If you had asked the typical Pasadenans who have frequented the Huntington Hotel dining room at any point in the last 100 years if the hotel’s chef would someday be a tattooed, bad-boy national TV star who makes things like lemongrass-scallion froth, they would have popped you on the head with their Wall Street Journals. [...]
After three years, the San Gabriel Valley’s most elegant wine bar, Vertical, has changed things up. Gone are chef Sara Levine and her small-plates tasting menu; now settled in are new chef Doug Weston and a more traditionally structured menu of modern American bistro food. Also new is operations manager David Haskell, a self-described “wine [...]
The swankest afternoon tea in Pasadena is served all week in the lobby lounge. White linens, silver service, tiered trays of scones, jam, sandwiches, pastries plus champagne. The price will sober you up, but what a way to go. $59 per person, $39 without the bubbly. 1401 South Oak Knoll Ave., Pasadena, 626. 568 3900, pasadena.langhamhotels.com, [...]
Azeen’s is an elegant white-tablecloth restaurant with a restful, welcoming atmosphere. Squint at the menu you’ll recognize derivatives (or ancestors) of such Indian, Pakistani, Persian and Chinese dishes as pakoras, curries, dumplings, kebabs and pilafs. Share a sampler plate of appetizers, then try tender beef kebabs or quabili pallaw (lamb with carrots and raisins). Sweet, [...]
Just try to drive by this upscale chain without having the aroma of pork products force you to pull into the parking lot, zombie-like, and head for one of the roomy booths. Pass on the bland chicken and so-so seafood in favor of the excellent (if pricey) meat: baby-back ribs, steaks, chops and burgers. No [...]
Not to be confused with Green Street Restaurant (why, oh why do restaurants do this to us?), Green Street Tavern just may be Old Town’s best-kept secret, a cozy, upscale bistro (it’s not actually a tavern) located on relatively quiet Green Street. The tiny indoor space is sculpted with Art Nouveau curves and consists of [...]
Our EAT: Los Angeles colleague Linda Burum, who knows more about Asian cuisines than I know about hamburgers, says that Elite in Monterey Park is currently home to the best dim sum in town. And I for one am not about to argue with her. The San Gabriel Valley’s reigning dim sum house eschews the [...]
Gilt trimmed tea parlor west of the Castle Green, the scones are delectable with the best strawberry jam we’ve had. Good finger sandwiches and lunch specials for heartier appetites. 18 W Green St, Pasadena, 626.577.0051, scarlettearoom.com, Tea. Tues.-Sun. from 11 a.m. AE, MC, V. $$-$$$
You won’t take much comfort in the setting—harsh light, less-than-nurturing service—but you’ll get all the comfort you could hope for from the steaming bowl of Family Handmade Noodle Soup, with hand-cut noodles and lots of yummy stuff. We also love the pan-fried dumplings, pork or shrimp soup noodle and our kids’ favorite, the “thin onion [...]
Lake Avenue’s the Reyn is a classic greasy-spoon diner, with dim yellow lighting, Formica tabletops, molded plastic booths and… pho? That’s right, this venerable coffee shop is now a pulling double duty as a Vietnamese restaurant, specializing in the noodle soup known as pho. Although this combo isn’t quite peanut butter and chocolate, it’s a [...]
