EDP 2018

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continued from page 11 T — THEATER Just as it is rich in restaurants, Pasadena also has a wealth of live theaters, all featuring performances of stories that tackle tough issues and ask provocative questions. Of course, there’s the 100-year-old Pasadena Playhouse, the State Theatre of California, but there is also A Noise Within on East Foothill Boulevard and Boston Court Performing Arts Center on Mentor Avenue, to name but a few terrific venues in the area. V — VALUE It’s been said before, and we’ll say it again: Value is an integral component to the success of any business, especially those facing lots of competition. In this demanding world, a commitment is required to set the right price for what customers expect to be the perfect mix of quantity and quality. As former PW Restaurant Critic Erica once explained, “A restaurant doesn’t have to be expensive to be good. And the converse applies.” W — WORD Especially in a place like Pasadena, where major chefs live and work and the world occasionally visits to see what’s on the menu, word of mouth was and remains an important component to the success of any business, particularly restaurants. X — ROMANTIX Back in the late 1980s, when once rough-around-the edges Old Pasadena was being redeveloped into a destination dining and shopping spot, property owners complained about the Pub (the 35er, perennial PW Best Dive Bar), the Pawn (Crown City Loan & Jewelry) and the Porn (Romatix, formerly known as Le Sex Shoppe). It’s been nearly 30 years since then, and the Three Ps are still up and running. Y — YELP! Can’t live with it, can’t live without it. Or so it seems to the millions of people who can’t wait to hit the keyboard with their opinions on a fine, or terrible, dining experience. 12 EAT • DRINK • PLAY PASADENA WEEKLY Z — ZANKOU Simply delicious Zankou Chicken traces its origins to 1962, when Vartkes and Margarite Iskenderian opened a restaurant in Beirut featuring chicken in garlic sauce. Twenty years later the couple opened their first US restaurant in Hollywood, eventually expanding their locations and their menu, which now includes kebabs, falafel, shawarma and other Mediterranean dishes.■
Names of the Game WHERE YOU ARE AND HOW YOU FEEL DETERMINES WHAT A FAVORITE DRINK COMES TO BE CALLED BY MICHAEL CERVIN THE SOUTH PASADENA As July temps heat up, you need a tippler to help you cool down. The Langham Huntington, Pasadena’s Tap Room offers seasonal cocktails as well as standard offerings, live jazz on Thursdays nights and a Top 40 band on Friday and Saturday evenings. Relax on a triangular sofa or couches grouped around a fireplace, or perch at freestanding tables with views of the patio. It’s all designed to lull you into the waiting embrace of one of their signature cocktails, such as The South Pasadena. This gin-based concoction offers up noticeable lemon with soft honey and resin notes, thanks to a wisp of citrus from fresh lemon. Add mint, which offers a cool contrast to the herbal, savory gin. The South Pasadena is crisp and clean, slightly viscous and will ensure a satisfying beforedinner drink, well suited to appetizers. “The South Pasadena cocktail fits with our mission of melding old and new generations,” says Susan Williger, the hotel’s director of communications, and this cocktail hits a middle stride, not pretentious and overbearing, nor a wallflower — it is a classic cocktail that will suit most everyone. INGREDIENTS 2 ounces gin ¾ ounce lemon juice ¾ ounce simple syrup 2 loose mint leaves METHOD Place the loose mint leaves in the bottom of the glass. Add gin, lemon juice and simple syrup, and crush leaves with a muddler. Shake and strain. Garnish with a lemon wheel and mint sprig, and serve. THE ORANGE GROVE The Raymond 1886 has long been one of Pasadena’s most beloved restaurants (but not for 130 years — 1886 actually marked the opening of the former Raymond Hotel). The restaurant’s Bar 1886 is dark and moody, illuminated mainly by the bar’s soft amber backlight. Inside, there are two small communal tables, four two-tops, original hardwood floors and brown pressed-tin ceilings, and there’s also outdoor seating: two outdoor patios with fireplaces and Edison lights twinkling against the night sky. Bar 1886 was established only in 2010 — 38 years after the restaurant — to focus on high-end spirits and craft cocktails. It offers monthly spirits-paired dinners as well. New cocktails appear twice annually: for spring-summer and fall-winter. Not listed on the menu but a longtime staple is The Orange Grove — a simple but effective drink with a nod to Arroyoland’s agricultural heritage. “This is a sit-out-on-the-patio-andeat-brunch kind of cocktail,” says bartender Casey Levantal. It’s cool and clean, with the acidity of the citrus mitigated by the gin. The addition of tonic water provides a subtle effervescence. Indeed, this drinks so easily you might forget it’s a cocktail. Levantal suggests pairing it with something hearty like The Raymond’s Veracruz steak salad or pork belly tacos. INGREDIENTS 2 ounces London dry gin ½ ounce lime juice ½ ounce simple syrup 2 to 4 orange wedges Splash of tonic water METHOD Using a muddler, smash orange slices with lime juice and simple syrup. Shake and pour mixture into glass with crushed ice. Add gin, top with tonic floater (without mixing) and serve. continued on page 15 EAT • DRINK • PLAY PASADENA WEEKLY 13
Page 1 and 2: EaT DRiN K PL aY YOUR 2018 GUIDE TO
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