I was extremely happy when we were seated right next to the window. Although it has been unbearably hot, if you’re sitting inside a nicely air-conditioned restaurant, it does seem like a nice day outside. We really liked the ambiance of the restaurant, and since we were right by the window, we enjoyed the natural brightness of the sunlight at our table. A server came over right away and greeted us and spoke a little French to me. I love him dearly for not laughing in my face as I completely butchered the French language. Since he was kind enough not do that, my friends were fairly impressed with me. Oh yes, he made me look good.

When it came to ordering, we were so hungry that everything looked good. We were also getting distracted by some of the other diners who were just served. We came really close to saying, “We want what she’s having.” I happened to remember that birthday girl #1 enjoys escargots ($7.50), so this became the first dish we decided on. The escargots here are really excellent. We all agreed that they were cooked just right, not rubbery which some restaurants make the mistake of doing. We also enjoyed all the garlic with the butter. Some French restaurants make escargots with a creamier sauce, which is fine. I believe, however, if you can cook escargots properly, you don’t need to create a sauce for it because diners will enjoy it with just butter, garlic, and perhaps a bit of parsley. The only thing we needed while enjoying this appetizer was some bread so soak up all that lovely garlic, which we got upon request at no additional charge. This really was a great way to start our meal.

For our entrees, we decided to order one dish we knew was a favorite here, the Quiche Lorraine ($8.50). I am incredibly picky about quiches. There is nothing worse than hard, dry quiches. The quiche at Bistro de la Gare is just the opposite. My friends and I kept saying how the Quiche Lorraine was surprisingly creamy and fluffy. At first bite, I thought it was going to be too salty for my liking. We suspect that my first bite had a huge chunk of ham and possibly some bacon because the rest of the quiche was absolutely perfect. Our other savory entree was the Panino au Poulet ($8.50). This sandwich caught me a little off-guard. When served, at first glance, I thought it was just chicken in a French roll. Upon closer inspection, I realized that I didn’t actually see the chicken or anything else for that matter because the French roll had no opening. Once you bite into it (or cut it into 4 parts the way my friends and I did it), all the great filling is indeed inside. The grilled chicken was moist, the onion was nicely caramelized, and the pesto was a lovely touch.

We also ordered the “Frenchy” Toast ($7.95). We wanted something to contrast the savory entrees. In addition, we definitely wanted to order something from the Petit Dejeuner menu, which is available only on Saturdays and Sundays between 10am and 2:30pm. The French toast was crisp on the outside and soft inside. It was sweet enough without the maple syrup, but how can one say no to maple syrup, especially when it’s staring at you in the little container on the side? Also, the fruit on the side makes you feel good that you’re having a balanced meal. Personally, I would have loved a little more pecan, but seeing how I was the only person at the table who felt that way, maybe Bistro de la Gare shouldn’t change a thing. We were pretty full at this point, and while the “Frenchy” Toast would have made a nice dessert for us… We had to have a peek at the real dessert menu.

Everything on the dessert menu looked tempting and was priced at either $5.95 or $6.95. I knew we would definitely be ordering the Creme Caramel (Flan), as that is one of the favorite desserts here. I couldn’t recall if it was the Chocolate Mousse or the Chocolate Tart that the locals loved. Our server quickly jumped in and said it was the tart. We were on the fence about the Profiteroles, which is basically cream puffs filled with vanilla ice cream instead of cream, topped with some chocolate sauce. Birthdays only come once a year, so we went for it. Our server also understood my really, really bad French and got the fact that we were celebrating two birthdays. He brought over candles for our guests of honor. After lots of photo taking, we finally dug in. The flan really was very well done. The texture was firm enough to retain the right shape, but overall very soft, which is my favorite consistency for flan. The chocolate tart was very fudgey, which explains why so many people enjoy it. It’s a very simple dessert, but a bite goes a long way. The profiteroles were also good, but truthfully, I’ve had better. The trick to profiteroles lies in the pasty puff. There was nothing wrong with how Bistro de la Gare made it, but it just lacked that “je ne sais quoi” that was present in everything else we ordered.

