A Weekend in Pasadena

City to the South Offers Fun, Film, and Food

Mon Dec 17, 2018 | 03:00pm
Cocktails at the Corner
Marianne Kuga

It’s only 10 miles as the crow flies from downtown Los Angeles, but Pasadena has a feel all its own. With sprawling lawns, eclectic architecture, and a vibrant Old Town, the city offers an oasis from the congestion of its neighboring metropolis.

My traveling companion and I took the train from Santa Barbara rather than deal with the ever-present Southland traffic. After a leisurely three-hour journey, we arrived at Union Station in Los Angeles, the closest train stop to Pasadena. A 20-minute Uber ride got us to the Hilton on North Los Robles Avenue. Our room had a California contemporary feel with clean lines, neutral hues, and wood accents. We settled in, and then went to the on-site bar and restaurant, the Corner, for happy hour.

Lemon Shortbread at Parkway Grill
Marianne Kuga

Refreshed and relaxed, we headed to dinner at the Parkway Grill. Opened in 1984, the Parkway is a popular upscale restaurant with brick walls and high-beam ceilings that blend together to create a rustic-elegant interior. The menu is reflective of the American cuisine movement, which mixes traditional American cooking techniques with European, Latin American, and Mediterranean elements. We ordered melt-in-your-mouth pan-seared crab cakes with lemon remoulade, avocado salad with slow-roasted cherry tomatoes, and short ribs with creamy polenta, green harissa, and braising juices. While their signature black-bean soup tasted bland and underwhelming, the highlights of the meal were the rich, delicious scalloped potatoes with garlic and Gruyère cheese, and the Meyer lemon custard atop a shortbread cookie with homemade ice cream, raspberries, and raspberry puree.

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