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place | location | notes |
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Rubios | Paseo Colorado and elsewhere | In SoCal, we have high standards for Mexican food, so even our Mexican fast food is pretty good. I like Rubio's salsa, and their fish tacos, but the food overall is better at Baja Fresh - the closest one of those to the hotel is at Lake and Del Mar, a bit of a hike (~1 mi) from the hotel. |
PF Chang's | Paseo Colorado | Asian Fusion. Great, and everyone knows it, so be prepared for a long wait, especially at night. |
Yardhouse | Paseo Colorado | Totally generic and perfectly acceptable brewpub |
Coldstone Creamery | Paseo Colorado | Yummy! |
Islands | Paseo Colorado | SO NOT WORTH IT. don't bother. |
See's Candies | just north of the paseo, across the street on Colorado | Yummy and quintessentially SoCal chocolate. (The first Barbie outfit was for a See's Girl.) |
Cheesecake Factory | Old Town Pasadena, Colorado and Fair Oaks | A national chain, but within that universe reasonably good food. The menu resembles a book. Great cheesecake. Costs a bunch, but you get a LOT of food. Always a wait for a table, even if you are not in a big group. |
Louise's Trattoria | Old Town Pasadena, Colorado and Fair Oaks | Small LA chain. Good Italian food, or so I think. |
Lucky Baldwins | Old Town Pasadena, Raymond, just S. of Colorado | British pub. HUGE astronomer hangout, has been for probably decades. Great place to watch soccer - er - football. Great beer. And the food? Well, just stick to the fish and chips. |
Jamba Juice | multiple locations: Old Town Pasadena and Lake St | Quintessential LA juice bar. Want a shot of wheat grass with that? |
Jake's | Old Town Pasadena, on the south side of Colorado | Burgers upstairs; burgers, beer, and pool downstairs. Good burgers, but not as good as In-and-Out. |
The Crepe Vine | Old Town Pasadena, alley off south side of Colorado, past Jake's (above) | New wine bar. Good food too. |
Gordon Biersch | Old Town Pasadena, north side of street, hidden in a large alley known as "One Colorado Place" | I think this is just an ok restaurant tied to a brewery, but many people are totally devoted to this place. |
Johnny Rockets | Old Town Pasadena, north side of street, hidden in a large alley known as "One Colorado Place" | Burger joint. OK burgers, but not nearly as good as In-and-Out. |
In-n-Out burger (audio will play when you click) | closest one to the hotel is 2114 E. Foothill Blvd. 2.7 mi from hotel, ~5 min by car | THE SoCal burger experience. They only do burgers, and they do them so well. Don't forget about the secret menu! Yum. See, now I wanna go there tonite. |
Zankou Chicken | closest one is East of the hotel on Colorado, 1296 E. Colorado Blvd (1.2 mi from hotel) | Local Armenian chain of moist and juicy and cheap and fast chicken. Definitely try the garlic sauce topping (looks like white paste served in a plastic side cup) and the hummus. Their cheap and recognizable T-shirts can be seen on starving actors and musicians all over town. |
several fast food joints | East of the hotel on Colorado, almost to Hill Street and Pasadena City College (~1.5 mi from hotel) | If you absolutely must have a fix. |
Tommy's | 170 N. Hill, just north of Colorado (1.6 mi from hotel) | Greaseburger central, just past the fast food cluster above. I'd MUCH rather go to any of the other burger joints on this list than here, but this place is mythical among Caltech undergrads. |
A little further afield: Shiraz | 211 S. Glendale Ave, Glendale. (~7 mi from hotel) | Great Armenian food. (There is a huge Armenian community in Glendale.) |
A little further afield: Chevy's Fresh Mex | 101 North Brand, Glendale (~7 mi from hotel) | Yeah, a chain, but we like it. (We live in Glendale so if you want more Glendale recommendations, just ask.) |