Broken Spirits Distillery — Local services in Long Beach

It was a short lived bittersweet hello and goodbye to the Portuguese Bend. The very first distillery built in Long Beach, which unfortunately did not last, or live up to its potential due to (from my understanding) internal conflicts. Yet from the proverbial ashes, emerges a new, and still familiar place that resembles the Bend in all the right ways: good food, good booze, and good times. Broken Spirits came out swinging, with a Willy Wonka inspired golden ticket giveaway on its opening day. A golden ticket recipient will receive free food for the entire year! What I was not aware of, was that they didn't give out the final ticket until later their opening night. When I found out the next day, I was disappointed in myself for not taking a chance by heading straight there after work, because the food is dynamite! When me and my friend arrived we were warmly greeted and sat at the bar. Our server Courtney, handed us a complimentary vodka cranberry shot to welcome us, which was a nice surprise. I started with their chicken sandwich with a side of mac n' cheese. They have a spice level to select from for their sandwich, so I went with a medium. Due to them being so busy it was taking a little while for my food to come out, but out of nowhere a random waitress dropped a taco off in front of me and said, "The chef apologizes, something happened with your order so here's a taco to hold you over." I thanked her and asked her to send my compliments to the chef." The taco had a blue corn tortilla with pickled cabbage, a spicy aioli sauce layered on top, and pork belly on the bottom that was presented like a tostada. I'm not a fan of soft shell tacos, but I will make an exception for this one. The first bite was the spicy aioli that was simultaneously cooled by the crunchy cabbage, and concluded with the soft tender flavorful chew of the pork belly. A few minutes later, my friend and I were also given some potato skins topped with sour cream and carnitas (maybe brisket). Either way there was the salty/savoriness from the meat, complimented by the soft bite of the potato, and the sour cream which tamed the saltiness. It practically melts in your mouth. As I'm writing this, I've just realized I haven't even mentioned the main dish I ordered to begin with. Here's the thing I can ramble all day about my experience here, but I will say, if you have an option to get a side of their mac n' cheese; get it! It sounds simple but man that sucker is loaded with flavor. It's delicate and the cheese is piquant for such a simple side dish, I would order a massive bowl of it, if possible. The charm of this building and its service is not gone. If Broken Spirits keeps this quality a standard, they will be there for as long as a blessed soul that is granted access to the, "Angels...

Love this place! The ambience is so nice here.

Service: 9/10 It wasn’t busy, so sat at the bar right away. Hostess was very friendly and brought us menus. Took a little bit to get acknowledged for drinks, but it wasn’t a long wait. Bartender was friendly and knowledgeable of the menu.

Food: 7/10 The food was either really great or really mediocre. First we decided on the beer, once I heard they only had house drafts, I had to get one. Unfortunately they only had IPAs and I’m not a fan, but they had a house lager and it was super flavorful. By far the best lager I’ve ever had in my life, puts modelo to shame I hate to say. It was very strong, I can usually order two pints and be fine, but that one put me to sleep when I got home. For appetizer I tried a small house salad with their miso dressing and the chicken wings. The salad was fresh and the dressing was perfectly made, the best substitute for vinaigrette for sure. The wings I usually order naked when there’s no spicy dry rub available, then sauce on the side. They were very dry and overcooked, I still ate them because I was hungry, but I didn’t finish them. Then the brisket chimi-cheese sandwich came out with the house chips and it was the most interesting sandwich I had in a long time. The chimi, cheese, meat and pickle ratio was perfect. And I hate pickles, but it went so well with their sandwich so I kept them on. The sourdough bread was toasted to perfection and provided a nice soft crunch along with the tender and oh-so-juicy meat, the sour tang of the pickles made for a perfect combination. The sides were not a hit. As much as I love fried brussel sprouts, these ones left a lot to be desired. The flavor profile was too complex to understand, but most of all the dish was overwhelmingly sweet and I was unable to enjoy it. The bacon was also very overcooked so the flavor was gone and it was just turning the dust in the mouth when chewed. The waffle fries were ok, seasoned very well, next time I’ll ask for them to be cooked well done.

Ambience: 10/10 I LOVE the decor, the welcoming feel of the place, and open floor plan. The rock music was at the perfect level to enjoy but not overpower the mood.

I’m definitely coming here again to try more of the food and hopefully get to try happy...

Ordered the Spirited Away and the 1/2 lb Smoked Pork Belly Chicharron with a side of Garlic & Herb Mashed Potatoes. Also started with some Smoked Brisket Potato Skins, Crispy Buttery Buffalo Fried Wings and Smoked Chicken Taquitos. And finally ended with Churritos. The Spirited Away is a gin based drink using their signature Broken Spirits Gin, Midori Melon Liqueur, Fresh Lemon, House made Ginger Honey Syrup, and Cherry Blossom Rose Tea Spritz. It has a nice lemon and hint of melon taste to it. Lightly sweetened by the delightful Ginger Honey Syrup. It’s a great drink with a fun reference in its name. Their Chicharron is a Snake River Farms Kurobota Pork Smoked for 5+ hours and garnished with a House-made Japanese Miso BBQ sauce. This has a very crispy outer skin but it might be quite tough to eat through. I would recommend this as a finger food almost because of how hard it is to cut with a fork and knife. The meat itself is quite good and very flavorful, albeit quite salty so you should definitely have a drink or a glass of water. The mashed potatoes were very filling, creamy and the right amount of herbs to add to the flavor. Of the three appetizers, the Smoked Brisket Potato Skins were the best, the brisket is soft and full of sauce, the soft potato skin underneath absorbs the sauce nicely as a base. The buffalo wings had the right balance of spice, paired nicely with a ranch sauce. The taquitos had a nice crunch and almost a nice salad like amount of greens and toppings. The churritos at the end were a nice finish with the hot chocolate sauce on the side, good to split with a group because it’s a good enough size to share. They’re sweet and a but soft, possibly undercooked in the middle if that’s how you enjoy your churros. Service was fairly good, lots of waitstaff always on their feet moving table to table. The interior is really well decorated with a dilapidated boat in the ceiling, a mix of Halloween and Christmas decor, and a row of TV screens. There is some street parking but also a large public parking garage next door, the first two hours are free and there is a...