At the end of our meal, I looked over the bill and thought there might have been a mistake. Considering how much food we had and how good everything was, I expected our meal to cost more. It was very affordable, and each of us was happy with our dining experience. Birthday girl #2 told me that she still trusts me for now when it comes to trying new restaurants since I’m the foodblogger. Apparently, writing for lafb has given me some credibility. She says she will continue to take my word on restaurants until I lead her to a bad one. Thank you, Bistro de la Gare, for making me look good and helping me keep my title as foodie/foodblogger for another day.

Bistro de la Gare
921 Meridian Avenue
South Pasadena, CA 91030
Phone: (626) 799-8828

Hours:
Wed-Fri Lunch 11:30am – 2:30pm, Dinner 5pm – 10pm
Saturday Breakfast & Lunch 10am – 2:30pm, Dinner 5pm – 10:30pm
Sunday Breakfast & Lunch 10am – 2:30pm, Dinner 5pm – 9pm

That changed when a college buddy arrived for a month of working at Mount Wilson. It marked my first time spending any appreciable time in Pasadena. Looking for places to eat and drink, we stumbled on an ad for Crown City Brewing Company. My buddy, now an executive chef in Manhattan, and I clocked endless stool hours at Cambridge Brewing, so score!

Walking in to the pub felt like turning the corner into a home away from home. The first night there was great, chatting with the bartenders (and one of the owners), enjoying a pint and the above
average pub grub. Shockingly on my next visit, the staff greeted us warmly, as if we were visiting friends. Wha? No surprise folks always mention Cheers when trying to describe the place.

Wasn’t long after those first visits that I became a regular. Every week, Wednesday night, Drew night. Even in the midst of 100-hour workweek projects, I still found my way to my stool for a few pints
and worked my way through several “100 Mug Club” cards on my way to a serious case of brew knowledge. The staff kindly critiqued and encouraged my first attempts at brewing. I don’t think they knew what a beer monster they were creating.

Founded by four friends and inspired by San Diego’s new born brew scene, Crown opened in 1988 just south of Pasadena’s Central Park and began serving their Arroyo Amber and Mount Wilson Wheat to the masses. On top of their house beers, the pub stocks over a hundred bottled beers and 30 more draft beers, an astonishing selection for our burg. Until the brewery finally broke down in 2002, Crown held the distinction of being Los Angeles’ oldest operating brewpub. Pasadena’s Craftsman Brewing picked up the slack and provides the pub with its flagship brews.

With the recent opening of the Del Mar Station apartments, things are changing on the south side of Old Town, starting with the Crown’s closing. A combination of inadequate parking, tough competition and their landlord’s refusal to grant a new long-term lease is forcing the boys out. The remaining partners are searching for space to open the “Crown 2″, but there are no firm plans yet.

Now as the brewery prepares to close on May 31st, the beer list is winding down and customers with their names on the wall can fetch
their plaques. I have four waiting for me! Stop in, grab a pint and a
lavosh and say goodbye to a piece of LA brewing history and the great
folks that made it happen.

Crown City Brewing Company (until May 31st)
300 S Raymond (at Del Mar)
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-577-5548

So what exactly is molecular gastronomy? What it comes down to is examining how food changes and understanding why. Molecular gastronomy seems to get confused for cooking, but This stresses repeatedly that it is a science, not cooking. “Science looks for the mechanisms of phenomena,” and it is “not useful except for producing new knowledge.” Once you apply that knowledge, it is no longer science. Now you might be wondering if molecular gastronomy is a science, why is there a demonstration at a culinary school. Chef Lachlan Sands, one of the CSCA instructors, explains it is important to learn and understand what is happening to the food during the cooking process so that if a mistake happens, it’ll be easier to fix. In addition CSCA does apply scientific knowledge. For instance, Chef Matthew Zboray shares that for a Valentine’s dessert, he used methylcellulose, which acts like a gelatin except it solidifies in heat instead of cold. I think it’s fantastic that CSCA provides not only traditional culinary training but also exposes students to new techniques.

