Tea Rose Garden in Pasadena

On my own one afternoon in Pasadena, California, I was walking toward my hotel when I spotted Tea Rose Garden. It was quite obviously a tea room, but until I walked inside I hadn't noticed that it was also a flower shop. Quirky, yes, but the selection on the menu of classic British high teas looked broader than many I've seen at home so, I stayed for lunch.

Each table was already set with plates, cups and saucers, and a sugar bowl, all looking mismatched, which seems fairly traditional in most American tea rooms, but charming in a girlish sort of way. I cannot see a man being comfortable in this setting. Having a florist shop on the premises assured that the flower arrangements were real as well as a nice fragrant addition to each table.

The specific selection that I chose from the menu, the English Tea ($14.95) included a salad that was resplendent with edible flowers. Oh how I wished I had a small girl along, so I could see her face when this salad arrived. Having on many an occasion made use of my grandmother's flowers to mix a "flower goulash" in her garden, this element of the salad would have started me giggling with no end in sight.

Being a fan of British cream teas, my selection included a scone with the necessary accompaniments, as well as fresh fruit and a rose sugar cookie, along with small cucumber and mint cream cheese finger sandwiches. I enjoyed every single bite and felt sublimely young and feminine in this fantasy, albeit odd environment. Every woman should treat herself to an Afternoon Tea on occasion.

To my delight the scone was very generous in size and came without currants. The simpler the scone the better, as it makes the best canvas on which to paint the whipped cream and jam. It may not seem very artistic, but the result is as uplifting as viewing fine art.

http://www.tearosegarden.com/

Fiesta Grande in Pasadena

We stumbled upon this restaurant while taking a walk in Old Town Pasadena. It was beyond the crowds of Old Town towards the east and looked quite predictable, but since most Mexican food we eat in Southern California is more complex that what we can find in San Francisco we walked into this modest establishment for an early lunch. We only tried two selections from the menu, but they were both very well executed, so it was a pleasant dining experience.

Mole will forever be on the top of my list for Mexican food. The vibrancy of the sauce is what makes my mouth water and Fiesta Grande had an excellent Mole sauce, complex and made in the Puebla style. Those are just words to me, since I do not know one Mexican style from another, but this was an exceptional Enchilada en Mole with the chocolate being palpable, no need for me to guess that it was part of the sauce.

Sesame seeds brought flecks of light to the very dark, visually deep and rich Mole, and they also added a nice textural element. The chicken within the corn tortilla was very tender and had been stewed with onions and bell peppers for a flavor boost. This dish was so good I really didn't miss the rice and beans, although if the truth be known, I rarely order them anyway.

Rice and beans did come with the shredded beef Machaca that my dining companion ordered. This was again another well executed offering by the restaurant and a much more traditional choice for what really amounted to a brunch. The peppers added just the right amount of heat to the beef, tomato and onion scrambled egg. Originally my selection would have been Huevos Rancheros, but the minute I saw the Mole my course was set and there was no turning back.

http://www.sangabrielvalleymenus.com/lafiestagrande/lafiestagrandepasadena.htm

Fiesta Grande has no website, but this one shows their menu sans prices.

624 E Colorado Blvd

Pasadena, CA 91101

(626) 795-5577

Joe's Cafe of Santa Barbara

Joe's Cafe is the kind of mom and pop place that offers diners the predictable in American fare. Comfort food, to many people, is still good food, and with the old time atmosphere, this place appeals to many people. We did not order enough to make this a fair evaluation, but I can say the menu is broad enough to satisfy many people and the service was very good.

This may have seemed odd to most diners, bread served with a cooked tomato salsa, but it so happens my grandmother used to make a cooked salsa that she used primarily on meat loaf, that we often ate with bread. Surprisingly, this in itself was a comfort food for me and helped to define the restaurant. My grandmother's addition of bell peppers would have enhanced Joe's salsa. The Cesar salad was predictable and not the best, but passable.

Speaking of meatloaf, it was moist but lacked much flavor. I was initially annoyed that it came layered over toast (removed by me prior to this photo) but learned when the bill arrived, that the waitress had given me the meatloaf sandwich instead of the meatloaf dinner. I owed her a debt of gratitude, because the amount of meatloaf was plentiful and I paid 30% less for the sandwich. the gravy reminded me of Bisto, a British powdered product that when mixed with water created a brown gravy of questionable taste. This was not home made gravy and the salsa would have worked better.


536 State Street
Santa Barbara CA 93101-1602
(805) 966-4638

Sand Bar in Santa Barbara

If you're into bar scenes you could do worse than Sand Bar in the heart of the Santa Barbara downtown on State Street. We tried it at an odd hour and missed most of the crowd, but that was just fine with us. The food is competent, the delivery fast and we enjoyed ourselves. That is enough to recommend it in many cases, but this was not the best Mexican food that Santa Barbara has to offer although much more reasonably priced than El Paseo and more to our liking. Sand Bar offers an Americanized version of Mexican food with all the usual suspects on its menu fit for gringo tastes.

First of all, the guacamole was made with rich, well ripened avocados that needed little more than some onions and a nice dollop of tomato salsa to taste very good. The flautas were well crisped and the chicken was moist, not stringy. thumbs up for the first courses.

The chicken Enchiladas Verde could have used a bit more tomatillo sauce on the plate for color contrast as well as taste. They receded into the background and were overpowered by the sides. Still for under $9 they were a bargain lunch. The pork and fish tacos were decidedly better and more interesting visually.

To really get a good sense of them I ordered one each of the soft tacos, the Carnitas, the Carne Asada and the fish taco made of Mahi. Each soft taco had its own condiments and its own identity. All were very good and priced between $3.75 and $4.75. They added up to a greater price than the combination plate, but were more substantial than one taco with a side of bland rice and beans.

http://www.sandbarsb.com/sandbar_menu.html

514 State Street

Santa Barbara CA 93101-1602

(805) 966-1388

Pastuccio's in Santa Barbara

Nice dining room, pleasant ambiance, but please do not expect a great meal in this restaurant. My intention for this blog was to never even bother with bad restaurants, but this meal was inedible and I feel obliged to put an orange cone and flashing warning lights in front of this pot hole, before another accident occurs. In Italian the word pasticcio means "mess". I believe the name of this restaurant was no accident, just a matter of misspelling.

My dining companion was happy with his Cesar salad, but as long as it has parmigiano, romaine lettuce, croutons and a Cesar dressing, it will pass muster. Not being particularly hungry, he ordered an appetizer and called it a night. The baked brie and garlic with pear and walnuts was decent enough to be satisfying.

The car wreck started when I ordered the pumpkin ravioli with butter and sage sauce. Having had squash tortellini many times in Italy, I had a reasonable expectation as to what would be arriving at the table. Pumpkin, when roasted could be similar to the deep orange squash I had experienced eating in this classic Italian dish. Since I use Butternut squash when replicating this recipe, it was going to be nice to compare the pumpkin taste and texture to the butternut. That didn't happen. Pastuccio's uses canned and spiced pumpkin pie filling. Gag me with a spoon, or one of these ravioli. They arrived barely warm, not hot, the sage was burnt, and the pumpkin pie spices were inappropriate as well as intolerable.