Abricott is a juicy choice for Pasadena

Is this the coziest lunch spot in all of Pasadena?

You can mostly forget Old Town Pasadena for decent food, but thank goodness, other areas of town such as Lake Ave. are starting to really improve with solid casual spots like Cham Korean Bistro.
Daisy Mint was one of the first of such nouveau Pasadena spots, and now the same owners have opened Abricott.


With two hours of free parking in the giant lot behind and a roomy patio in front, this is a fine location for a charmingly decorated, versatile French/Asian-influenced cafe with breakfast, lunch and dinner. It will help if you're a pork belly fan, since the piggy treat is available in two smoky banh mi style sandwiches, as an entree or added atop a burger.
The menu has more Western dishes than Daisy Mint's, but still with Asian touches. At the table next to us, some people had beef pho, while others had chicken curry and one had a strawberry-banana waffle with whipped cream for lunch. Breakfast is served to 3 pm every day, with choices including Eggs Benedict with ham or smoked salmon; Vietnamese style sizzling eggs with soy, green onion, baguette and curried potatoes; waffles or croque monsieur and madame.

Grilled trout and green papaya salad (above) was simple but healthy and refreshing, while the spicy pork belly sandwich ($8) packed a kick with kimchi tucked into the baguette. Baked goods include the signature apricot croissant, which I'm sure I'll be back to try, and some winsome tarts and crumbles. At dinner, steak and other heartier dishes join the menu. (Daisy Mint has no corkage, so it's possibly Abricott will have the same policy.)
The decor is adorable, with lots of books, mirrors, picture frames and chandeliers warming up the former Koo Koo Roo location. A private dining room in the back would be just the place for a small party or work lunch.
See breakfast and lunch menus and more photos here.

Abricott 238 S. Lake Ave. Pasadena
(626)796-1613

Settebello: One more step to a better Pasadena

Diavola pizza features peppered salami

Settebello Pizzeria Napoletana is the latest entry in the ongoing push for Pasadena not to suck so badly, foodwise, and it's a worthy attempt. Like nearly everything else along Colorado, there's a whiff of the corporate about Settebello, which has two locations in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, a slick website and servers who earnestly explain that the pizzas are sized individually and served unsliced.
The former Famima market has been stripped of its Pockys and classed up with a large marble bar, long wooden tables and lots of golden lights; on a Friday night it fills up fast with couples and families with strollers. But it's a bit more sophisticated than a neighborhood pizza joint, with Italian cocktails and a menu mostly centered on vera pizza Napoletana. A nearly-breadless panzanella salad with arugula and croutons is pleasant but far from authentic -- it's probably just as well given the dough that follows. There's also an antipasto plate and several other salads, and a decent selection of Italian wines and beers.

Pizzas that bear that label must be made by trained pizzaiolos, hand rolled and cooked in a wood-burning oven. The result is a fairly thin crust with nice bits of char, a slightly soggy center and a goodly amount of chew. The menu at the Pasadena location is slightly different from the one on the website -- there's no Quattro Stagioni variety, and several of the toppings in Pasadena seem to include mascarpone or panna. Is this traditional in Italy? The extra creaminess didn't add much to the pizza -- I preferred the Diavola, in which the cleaner flavors seemed to cohere into a lightly spicy and satisfying whole. In general, the topping selection seemed kind of middle-of-the-road, and I'd agree with Sinosoul that the toppings might not be of the highest quality -- but priced fairly at about $13 each.
The verdict: Settebello is definitely worth a try for its nicely chewy crust if you're in the Pasadena area to go to Vroman's or the Playhouse theaters. But I'd stick with Mother Dough, despite its lengthy wait, for a little more character.
Settebello Pizzeria

625 E Colorado
Pasadena

(626) 765-9550

Carmela Ice Cream: A swirl of spring in a cup

Northeast Pasadena might seem like kind of an unlikely place for an artisan creamery like Carmela Ice Cream -- that is, unless you've been to Bulgarini Gelato, which is even more remotely located in Altadena. But when I stopped in to Carmela today in the midst of the sudden heatwave, the shop was full of neighborhood families sampling the luxuriously creamy stuff, made from Clover organic cream, super fresh fruits and locally grown flowers and herbs. Carmela has been selling at the South Pasadena and Hollywood Farmer's Markets for a few years now, but it's nice to be able to stop by the storefront if you happen to be going for a hike in Eaton Canyon or a shopping trip at Hastings Ranch. Plus, there's a promising basturma shop next door, since Washington Blvd. is Pasadena's own Little Armenia.
Carmela's ice creams are rich and silky but not heavy or cloying, and the fruit flavors are particularly refreshing. I'm mad about the strawberry buttermilk, which tastes like the essence of spring and would be perfect atop an Easter shortcake. Fresh mint with chocolate nibs is assertively minty with nary a hint of bottled extract or green coloring. Dark chocolate with cocoa nibs is just that, but not so bitter it will scare the children. My love for the salted caramel has already been well-documented. Other flavors perfect for the heat include tangelo sorbet, cucumber sorbet and lemon basil sorbet. Carmela's not a sceney place -- there's only a dozen or so flavors at a time, none of them involving balsamic vinegar, blue cheese or beer. It's simply great ice cream, and isn't that enough?
Carmela Artisan Creamery
2495 E Washington Blvd
Pasadena
626.797.1405