This shares with the class some of his experiments. Now I will be forthcoming and admit that I didn’t really comprehend everything he said. I haven’t thought about chemistry since high school, so please forgive me if there are any atrocious inaccuracies in what I report because quite a lot of what he said went over my head. Things I did understand include how different parts of a carrot stalk hold different sugars. Cooking a carrot for a particular length of time will affect the levels of sucrose, glucose, and fructose. This has these intricate graphs that show exactly how much sugar and which type of these 3 sugars are released based on how long they have been cooking. He also talks about why culinary treatments have an effect on the color of green beans and green vegetables in general. The photo on the right is of This grinding a leafy green to show us how there are pigment molecules in the leaves. For me, the most interesting part is when This talks about whipping versus shaking/swirling to make a wine sauce. He shows us super magnified versions of a wine sauces identical in every way except that one was whipped, the other shaken. The whipped one has very tiny oil bubbles and will give more of a wine taste. The shaken one in contrast has larger oil bubbles and will give more of a buttery taste. (Personally, I will be whipping my wine sauces from now on.)

After the demonstration, I enjoyed a very lovely lunch with This and about a dozen chefs. During this time, I had the opportunity to ask This, who is known for debunking old wives tales in the kitchen, if he wants to do the same for foods of other cultures, as different regions have different old wives tales in regards to cooking. His response was yes, he wants to, but he currently has 25,000 books he’s trying to get through, and it takes him about a month to test a myth and 10 years to complete. It would be “inefficient” for him to decipher a book on Japanese cuisine and then run those experiments when he has so much left undone. Thus it is his hope that molecular gastronomy will take off in other regions so there will be others who will conduct similar experiments. Then in about 10 yrs, they can all convene and share their findings together for the different cultures of foods. I would love to see that happen and attend that conference.

Over the Christmas holiday, I wandered into the biggest Whole Foods I’ve ever seen!

From the Whole Foods web page:
“The largest Whole Foods Market west of the Rockies has opened its doors in Pasadena. This 2 story, 76,770 square foot store blends the concept of in-store dining with a supermarket by adding innovative features like an extensive Seafood Bar, Wine and Tapas Lounge, Asian and Italian eateries, a fresh Juice Bar and a Nut Roaster; a Specialty department with more than 300 selections of cheeses; a Bakery department with custom cake decorating and fresh donuts made by the hour; eco-chic apparel, accessories, and home goods from Whole Body and a relaxing Take a Break Massage Room.”

Will the cliche change from “feeling like a kid in a candy store” to “an urban shopper in a Whole Foods?”

From a business point of view, will super sizing the stores be a good move in the long run?

465 South Arroyo Parkway
(South Arroyo Parkway and Bellevue Drive)
Pasadena, CA 91105
626.204.2266

I’ve only tried two of the galettes on the menu, La Mer and Forest Mushroom ($12 each). La Mer is the only seafood galette on the menu. While I am not the biggest fan of bay scallops and bay shrimp because they are just so tiny, they worked well stuffed inside the galette. The sliced potatoes mixed in with the seafood seemed a little out of place, but that didn’t stop me from finishing them off. The only problem with La Mer was the lobster sauce. I enjoyed how rich it was, but it leaned a bit towards the salty side. The sauce that accompanied the Forest Mushroom galette did not have that problem. It was a sherry cream sauce that was just a tad lighter than the lobster sauce. I hear that the Stroganoff ($12) which is filled with filet mignon and sherry mushroom cream sauce, is another favorite at The CrepeVine and is on my “to try” list. As for an actual sweet crepe, I’ve only had the Crepe Suzette ($9), pictured above. I am a harsh critic when it comes to Crepe Suzette. Since I was in my tweens (ancient history), I have enjoyed Crepe Suzette prepared at the table side and exactly to my liking. While the Crepe Suzette at The CrepeVine is nice (though a bit plain), it does not make me excited about eating every bite and tempt me to lick the plate after the crepe is gone. It pales in comparison to what I’m used to. The CrepeVine’s Crepe Suzette could also do with more grand marnier and oranges.

