Restaurant Roundup

Restaurants I've been to recently that I recommend

Auntie Em's Kitchen- great brunch on Eagle Rock Blvd.  Amazing baked goods, local ingredients.

Little Flower Candy Co- sandwiches, salads, baked goods and of course candies on Colorado Blvd between Eagle Rock and Pasadena. I haven't tried the candy yet, but have heard it's amazing.  Great hostess gifts.

Cafe Stella  - Little french Bistro in Sunset Junction. Great ambiance and outdoor patio.  Stop in at the Silverlake Cheese shop next door. And make sure you order the escargot.

The York on York - Highland Park. Great bar, great burgers.  cool industrial vibe.

Bacaro Wine Bistro - in the West Adams area. Fun little place in an interesting up and coming neighborhood. The food was surprisingly good.  The decor could use a little help, but it was definitely worth it with a Groupon.

Lazy Ox Canteen - tapas style gastropub in Little Tokyo.  Stopped in her for apps before a ramen dinner. Excited about going back for a real meal.

More to come.  Have any recommendations for future nights out?  Let me know?  Need any other recommendations?  Let me know as well.

The White City

So on Sunday, Scott decided to dust off our copy of Take A Hike Los Angeles and pick out a local hike for us to take.  We woke up on the late side so our hike didn't start until about 12:30.  But we were prepared. Slathered in sunscreen, with two large Nalgene's full of water, we drove the 15 minutes to the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains (just a 10-15 minute drive to Altadena) and began the trek.  The Sam Merrill trail (I've checked and as far as I can tell, there is no relation to the shoe brand) starts in Rubio Canyon and then ascends 1400 feet to the top of Echo Mountain. Due to a few hiccups along the way, the hike took a bit longer than usual, but was fun nonetheless...actually more like funn...y.

Hiccup number one - dehydration.  make sure you are hydrated - and bring more water than you thought you'd need.  It gets hot in these here mountains!

Hiccup number two - too old hiking boots.  About half way up the mountain, the front part of Scott's hiking boot sole decided to give way.  We're handy though and we took a string from our little backpack, cut it and tied the sole on.

That lasted for about a hundred meters when the back half detached and the entire sole came off.  Lucky for Scott, his hiking boots have a steel plate on the bottom (we think) that served as a good-enough sole for the remainder of the ascent and descent.

Then of course, about 3/4 of the way up the second boot sole came off altogether. At least he was on even footing now, so to speak.

Despite the hiccups, the view at the top (of the entire LA basin - from Pasadena all the way to Palos Verdes) was incredible and worth the trek.  Also at the top of Echo Mountain are the ruins of the White City which was a resort hotel atop the mountain, reachable by a cable car up until the 1930's (the ruins of which can also be seen).  The grounds consisted of hotel, casino, dance hall, tennis courts, pig pen, observatory, post office and power plant.  Unfortunately it was destroyed by fires and floods and never rebuilt.

And of course, walking back down the mountain behind Scott in his "hiking mocassins"  was also worth it.

A penny for your thoughts

Best of from the Penny Saver this week:

Pair Men's Creepers
Size 9, black suede, good condition, $30.  For more information call...


Giant Stuffed Animal
Asking $2. Call..


2 Garden bush shears
Asking $8 for both.

Halery Davison Barbie
Collectible, original, still in box, $100

All I know is that I've always wanted a Halery Davison Barbie.

A penny for your thoughts

Do you get the penny saver? 

Do you just throw it in the trash, or hopefully the recycling? 

Well, next time take a look.  My friend Jess (yes, another one) turned me onto the penny saver for estate sale ads.  However, this morning I was perusing it and decided to go beyond the sale section.  Just a few of the selections.  I have so many witty things to add, but I think they speak for themselves (sorry, no visuals, but none needed):

Ventriloquest Dummy
30' L, asking $40

Readers Digest
2009 (whole year available), 2010 (January - August) never used, $25 / all

Civil War Book
Picture history of the Civil War, good condition, $7.50

Leather Pants
Men or women, pink, size 12/32 $40

Womens Jumpsuit
Large, purple, Sequence, V-neck, 4 buttons down, unusual, $10

If you want any of these items, email me and I will give you the phone number to call.   Sorry, no interwebs.

Central Park

Yup - Pasadena that is.

We once again made the grueling uphill bike trek into Old Town Pasadena this past weekend and hit up Central Park Restaurant.  It's right across from, well, Central Park, hence the name.  And it does have sort of an East Coast vibe.  I had the breakfast Panini.  It looked sort of sad on the plate with no garnish and just a meager fruit bowl to accompany it, but I gotta say, that was one good breakfast panini.  Highly recommend it.  Scott enjoyed his Eggs Benedict as well.  Now we'll have to try it for dinner sometime.

