Higher-class American

Yard House

Yard House is a modern restaurant in the heart of Old Town Pasadena with new twists on traditional family and steakhouse style foods.  I have been twice now for special evenings.  It is a bit on the pricey side, but they can charge more because of their location - they are always packed full!  Their food is of a slightly higher class than those of a similar genre - take for example their truffle fries or lobster-artichoke dip.  The menu has many unique and diverse options.  Most of the dishes I've tried are pretty decent, but nothing has blown me away.  The service is a bit slow - yes they are always busy, but since they are always busy they should have learned how to accommodate that trend.  The atmosphere is nice - very lively to fit with its location, but also quite noisy.  If you can afford it, it's a great place to go try something new and unique, but if you're looking for a special date night location to really wow you, I think there are better options.

Eat Fresh!

Saladish

Last Sunday, our church group headed into Old Town, but found it difficult to find a cheap restaurant open on Sunday, a holiday, with enough seating for all of us, since people were already filling the streets for the upcoming Rose Parade.  We walked past a place called Saladish that was completely empty.  I popped my head in to check the prices and it seemed decent so we entered.  The have wraps, salads, and potatoes.  Most of my friends loved their wraps; however, I wasn't the biggest fan of my Greek wrap with chicken.  It lacked much sauce, so I ended up adding hot sauce to the wrap.  They have several good-looking options, so I think I just might have preferred something different.  It was a decent price, since I was able to save half for another meal.  Unfortunately, the biggest downside to Saladish was that you cannot substitute items.  You can switch which type of leafy green is in your meal, but if you want to change anything else you must pay.  They have every item listed under an amount (from 50 cents on up), but you cannot even change between items at price point.  To me, that doesn't seem like great service or a great business plan for today's society.  I might return if I want something light, quick, and cheap in the area, but because of the no-substitution policy, it would not be my first choice.  If you will eat things however they are put together, you would certainly be fine - I'm just a bit too picky.  The ingredients themselves were decent though, and the greens were all very fresh, which is important at a place like this.  The manager who took our orders was very friendly - he even knew what I wanted before I ordered because he overheard me saying it to my friends :)

My Favorite Pasadena Restaurant!

Louise's Trattoria

Louise's Trattoria in Old Town Pasadena (with other SoCal locations) has fabulous food at great prices!  It has a romantic, but not overly fancy, atmosphere.  They start you off with terrific, warm rosemary focaccia bread served with a balsamic-oil-herb dipping sauce.  I could just eat that and be satisfied!  They did recently change their menu and took off one of my favorite dishes, which was disappointing, but I'd find it hard to order a bad dish at Louise's.  My current favorite dish is the "chicken balsamico"- which comes with a great spinach side dish and I substitute the veggies for potatoes - delish!!  I have taken many friends there who are now big fans also!  The service has generally been great (just a little slow for our large group on New Years Eve, but that is to be expected).  I don't like to head into Old Town much because of parking issues, but this place is worth it!  What I like best is that for the quality of the food and portion sizes compared to the prices - it's really a great deal compared to similar Italian restaurants.  (The first time I went, my pasta - the one that's no longer available - lasted me 3 meals!)  If you're in the area looking for good food and a good value - Louise's is the place!  The only real downside for me is the dessert menu - nothing really to my tastes, but there is a fabulous gelato shop right next door!  Louise's is my go-to local restaurant whenever I want great food at a good price!

Our friends after the meal :)

La Comida Mexicana

King Taco

So, it's nothing fancy, but I had heard great things about King Taco, and being the big Mexican food fan I am, I wanted to try it!  My husband and I are beginning a Sunday Lunch Club with some other couples from our church (which is located right in the center of tons of great restaurants!).  Many of us work on Sunday afternoons so don't have much time, and each couple includes at least one grad student, so we like to eat cheap!  So you won't see us at five star restaurants, but who eats at those all the time anyway?
I would classify King Taco as "fast food," even though there is no drive-through.  It's somewhere in between Taco Bell and Chipotle, in my opinion.  Our food was ready incredibly fast and the prices were decent.  The taste left a little to be desired.  I had a friend who couldn't handle how spicy it was - and I like spicy, but agreed it was a bit overdone.  Except for it being cheap, fast, and convenient, I doubt I would choose to go again.