For those who are not fans of crepes and galettes, rest assured. The CrepeVine has other offerings for you such as sandwiches salads, and heavier (and more expensive) entrees (such as Beef Bourguignon, duck breast, paella, etc.) On a very recent lunch visit, I veered away from the galettes and tried some other items. I’m a sucker for French Onion Soup ($5) if it’s done right, and The CrepeVine got it right. What I love about this soup when it’s properly prepared is just how sweet the onions are and the flavor of that sweetness mixed with the broth and cheese. I got to enjoy this feeling at The CrepeVine. I’m not a fan of the Monte Cristo Sandwich ($10) though. The Monte Cristo is basically a ham, turkey, and cheese sandwiched between French toast. I think what bothered me were two things: 1) the French toast was pretty greasy and 2) I was given one slice of turkey and one slice of ham. Even Subway is more generous than that! The mixed berry chutney that came with sandwich was quite good. Also, sandwiches come with a choice of salad or garlic fries. I learned on a previous visit that their garlic fries are excellent and could not pass up the opportunity to get them again. (My friends and I noshed on a side order of them ($5) the entire night, and we couldn’t get enough.) For a non-crepe dessert, I recommend the Creme Brulee Duo ($7). You get two small ramekins of creme brulee - one in vanilla, the other in chocolate. Both are extremely rich, creamy, and delicious.

While I think the food at The CrepeVine can be a hit or miss, depending on what you order, I do recommend a visit to this bistro. When they get it right, they really get it right. It’s worth the risk of getting a miss. Two pieces of advice: 1) Make reservations. It’s a tiny little place that gets filled up pretty quickly. If there are no tables available, you can wait at the bar for a table to open up, but Heaven only knows when that’s going to happen. This is a nice transition to the second tip. 2) Whether you choose to go with galettes, crepes, or non-crepes, be sure you’ve got tons of time. The service is incredibly friendly but slow. (Hence the make make reservations instead of waiting at the bar for a table to open up advice.) My lunch lasted for almost 2 hours, and all I had was soup, sandwich, and crepe. My lunch partner had a steak tartare. We did not complain (as we were not in any hurry), but our waitress came by at one point and apologized for how long we had to wait for each of our orders. The nice service almost makes up for the poor Monte Cristo… almost.

The CrepeVine
36 W. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 796-7250

Lunch Hours:
Tues-Sat: 11am-3pm
Sun Brunch: 10am-2:30pm

Dinner Hours:
Tues-Wed: 5:30pm-11pm
Thurs-Sat: 5:30pm-12am
Sun: 5pm-10pm

The atmosphere at Bistro 45 was exactly what I expected. I found the ambiance pleasant and comfortable. The design is very art deco and cozy. The staff was very friendly, courteous, and professional. The only thing that surprised me was that there was no mention at all about the Dine Out event. A few years ago, when I went to a Dine Out restaurant, there were little table advertisements promoting the event. When asked what we wanted to drink, I mentioned that we were there for Dine Out, which in addition to a 3-course meal, includes a complimentary bottle of Pellegrino. Our host then took away our menu and came back with the prix fixe menu. In my opinion, the participating restaurants should give customers both sets of menus, giving the opportunity of which menu to order from.

First Course
You get a choice between the Soup du Jour or the House Salad. My guest and I each chose something different. The soup today was Cauliflower Parmesan. There were a few thin slices of cauliflower florets in the soup. There is no doubt that parmesan was a key ingredient in the soup. The overall flavor of the soup was good, but it was way too salty. I was very grateful for the bread basket and the Pellegrino that helped me through this first course.

My guest went with the House Salad. She loved the mushrooms and shaved parmesan that came with her salad. I took one look at the salad and said it looked quite oily. She agreed that this was the case. She also appreciated the bread basket, as she used the bread to help absorb the vinaigrette in her salad. She was less impressed with the roasted pearl onions.

Main Course
I ordered the Ravioli du Chef - which today was filled with duck confit. This was a dish that probably worked better in theory than in practice. Duck confit is actually one of my favorite dishes, though I do not order it often because I find most restaurants don’t make it right. Many restaurants wind up putting out either a really greasy duck confit or an extremely dry one. My lunch today fell in the latter category. I thought eating the duck with the sauce - I’m guessing some sort of red wine and balsamic vinegar reduction - would help, but it actually made the situation slightly worse for me. The sauce was saltier than my soup! On the plus side, the orange slices and fig that accompanied my ravioli tasted super sweet in contrast. I finished my ravioli - after dabbing off as much of the sauce as I can onto the sides of the plate - with the help, again, of the Pellegrino and picking out the fruit between bites.

