Cafe Scuba is Excellent

Of all the marvelous things Long Beach has to showcase not much can compare to a day at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Drifting around this architectural wonder of human ingenuity is a testimonial of people’s fascination for nurturing other species both below and above the water. The aquarium goes to great lengths to educate and entertain their guests, reminding them to have an awareness of all wild creatures and what we can do to better protect them.

It is truly fascinating to see how diversified aquarium life really is. Sea otters, diving birds, the giant Pacific octopus, several species of sea jellies and not to mention all the sharks! The aquarium has a variety of theatres and exhibits to experience in a comfortable environment that will sincerely motivate your mind and soul. This unique aquarium helps one realize that there is so much more to our planet and our above water existence. Spend a little time in front of their 350,000-gallon saltwater exhibit that features hundreds of colorful fish, rays, sea turtles and zebra sharks and you will see what I mean.

After having such an epiphany and a unity of the minds with said creatures, one can get very hungry, possibly even need a beer. The aquarium was prepared for such desires; they have three different eating options. The Bamboo Bistro offers pizzas, hot dogs, cold beer and refreshments. The Blue Whale Café in the Great Hall serves coffee, cappuccinos, sodas and a variety of snacks.

Then there is Café Scuba on the second level.

The entire menu at Café Scuba is fantastic. They serve a selection of sandwiches, salads, grilled entrees including sustainable seafood and vegan options that will amaze your taste buds. And for the record, sustainable seafood is seafood caught or farmed with minimal environmental impact helping to prevent overfishing and protecting essential fish habitats.

A mindful menu is a good menu. The clam chowder at Café Scuba is spectacular with just the right amount of potatoes and herbs. The chef must really give the roux a nice long cook, resulting in a slightly darker looking soup, yet creating an amazingly rich flavor, as opposed to the more standard taste and bright-white color of the typical New England clam chowder.

The spiciness in the burger was perfect and the salads are refreshing bite after wonderful bite. Someone at Café Scuba has some serious recipes. That someone is Vanisha Anderson, executive sous chef at Café Scuba. Like the rest of the team of professional employees at the aquarium, Vanisha is fun, friendly and very passionate about making your experience at Café Scuba a memorable one.

The meals are reasonably priced and the comfortable seating is wide-open with a patio that overlooks the ocean. Overall, eating at Café Scuba was an A+. I strongly recommend that after you finish reading this paper to visit Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific, so many enchanting memories await you there.

The aquarium is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day of the year except for Christmas. I sincerely enjoyed the entire experience and will be visiting them again in the near future, it really was that much fun.

The aquarium is a great place to be if you are a fish, unless of course you end up in Vanisha’s kitchen. Get out there and live my literate friends! Eat for yourself.