Pop Pop Fizz Fizz

Those of you who know me know that I do NOT have a sweet tooth.  In fact, quite the opposite.  So I wasn't the most excited person to find out that Rocket Fizz, the renowned Soda and Candy shop had opened an outpost on Green Street in Pasadena.  However, I have to say, I was impressed.  It's not your typical candy shop.  In fact, I would say it is more soda-centric than candy.  And there is quite the collection of vintage rock band posters as well.  What impressed me the most though was the celery flavored Dr. Brown's soda pop I had. 
Named CEL-RAY  it wasn't too sweet and had a unique flavor that reminded me of something from my childhood in Asia.  $10 to anyone who can pinpoint what it reminds me of. 

Summer in the Park

So Friday night was intended to be downtown date night in the Ahnert/Davis household.  Instead, on Friday while I was perusing Daily Candy I discovered that the Levitt Pavillion in our own backyard - Old Town Pasadena -  was hosting a free concert of the French band Paris loves LA. 

Turns out the Levitt is host to the largest summer concert series in the country  - 50 concerts form June through August.  Granted the French band wasn't very good, and sometimes quite cheesy, but it made for good background music to our picnic.

And we got to use our Orikaso origami picnic plates and cups and I was yet again impressed by how clever they are. 

Que Bonita!

So Scott and I have been trolling the Pasadena Antique malls in search of various treasures to populate our new abode (it's hard to fill an 1800 SF space after coming from a Brooklyn coop that was a third of the size).  Our favorite stop on the antique mall circuit is Angela Dickenson-Lee's store Bonita Interiors at the Pasadena Antique Center. 

She has a great selection of refurbished antiques in an wide variety of styles, that combined give off a great sort of mish-mash contemporary eclectic vibe.

She also features her own artwork in her store which works perfectly with her pieces.  Her price points are reasonable and she has a whole bunch of other treasures in storage (so just ask if you are looking for something specific).

This is

Why I love Old Town Pasadena

 Legal Jaywalking

double, triple,..... Quadrupel!

Along with hitting up the flea markets this past weekend with John Paul, we also patroned the new Pasadena gastropub Quadrupel Brasserie.  So this is a little more upscale that your typical Father's Office type gastropub, but YUM.  And the decor is so warm and inviting.

They have a great selection of imported and local beers on tap as well as tons of wines and the food is to die for. 

Try the pork shank.

But maybe consider splitting it.  I think I am still full from the weekend.

Digging for Gold

So, I had my second adventure on the LA Metro this morning. Took the Gold Line to work from the Del Mar Stop. I'm starting to brew up a little Gold Line Adventure as a weekend event. Here is what I'm thinking so far, Who's In?

- Start at Del Mar in Pasadena and have an early brunch at Le Grande Orange (previously mentioned), Elements Kitchen, or Central Park Cafe.

-Hop on the Gold Line toward downtown for just $1.25.

- Take a trip to the Southwest Museum (yes, it's the Southwest Museum stop) and increase your knowledge of the Native Americans of the west

- Get back on the Gold Line headed south and get off at the Chinatown stop and walk north Spring / Alameda St to the Los Angeles State Historic Park. Walk amongst the meadows of native flowers and enjoy the natural scenery smack in the middle of industrial LA.

- After burning off some calories stop off for a late lunch at the Los Angeles institution Phillipe French Dips

- Do a little shopping in the trinket shops along Hill and Broadway in Chinatown

- Next, hop back on the metro going back toward Pasadena and get of in SoPas at the Mission stop.

- Take a walk down Mission enjoying the quaint small town feel. Stop in for a pre-dinner drink at Mike & Annes

- Mosey along Mission and make a left on Fair Oaks. Duck into Gus's Barbeque. By now you have worked up an appetite and what better way to satisfy it than to chow down on some of LA's best BBQ.

- Hop back on the Gold Line and head Home (or to the Black Boar Bar in Eagle Rock - to be featured in a later post).

Fave New Store

Gold Bug Pasadena

Best way to describe this place is as a cabinet of curiosities. Amazing selection of jewelry a la Halloween in Philly. Fun, funny and slightly-off greeting cards. Accessories. Ridiculous sculpture that everyone needs (think chains with mini skulls and beavers wearing crowns). Very odd, but I dare you not to like it.

Hair Salons

If you have any good hair salons in the Pasadena area, let me know. In the meantime I have been collecting ridiculous hair salon names that I've come across over the years. Please feel free to add to the list:

Hair Adventure
The Crazy Scissors
Tangles Salon
Hair Spectrum
Blaine! School of Beauty (exclamation point must be included in intonation)

Really though....

He said specifically "don't say on your blog that I never let you have any fun..."

Actually, he got to do work on this glorious day (albeit working while lounging on the patio on our new not-yet-upholstered foam cushions), while I went to lunch with the girls at Le Grande Orange in Pasadena. Fun.

I can't believe I didn't know about this place before. On Raymond St. Right across from Central Park in Pasadena. Hit up the Pasadena antiques stores on a Sunday morning and then stop in for brunch on the beautiful patio. Order a pitcher of white sangria and then wander around Old Town for the rest of the afternoon. Just make sure that you set some ground rules for shopping post-sangria. Also, parking is $2 with validation (found out after letting meter run out and getting a $45 ticket - so much for my afternoon of shopping). Or better yet, take the metro which stops right next to the restaurant which is housed in an old train depot. How urban.