The Journey to Babita

I suppose I have fallen into “food block”. I have not put up a bite for weeks. I have even been to Babita recently and couldn't find the recipe for writing a post. So here I am finally, with a main course of words.

Ahh. The journey to Babita has a story behind it. My SO and I had been dating not quite 1 year when we realized that in a week or so the day we first stared into each others eyes over some margaritas and lousy Mexican food would be upon us. We decided to honor the event, to celebrate, and this time to find some delicious Mexican food to do so with that was worthy of the occasion.

Well we didn’t have to look or even think about it as I had wanted to try Babita for months! So thanks to my chow hounding friends no search was needed.
The restaurant is on San Gabriel Blvd right next to Saint Anthony’s Church; it is on a corner, and from the outside you could never imagine the tastes, smells, and the culinary adventure that being on the inside will take you on.

The reservation was for 8 and we brought a bottle of 1997 Stags Leap Merlot. We were seated by none other than the chef himself, and I immediately engaged him in a dialog about his menu. He joked quite a bit with me and told me that he wouldn’t order the soup, which I had inquired about, and then went on to describe it in such a matter my mouth watered. I get it he is playing with me! When he opened the wine he poured it he then proceeded to pick up the glass and take a very deep sniff of the bouquet, he was so obviously enjoying it that we offered him some. “No, not while I have to work”, he declined. And then when I asked him for recommendations he told me to close my eyes and pick! He was such fun, we enjoyed the banter immensely!

I noticed he circulated among the tables that had all been seated about the same time. Then disappeared to cook, and his wife took over. It is almost as if they arrange the seating, since they did not have a 7:30 reservation available, but the resturant was far from full when we arrived and during our meal it did not fill up. It was nice.

The Shrimp Topolobampo was on my must try list, but I was discouraged to order it by our waitress as I had indicated I didn’t want anything too spicy. I ordered a ceviche instead and it was amazing. Fresh, light, tangy, not fishy, it was red snapper and perfect We also shared a Cesar salad. I know, who orders Cesar salad at a Mexican restaurant, but this was an incredible blend of flavors.Probably one of the best I have had, you could tell the dressing was just made; it was rich and had a strong bite of anchovy perfect.

The lamb shank was what my SO wanted, but they were out of it when we arrived so he settled on the Barbacoa. I ordered the Cochinita Pibil. My pork was melt in your mouth and 2 tangy cold salads of one of red cabbage and one of onion accompanied the pork. The beef cheeks, which neither of had ever had were very good. My SO thought a little fatty, but I assume that the nature of the dish. Fresh tortillas were on the table and we finished everything!

The evening was perfect, for every reason. I suppose the only complaint I might have is that there was a long wait between courses the evening being a bit of a slow process. It seemed that Roberto and his wife were the only ones there.

I want to go back and try one of his seafood or fish dishes next. Or maybe get daring and get the Shrimp Topolobampo

Tarrantino’s and Scarantino’s

In the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to try both of these quaint little Italian places in Pasadena.

I have been wanting to go back to “Dino’s” for the last 10 years, I had my 21st birthday dinner there with my father, grandfather, and sister back in um 1981! (yea ok so now you know how old I am). I vaguely recall having this after dinner drink called “Lost in the Woods”, I had asked the waiter (and boy those young Italian men were so cute back in ’81) why the name? Ah, because once you drink one you feel as if you are lost in the woods! Yes, it packed quite the punch!

Dino’s evolved to Scarantino’s about a year ago, same family, similar menu. The inside was not as dark as I had remembered, it was busy, but not full on a Saturday evening, the food in front of people looked appetizing, and I was hungry. I opted for chicken piccatta, it was a little over sauced but not overcooked, I ordered my pasta with alfredo instead of a red sauce and the combination was nice. There was the Dino’s salad that I remember, same dressing. Which I liked quite a bit, sort of a creamy tangy Italian.

There were large amounts of food served. I ordered wine by the glass, a Paso Robles chardonnay. I believe it was $9 a glass, which seems a little steep compared to the overall pricing, which was very reasonable for the amount and quality. I would defiantly go back; it was not gourmet Italian, but it was good and I am going to guess that it will be consistent, and a good place to take those who want a typical Italian restaurant with a standard menu.

A couple weeks later I was invited to a birthday dinner at Tarrantino’s. I love this little hole in the wall (seriously). They take cash only, and have rows of tables against the walls, and tables also going down the center of the restaurant, and yes they have red checkered tablecloths! And there was this clique of 4 men sitting at one of the tables that could have been Tony and his Captains. This place gets high marks from Chowhounders and I was anxious to try their food.


One of my favorite dishes is Carbonara, especially when it is prepared traditionally. It was on the menu, so I was in heaven. Other dishes ordered were a spinach pizza which I had been also anxious to try, shrimp pasta and spicy eggplant pasta. Of course we all started with a Tarrantino’s salad. The dressing was a tangy vinaigrette, my only complaint was too much oregano. I think I like Dino's, OOPS, Scarntinos dressing better.

