A sophisticated, spacious spot with great jazz on the stereo, Perry’s is a terrific place to hold small business meetings or to work on your laptop (free WiFi). Good coffee, tasty sandwiches and a full range of Dreyer’s ice cream. 2051 Lincoln Ave., Northwest Pasadena, 626.798.4700, perrysjoint.com, Café. Mon.-Fri. from 8 a.m., Sat. from 10 a.m. MC, […]
We pride ourselves on our nose for good coffee, so it was distressing to discover that Jameson Brown has been lurking right in front of us for three years now. Well, not right in front — the location on Allen at Locust, just south of the 210, is not exactly on the beaten path, so […]
This quaint little patisserie only opened in November 2009, but it has already won many hearts, and not just because it’s a French oasis in the the Asian-food-dominated south San Gabriel Valley. The crème brûlée is torched when you order, the bread pudding is wonderfully sweet with cinnamon and chocolate chips, and the napoleon is […]
Tiny and vividly colorful, this coffeehouse next to the Pasadena Playhouse has a Mexican flair, from the music to the décor to the heavenly Mexican hot chocolate. Seating is on the sidewalk or in the charming upstairs room. 15 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena, 626.793.2334, zonarosacaffe.com, Café/Mexican. Mon.-Sat. from 7:30 a.m., Sun. from 9 a.m. Cash only. […]
Gourmet food truck confabs are increasingly popular, but not all are created equal — and the gathering headed for the Americana at Brand on March 30th is better than the norm. Some of our very favorites will be there from 6 to 9 p.m., including the Buttermilk Truck, Komodo, the Grilled Cheese Truck and Frysmith. The […]
Nothing could be finer than lunch on the shaded sidewalk terrace fronting this impossibly charming café and gourmet-to-go store. The chopped salad with grilled chicken, roasted vegetables and pesto, the lamb sandwich with caramelized onions on rosemary bread, the brownies . . . we get hungry just thinking about it. Breakfast is swell, too: dreamy […]
A sprawling landmark Pasadena Mexican with no-more-than-basic Cal-Mex comfort food, a family-friendly vibe, good margaritas and a terrific happy hour. Everyone in town seems to come here, even though no one raves about the food, but it does the trick, and the price is right. The Washington branch is a smaller café with a more […]
Its nooks and crannies filled with little wooden tables, English beer signs and old kegs, this rabbit warren of a pub has 63 brews on tap. On warm evenings people sit on the alley patio, sip British and Belgian beers and locally brewed Craftsman ales, and talk for hours. The jukebox is stuffed with ‘70s […]
If you follow food in L.A., you know that we’re in the middle of an absolute explosion of twittering gourmet food trucks. The estimated number jumps every week — last I heard it was in the eighties. Even Canter’s Deli has a twittering truck now. If you’ve followed the trend, you probably also know that […]
When I first walked into Pappa Rich, I assumed it was a rip-off of Beard Papa, but this Korean import (133 stores under the name “Pappa Roti” in South Korea and counting) is completely different. Its large, soft, sienna-brown buns are brushed with a barely sweet mocha coating that soaks into the golden dough and […]