DogHaus: Pasadena goes to the dogs

Dog Haus has plenty of seating, and a parking lot in back

Pasadena is a lovely town in many ways, most of them historic and a bit stodgy. But the food scene is changing fast with the arrival of more up-to-date spots like Intelligentsia Coffee, Daisy Mint, Cham Korean Bistro, Slaw Dogs and now another doggery, Dog Haus. Just up the street from Pasadena City College, Dog Haus has an industrial vibe with a somewhat more straightforward menu than Slaw Dogs. That's fine, since although Thai slaw and mango chutney sound intriguing on a hot dog, in the end they don't really add that much to the experience.

BLAST dog at Dog Haus: Bacon, lettuce, avocado, Serranos, tomato

I had a BLAST, which involves bacon, avocado and Serrano chilis. I know, it looks like a lot of mayo, but the canine take on a BLT worked well with their large, meaty all-beef dog and a little extra relish.

Double dog dare at Dog Haus: jalapenos, cheese, grilled onions

Sam was very pleased with his Double Dog Dare, which had lots of jalapeno, cheese and grilled onions. Tater Tots tasted exactly like the ones my mom used to make from the frozen bag, which just fine for a nostalgic interlude. If you prefer, there's turkey and veggie dogs, and a choice of skinless or snap dogs. Starting out early? Try the breakfast-y Grand Slam Dog, with bacon, egg and tater tots.
Dog Haus is a fun stop for students, families and Pasadena workers, with just enough variety to keep people coming back.
Yay: Also on the menu: burgers, sausages, fries, chili cheese fries, sweet potato fries, chili. If you don't want to spend $5.95 for a hot dog, you can get a regular dog with a few toppings for $3-4.
Nay: Seems a tad pricey for a hot dog. All the special Haus Dogs are $5.95. In contrast to Slaw Dogs which has a too-flimsy bun, Dog Haus's Hawaiian bread bun is almost too big, sweet and bready.

Dog Haus

105 N Hill AvePasadena

(626) 577-4287

Cham Korean Bistro adds killer beer and wine, tapas too

What's the one thing you need most after sitting for ages on the 110 waiting for a huge tree to be cleared off the freeway like I did last night? It's gotta be a raspberry lambic float with vanilla ice cream, which you may now obtain at Cham Korean Bistro in Pasadena, courtesy of the casual modern Asian cafe's newly-minted beer and wine license. At a press preview dinner last night, we tried just about everything from Cham's new Korean tapas menu as well as their regular menu, along with selections from the small but very well-edited craft beer and wine list.
 
tofu pockets with spicy tuna, blue crab, seaweed,  and mizuna

A jumbo bottle of Lost Abbey Devotion helped my forget about the tree traffic, while HC tried the Maredsous, an unusual but delicious pairing with Korean food. Cham is one of the new-style Pasadena restaurants -- that is, ones that don't suck. I had lunch there earlier this year, but this was a great chance to try more of their menu of healthy casual Korean food. The tapas menu is priced well for nibbling with beer and includes bacon-wrapped Korean rice cakes, fried calamari tacos with kimchi, tempura green beans and ahi tuna with chimichurri sauce.
 
Cham's watermelon salad is an amazing deal at $5, with cool, crunchy watermelon paired with feta, figs and arugula.
 
For a main course, it's hard to choose between japchae (yam) noodles with vegetables and egg or bibimbap ($10), which comes with either beef, chicken, pork, ahi or tofu. If you need something even heartier, there's also bbq meat platters and Korean shortrib stew. For dessert, the afore-mentioned beer float is a must, or try rotating specials like pumpkin angel cake or creme fraiche cheesecake.
Located in an office building near the corner of Cordova and Lake, Cham is a handy place for local students and anyone looking to get away from the generalized mediocrity of Old Town.
Cham Korean Bistro 

851 Cordova St., Pasadena
626-792-2474
See more photos from Cham Korean Bistro on Flickr.

Urban Homestead on Private Chefs of Beverly Hills Friday

Check out the reality soap opera "Private Chefs of Beverly Hills" Friday night at 10 pm on the Food Network. It was shot at the Path to Freedom Urban Homestead, and among the diners trying out a vegetarian meal from the garden are Good Food's Evan Kleiman, author Amelia Saltsman, the L.A. Times' Jessica Gelt and me.