When my dish arrived it looked delicious! My mouth watered. Chunks of proscuitto and pieces of onion, flecks of red pepper; I stuck my fork in and twirled a nice bite to put in my mouth. Mmmmmmmm! The pork was cooked just right, a little fatty a little crunchy a lot of flavor, the pasta was cooked al dente and the sauce was perfect. My only complaint was the fact it was very spicy, a bit too much red pepper. But I am also a wimp when it comes to spiciness. I continued to eat (and share) my dish, drinking big gulps of wine to put out the fire. I also tasted the spinach pizza, what a delight! There was a generous layer of spinach under the melted cheese. Happy food. The prices are incredibly reasonable, the menu is varied, and the food is wonderful. We brought our own wine; the corkage fee is $10. I can’t wait to go back and order the carbornara again, easy on the pepper flakes.

Scarantino's 2055 E Colorado Blvd Pasadena (626) 844-6633
Tarrantino's 784 E Green St Pasadena (626) 796-7836

Inedible Food

Earlier this week I was running around, doing errands, I happened to be at the big box mall (needed to shop at stores that started with a B) at the corner of Foothill and Madre shopping at the BBB (Bed Bath and Beyond) and BB (Best Buy). I was hungry and had to get home fast to meet the Direct TV guy (yah, I just moved so things have been hectic). I spotted this fast food Chinese place across the corner, PEI WEI. Hmm, supposed to be related to PF Changs so it can’t be to bad.

I decide to order won ton soup and Pad Thai to go, I only have to wait a few minutes for the food so I get home just in time to meet the TV guy.

I start with the won ton, pull a bowl and spoon out and begin to ladle out some soup. Hmmm what is this? Pieces of mushy won tons at the bottom of the take out container, not only did the noodles fall apart but the little meat balls inside turned to ground whatever and sunk to the bottom. There were also green things floating in the soup, I could not tell what they were.

I took a bite, hoping the broth was flavorful. YUK! It was awful all of it! I couldn't’t eat any and decided that the broth, noodles (what was left) the dogs would like ladled over their crunchy dried food that evening (see how I am making the disgusting won ton soup sound good to dogs?)

I prayed that the Pad Thai was edible as I was very hungry. I opened the box. OK, lots of noodles, where’s the meat? The veggies, a bean sprout perhaps? Under the pile of overcooked noodles I found 1 piece each of chicken beef and pork, and about 5 pieces of tofu. Oh, and I finally found some bean spouts but they were so overcooked I could hardly tell them from the noodles. I ate enough to stop the hunger pangs, and then threw the rest away.

Stay away from this place. It’s for the dogs.

Pei Wei Asian Diner, 3455 E Foothill Blvd Pasadena, CA 91107
Phone: (626) 325-9020 Pei Wei Take Away: (626) 325-9020

Albondigas

I grew up with my grandmother, she was from Chihuahua, and grew up in a small town in the Sierra Nevada’s in Northern Mexico. I could tell you all kinds of cool stories about her and food, she used to go pick wild mushrooms with an Indian, and he would tell them which were edible and which ones were not. But those stories are for a different blog, right?

She was a super cook and made the best Albondigas Soup. She taught me how to make a lot of delicious things, but Albondigas was not one of them, thus the quest for the best Albondigas in the SGV began.

What is Albondigas you ask? A delicious soup that usually will have zucchini, potato, carrot, onion, tomato, celery and meatballs that are very light and fluffy because they use rice instead of breadcrumbs and a secret ingriendient; the broth is flavored from all the vegetables and my grandma always added a small can of tomato sauce which gave it more flavor.

I have tried this wonderful comfort food at almost every Mexican restaurant I go to. So far I have tired Max’s in Azusa, Caberra’s in Duarte, Peppers in Arcadia, La Nueva Posada in Pasadena, Mijares in Pasadena, Los Gueros in Monrovia and Sergios in Azusa, and probably more. That is not counting mi abuelas.

So is there a clear winner? Not really. I liked the meatballs at Caberra’s but the broth had no flavor, the broth at La Nueva Posada was fantastic but the meatballs were a little dense and there were no potatoes. Sergios vegetables were way to mushy, Max’s had a good average on everything, but probably the best was Los Gueros, everything was good but there were no potatoes. Obviously I have my perfect soup all picked out. I will order one of my favorite comfort foods again at Los Gueros, Max’s and La Nueva Posada, but after that the search is still on.

Can you recommend the perfect bowl?

Los Gueros 313 West Huntington Dr., Monrovia (626) 358-0200

Mexican Fried Chicken

Ok, so the best Mexican food in the SGV is Babita’s, but I have not been there yet! So this rant will review some other place that you call Cal-Mex for the most part. I can’t contend with “The Great Taco Hunt's” level of taste tests. This post has been spurred on by my recent discovery of Mexican Fried Chicken, at La Nueva Posada in Pasadena.