My guest selected the Citrus Marinated Free Range Chicken Breast. The chicken was served on top of a bed of green lentils and chopped carrots. Next to the chicken was roasted garlic. I sampled a bite of the chicken and the citrus flavor was definitely there. I could be wrong, but I strongly suspect orange was the main base of the marinade. Unlike my duck confit, the chicken breast was not dry at all. The roasted garlic was sweet. The sauce that came with the chicken was unfortunately also too salty.

Dessert
If you go to the Dine Out site, the participating restaurants have their prix fixe menus listed. I noticed immediately when I was handed the menu that there was a slight change. The dessert - instead of choosing from the dessert tray as advertised on the website - is now an assortment of three desserts: chocolate opera cake, carrot cake, and lemon tart. This didn’t bother me at all. The chocolate opera cake was very very rich. This is a must for any chocolate lover. Order coffee with this one. I’m glad I did. The lemon tart was, well, tart. It was simple and delightful. I am admittedly biased against carrot cakes. They have never been one of my favorites. Despite that, I can say that the carrot cake in this dessert assortment was good. The cake was moist with a good flavor balance of carrots and cinnamon. I’m not quite sure which type of nut was used - I’m guessing pecan - but it created a nice texture contrast to the soft cake.

So I can’t say I was thrilled with the meal at Bistro 45. Still, let’s do some math. By trying this place out for Dine Out, my guest and I each paid $25 plus tax and tip. Here’s how much our meal would have cost had we ordered from the regular menu:

Bowl of Soup: $7.45
Ravioli du Chef: $18.45
Dessert: $8.45
Total: $34.35

House Salad: $11.45
Chicken: $20.45
Dessert: $8.45
Total: $40.35

Paying $50 plus tax and tip is a lot better than paying $74.70. Los Angeles Magazine says “the food [at Bistro 45] keeps everyone happy.” I don’t agree as I thought the food was pretty mediocre, but I’m happy I didn’t pay full price for it.

Dine Out Los Angeles is happening at participating restaurants Sunday through Thursday until August 30, 2007.

Bistro 45
45 Mentor Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 795-2478
Lunch: Tuesdays-Fridays, 11:30am-2pm
Dinner: Tuesdays-Thursdays, 6pm-9pm; Fridays-Saturdays, 6pm-9:30pm; Sundays, 5pm-9pm

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Upon entering the patio, it is plain to see why there are so many who rave about dining here. The courtyard is a very nice, mellow place to relax and enjoy a meal. Since it was pretty warm out, we opted to dine inside, which turned out to work really well, too. The interior was very spacious and airy. All the windows really brought the light in. At this point, I’m thinking “So far, so good.” Next up is the real test - the food.

First up was the appetizer - crab cakes, served with lobster cream sauce topped with mango Pico de Gallo ($8). This is not very Italian, of course, but we decided to overlook this little detail. The texture of the crab cakes was excellent - crispy on the outside, moist on the inside. Taste, however, was a little less impressive. The crab cake by itself was nothing special. It was even a bit on the salty side. It definitely needed the mango salsa, which contrasted the salty with sweet. If not for the salsa, this dish would not have worked.

In addition, I had wondered where all the lobster cream sauce for the crab cakes went. Then I realized the sauce went to the grilled king salmon entree ($14). So here’s what went right with this dish: the salmon was tender, the sauce was plentiful, and the spinach was perfectly sauteed. Here’s where I nitpick… Underneath the salmon was a piece of potato crab cake. It was good, but seeing how we had ordered crab cakes as an appetizer, this was a little too much of the same, especially with the repeat appearance of the mango salsa. The texture was different, as this one tasted more like a croquette with crab meat than a “cake.” Nevertheless, I felt the waitress should have mentioned this to us. We would have ordered a different appetizer had we known.

