Celebrating and dining on the town with parents

So you are graduating and your parents are coming to town to celebrate the occasion. They will want to take you out for dinner but they aren't familiar with the area, so they ask you where a good place is for eats.

You don't want to give them clues about the lifestyle that you've been living for the past few years: donuts for breakfast, Jack in the Box for lunch and beer for dinner.

Think fast. Long Beach and the surrounding areas have a wealth of nice restaurants to choose from.  If your brain is tired from earning that bachelor's degree and you can't think of anything other than Denny's, here are some suggestions.

For real Italian food (no, not Olive Garden) head down to Belmont Shore in Long Beach to Pasta Al Dente Ristorante, located on the corner of Naples Plaza and Second Street. The spaghetti al dente makes even Ainsley Harriet hungry.

For more good Italian food, head down Pacific Coast Highway to Sunset Beach. Napa Valley Pizza and Pasta, located on P.C.H., is small and romantic, a better place to take a date, but the parents will enjoy it. The pasta and the pizza are good, but the sandwiches are exquisite.

Sango, a Japanese restaurant on Los Alamitos Boulevard in Los Alamitos, showcases some impressive chefs who prepare the food while you watch.

"The chefs there will have toasts for you and they will toast to just about anything so they can drink while they cook," said Long Beach resident and food enthusiast Brad Jorgensen. "My recommendation is the eel hand roll."

For Mexican food, Acapulco is a good bet. It's located off PCH in Long Beach in the Marina Pacifica shopping center. It's complete with a bar where the margaritas are to die for. Just don't fill your stomach with chips and salsa before the food gets to your table.

If a wide selection is what you seek, Claim Jumper will always treat you well. It brews its own beer and has a bunch of creative pizzas, like the barbecue chicken pizza. It's also located on PCH, in the Marketplace shopping center across the street from Marina Pacifica.

For those with more adventurous tastes, roll down to Second Street where you will find Mykonos, a Greek restaurant. The selection of vegetarian food is great, most notably the vegetarian platter, and the Greek salads are also good to your stomach.

Second Street is full of small restaurants that offer a wide selection. Mexican, Greek, American and French foods can all be experienced there.