Yes that is what I said, “Fried Chicken”. We, my S.O. (significant other) and I decided to try someplace new for Mexican food. What we were actually craving was a good margarita, but we figured if the food is good so are the drinks, right? (go figure) Well sorta, the margarita was ok, I have had better. The menu of margaritas at El Cholo, and The Border Grille, that used to be in the Paseo (gone now) has yet to be beat in the SGV, at least from my tasting. BTW Babita serves beer and wine only, so we have no idea what alcoholic concoction could come out of that kitchen!

Saturday night, the place is packed, lot of kids too. I look at the menu, same menu different place, until I spot Mexican Fried Chicken. Hmmm. I ask the waitress, she says it takes 30 minutes because they make it to order, and it is very good; this is a good thing!

My immediate hunger is placated with some really good albondigas soup, chips and salsa, good but nothing to write home about. I liked the texture of the salsa, although it needed a little more zing. When the chicken shows up at the table it is sitting in a thin red sauce, I assume it is the marinade. It is a half of a chicken with the breast cut in half. The chicken is moist and full of flavor, without being spicy. The meat actually has flavor, not from the skin or the sauce, it was actually marinated! I let my cut bites soak up more sauce before I pop them in my mouth; moist, crunchy, not greasy, full of flavor. Yum! How charming. I wonder who thought that recipe up! It was good but could have used more sauce on the side, don’t want ruin the crunch with soggy. I even ate it cold the next day, it was still good. I am wondering how this chicken compares to Dino’s chicken, which is a mariachi band playing in your mouth!

I would definitely go back for the chicken, the carne asada looked tempting. I might try that, and would definitely go back for albondigas a great big bowl!

La Nueva Posada 2835 E Foothill Blvd Pasadena, CA (626)793-7191

Damon's

If you live in the SGV and have never been to Damon’s Steak House, then shame on you!!! It’s camp, it’s retro, it’s fun, it’s a time warp, it’s a tiki hut monument to the bovine. The restaurant has been there for-ever! And the clientele is amusing to say the least, oh and the food is good, but don’t expect JJ’s or Morton’s you will be disappointed.

Expect big strong mai tai’s, double stuffed potatoes instead of baked, beets in your salad with some house dressing that is a bit like French, and big steaks. They recently added a rib eye to their menu, this is my favorite cut, so it is what I order. Just enough marbling and fat, and cooked nicely at medium rare. The portions are big, and you will not leave hungry or sober, unless you don’t drink mai tai's!

Damon’s is not for everyone. If your culinary palate is snobby, or you don’t like bamboo, umbrella drinks, Hawaiian shirts or waitresses who have been there for-ever, then go somewhere else. But Damon’s fills a need for a big steak at a small price, for a strong drink, and some atmosphere and entertainment. My 23 year old niece loves it. We go together, it bridges the generation gap.

So if you have lived in the SGV and have not been there, try it, you will like it.

Damon's 317 Brand Blvd, Glendale, (818)507-1510

French Onion Soup

I love Soup and one of my favorites is French Onion. I almost always order it if it is on the menu, sometimes even in the heat of summer! Because I am not always sure where to find it, I posted a request at CHOW on the best soup in the LA area. I got lots of responses of which I will share with you.

I however have the places I have tried and I want to share those with you too! I live in Sierra Madre and work in Azusa so most of the places I have been to are either lunch places near my office, or in Pasadena. So many of the suggestions which are in LA, I have not had the opportunity to try, yet!

For lunch Village Eatery in Glendora has a decent bowl, the flavor is good, the croutons can be disappointing though. Last time I had it they used some weird breadstick as a crouton, and the cheese doesn’t cover the top.

My favorite is at The Golden Spur also in Glendora, a really retro steak house (leather booths, everyone drinks martinis at lunch). Consistently good, lovely crock topped with a thick chewy layer of golden brown cheesey love and crunchy croutons; I always order it, and it is always on the menu.

I also had a bowl a Bistro de la Gare in South Pasadena, it was good, but not what I expected. Not the rich dark broth that is traditional, it was a light almost chicken broth. The flavor was different yet good, and cheese and croutons yummy, but for some reason it left me wanting more. It wasn’t what I expected and my palate was set on that dark rich soup that I adore.

Now for the CHOW hound recommendations! Morton’s, it is on their lunch menu only, Doughboys on 3rd, both of these were mentioned several times so I am sure that they are worth trying out. The Crepe Vine and the Raymond both in Pasadena, I am not sure if the Raymond has the soup on their daily menu or it is a seasonal thing. You can read the whole thread here if you would like!

The Golden Spur 1223 E Route 66 (Foothill) Glendora, CA 91740 (626) 963-9302