My actual entree was more conventional Italian. I ordered the Linguine Vongole ($14), which is your basic linguine tossed with basil, garlic, shallots, red pepper flakes, under some clams. I usually don’t order linguine with clams at restaurants because one of my seafood pet peeves is when I get a lot of sand in my clams. I gave this dish a chance because the waitress said she liked it, and I’m so glad I listened to her. Out of 12 clams, only one had any sand in it. Still, each clam was tender - not chewy. The restaurant also gave the right amount of pasta - not too much, but just enough to enjoy the clams and the sauce that remained at the bottom of the bowl. Depending on how you want to look at the situation, this was either a really good thing or a really bad thing because after this entree, I still had room for dessert.

I was drawn to the Italian bread pudding right away. Long story short, but I was rushed out of a restaurant that serves my favorite bread pudding a couple weeks ago, and I’ve been craving bread pudding ever since. I finally got my fix. Villa Sorriso’s bread pudding is quite delicious - not good enough to take the number one spot of bread pudding, but enjoyable nevertheless. Also raisin lovers should definitely order this dessert, as this bread pudding was filled with a whole lot of it.

A few non-food tips:

1) Valet parking is available behind the restaurant on Pasadena Avenue, but be forewarned, it is a one-way street.
2) For those who don’t want to valet, there is metered parking on Pasadena Ave, or go to the parking lot on Delancey, which is free for the first 90 minutes.
3) Anyone who uses OpenTable.com should definitely look into this place. I got 1,000 points for booking lunch here!

All in all, Villa Sorriso is worth a visit. It’s not very authentic Italian, but it is good food. Who can complain about that?

Villa Sorriso
168 W. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 793-2233

Lunch: Sunday - Saturday: 11:30am - 4:00pm
Dinner: Sunday - Wednesday: 4:00pm - 11:00pm, Thursday: 4:00pm - 12:00am, Friday - Saturday: 4:00pm - 1:00am
Brunch: Saturday & Sunday: 11:30am - 3:00pm

Walking into the building, which looks like it would blend in on an Ivy League campus, I hear a string quartet playing in one room before veering left into the main dining room. How civilized. We walk through the Main Dining Room out onto the West Patio, taking a seat under one of the outdoor heaters. It turns out that the weather is warm enough that we turn the heater off before our backs are broiled.

So, the atmosphere is classy, how is the food? I plan on ordering a cup of the chowder and the steak salad, but my host suggests that I take a walk past the carvery buffet before I make my choice. I do and I decide to have a go at the buffet.

This is one tasty spread. I dive into the ceviche, pile a little arugala salad (with pomegranate seeds), skip the risotto, pick up some poached salmon appetizer, ladel a cup of Boston clam chowder (passing over the vegetable lentil), attack the plump asparagus (which are topped with roasted red and yellow peppers) and finally, I choose a few slices of roast lamb leg over the stuffed chicken breasts.

Now, had I wanted to, I could have piled a bit of everything on my plate (and there is more than I mentioned), just like any buffet. Unlike most buffets, I actually want to pile on a little of everything. It looks that good. I assume that it tastes good, but I know that looks can be deceiving.

The food. It’s good. It’s very good. If I was a member, and CalTech was anywhere near where I worked, I would come here for lunch. Often. The salads are delicious, the salmon moist and tasty, the chowder is decent — not a stand out, the asparagus is cooked perfect and the peppers are a nice touch. The lamb is tender and flavorful. Finally the ceviche. I don’t think I have ever had ceviche at a buffet, although it is a great buffet dish. This ceviche was excellent, plump shrimp and fish swimming in a tart vinegar and citrus.

The bill went on my host’s tab, but I did see that the buffet rings up at a very reasonable $10.75. A side note that the iced tea was very good. Apparently, another drink that they specialize in is a strawberry lemonade which is served in a large brandy snifter. I didn’t taste, but one glass came to our table and I’m told it was delicious.

An interesting note of history about The Athenaeum:

The first formal dinner was held in February 1931, when Albert Einstein arrived for a two-month sojourn at Caltech. Three Nobel Prize winners, Albert Einstein, Robert A. Millikan, and A. A. Michelson, attended that dinner.

Update Kevin at LA Observed points out:

The building, by the way, was designed by Gordon Kaufmann, architect for the L.A. Times building and, improbably, Hoover Dam.

