LA’s Arts District, was an exquisitely prepared four-course meal focused on using produce grown on the premises.
Chef Philip Pretty of Heritage & Chef Yoya Takahashi of Kodo at Heritage Farm, Long Beach.
The al fresco dinner took place at a long communal table in the midst of the small farm. You could feel the diners’ excitement about savoring a beautiful meal in relaxing, natural surroundings — particularly one that’s a new alliance between two creative chefs.
The first course, fresh Dungeness Crab, nestled in a bowl with kombo doshi jelly, homemade soy sauce, and freshly grown tomato, spinach, peppers, and microgreens, topped with pearls of ikura caviar.
The second course, a plate of nigiri, was served with Japanese ginger and without wasabi, as Chef Takahashi prefers. It featured a salmon hand roll, tuna with soy and sea kelp, marinated mackerel, bou sushi, and konbu egg with hirame cure and tamari.
The third course was elevated comfort food: octopus and geoduck clams in doshi with hijiki seaweed, potatoes, and radish, while dessert was toasted matcha tea ice cream topped with maple comb crumble.
Drink options included three California wines and Radiant Beer Co’s Beyond the Sky pilsner.
The diners, a fun and interesting bunch, raved about the food. Well qualified to represent the LBC, they gave me numerous recs for their favorite Long Beach restaurants, along with an invite to join several of them at a nearby wine bar.
Two upcoming dinners are scheduled so far. On October 15, Chef Pretty will collaborate on a dinner with chef Carlos Jurado (Vespertine, Border Grill) of acclaimed Columbian restaurant Selva, while October 29 will be created with Chef Jack Leahy (AOC, Hatchet Hall, L&E Oyster Bar) of Little Coyote.
Each multi-course meal is $125 per person and will use produce grown on the farm. Seating is limited. As all dinners so far have sold out, you’ll want to make reservations in advance. Reservations can be made by phone at 562-343-1068 or by email at Heritagerestaurantlb@gmail.com
Heritage Farm is located at 1336 Gladys Ave. in Long Beach. More info