Update II A few other interesting posts about wine tasting at 2020 Hindsight.

The Athenaeum (at CalTech)
551 S. Hill Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 395-8200

950 E. Colorado Blvd. (at Mentor)
(626) 577-1828
Under $10 per person

Having spent the better part of the previous 24 hours locked up in transit, trying to make the short connection in Taipei, being searched by suspicious Chinese security officers, the last thing this weary traveler wanted to realize after waking in a jet-lagged stupor at 4 am is that his fridge is empty because he’s been gone for two weeks.

“This doesn’t have my breakfast! Is it even time for breakfast? It feels like it’s 8 pm.” Wide awake yet inexplicably exhausted, I turn to the television to provide pleasant company until the sun comes up. Finally, a new day had arrived; yet there was one thing that still had to be done before I could function in it.

I threw on some clothes and a jacket, and headed due North. The morning light was crisp, blue, and fresh as I marched, with a purpose, to Euro Pane. To my surprise, the regulars were already there, chatting away over a cup of coffee and the rustling of the LA Times in their laps — this was much better than the previous company.

“Croissant with jam, and a hot chocolate, please.”

I bring them to a table by the window so I can watch the sun rise as the city runs through its morning routine. Layers of buttery pastry crackle as I take my first bite into the croissant (wow, they are quite fresh); the rest of it practically dissolves in my mouth. I wrap my hands around the oversized mug and bring it up to my lips to take a sip. As the warmth and flavor of chocolate envelop my palate, I take a deep breath and close my eyes.

“Welcome home.”

I understood right away why this place is considered affordable and expensive at the same time. The lunch specials are very cheap, and the portions are big. I looked around the restaurant, and it seemed almost every table had huge plates, and most people had difficulties finishing their meals. Even if you don’t order the specials and just pick something from the lunch menu, you still will find something affordable, and did I mention the big portions? For instance, there is a lunch combo - you pick two of the following: Teriyaki (Beef, Chicken, Salmon), Tempura, California Roll, Vegetable Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll, or Sushi, and it’s served with rice, miso soup, and salad, all for $10. It seemed most people were ordering this.

I was there for the sushi/sashimi, however. There were a couple of items that looked good to me. I opted for something on the dinner menu, the seared albacore with ponzu sauce ($12). There were five thinly sliced pieces. Behind the decorations in the photo, there were several additional pieces of the seared albacore. While the ponzu sauce was a bit too much, I did enjoy this dish. When I ordered this, I wasn’t sure if it would be enough food, so I also ordered unagi and a spicy tuna hand roll ($5.50 each). The unagi was good, though the spicy tuna did not live up to its name. In other words, it wasn’t spicy at all.

My mother opted for the tuna and seared albacore sashimi salad ($9). Quite surprisingly, it was a huge plate. There were 7 slices of sashimi. I did try a few bites of this, and I must say the tuna was wonderful. There was only problem with this dish. The salad was drenched in dressing, just as my albacore was soaking in ponzu. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable, and I would recommend this dish to anyone who enjoys sashimi. My mother was forewarned that this would be a big plate, but she had ordered a salmon skin handroll ($5.50) just in case, which I pretty much took care of for her. The salmon skin handroll was quite good. One of the reasons why I typically don’t order this is because so many sushi joints don’t make it crispy enough. The one at Japon Bistro is the way salmon skin handrolls should be - good flavor and texture.

Miscellaneous Notes:

Service was not attentive to say the least, but the staff was constantly courteous and friendly. For instance, my mother’s miso soup was served lukewarm. I mentioned it to our waiter, and he immediately took care of it, bringing back a piping hot bowl. He did it all with a positive attitude. The other thing that irritated me was I had to ask for a refill for my tea every single time. Not once did the staff offer me refills. Again, every time I asked for more tea, they reacted immediately and with a smile.

We were advised to make reservations, but the staff seated us without ever checking our names. It turns out that Japon Bistro gets very busy sometimes, and the reservation basically guarantees you a private table seating. When they have the tables available, they don’t check the reservation book.

Parking is a bit of a pain. There are parking lots nearby, including the one located right on the cross street, Mentor Ave.

Japon Bistro
927 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 744-1751