When we taped the show in January, it was a freezing cold, drizzly afternoon, but we enjoyed our lunch cooked by chefs Brian Hill and Manouschka Guerrier, which included fresh duck eggs, preserves from the Dervaes family pantry (below) and lasagna from the clay oven (above). The Dervaes family grows 6,000 lbs. of produce a year on their small urban lot near downtown Pasadena, and raises bees, chickens, ducks, rabbits and goats. It's an inspiring place even for air conditioning-using meat-eaters like me, and we learned a lot from chatting with the Dervaes family about why their vegetables have such intense flavors (it's the soil, of course) and lots more. If you want to know more about the homestead, check their blog and Facebook page. (For a family that uses olive oil to light their house, they're pretty plugged in.) 
(photos by Anais Dervaes)

Slaw Dogs: Pasadena takes baby steps to better food

The Picnic dog

ABLT Dog w/bacon

Belgian fries

Slaw Dogs is the latest entry in the fairly recent move to expand the definition of common foods -- from Cook's Tortas rainbow of tortas to the Counter's burger bar to the Kogi taco. It's a big step forward for Pasadena, which badly needs a culinary shot in the arm, especially in the low-to-medium end category. And Slaw Dogs has a truly impressive list of toppings and combos, from kimchi to truffle oil, from the Green Monster with green chili and spicy garlic salsa to the daily Market dog with toppings like kumquat chutney. While the basic beef dog is a reasonable $3.50, the toppings add up fairly fast, with most of the combo dogs from around $4.99 to $6.59. Add some fries and a hungry teenager, and lunch for the two of us was $22, but that's ok, it's all in the interest of research. I liked the bacon and avocado combo of the ABLT dog even more than my kumquat-laden market dog, which might have been better with grilled onions instead of rawish pickled ones. My natural casing "snap dog" didn't really snap, but it tasted like a good quality dog. Sam said the picnic dog worked better than he thought it might, marrying potato salad, bbq sauce and onion rings all on a hot dog. The fries looked really good, but they needed all the garlic and chipotle mayo to really give them flavor. Same with the onion rings -- good tasting breading, but it soaked up too much grease and got kind of soggy. And the bun -- subject of much discussion on Chowhound, I'm going to have to come down on the "way too small and flimsy for all these toppings" side.

Thai slaw dog with chicken sausage, spicy peanut-coconut satay dressing, cilantro-carrot slaw

The verdict? Slaw Dogs has lots of great ideas and between the chicken sausage, veggie dog, turkey dog and several beef and pork varieties as well as burgers and salads, there's something for everyone. Love the concept -- but the bun and some of the executions could use a little tweaking.
The Slaw Dogs
720 N. Lake Ave. #8
Pasadena
626-808-9777

Saladang Song: What took me so long?

A chicken omelette with soup was different than the usual Thai menu item...

Foodies sometimes seem to sniff at Pasadena's Saladang and Saladang Song -- so even though I've lived nearby for a year and a half, I wasn't rushing to try them. Plus, on nice summer nights, there's usually a large, off-putting crowd out front. But on a rainy Friday, though the restaurant was filled with several large groups of birthday celebrants (be ready for lots of singing and noisemakers), there were still two-tops available.
We definitely shouldn't have waited so long, since the food was a healthy cut above other Thai places in the area (don't even get me started on Patakan!).
I used to date a guy who always ordered the weirdest thing on the menu, whether it sounded good or not. Maybe that's what inspired me to order a Thai chicken omelette which comes with a cup of clear broth. Why? "Because the omelette is very dry," says the server. Not sure if that's a big selling point, but it's not bad, just not too exciting. For some reason I'm craving old-fashioned Polynesian-style spareribs, and Saladang Song's have a satisfyingly tangy sauce, but they're chewier than strictly necessary. The big winner is a zippy, creamy-sauced green chicken curry, that I'd definitely order again.
Though the service was a bit rushed and the prices higher than Hollywood and Silver Lake spots, that's not enough reason to avoid Saladang for as long as I did. We'll definitely be back to sample more items (corn fritters?), since there were a few things going to other tables that looked intriguing. Any suggestions? Any reason to go to Saladang instead of Saladang Song?

Cham Korean Bistro: Pasadena's clean New Year's eating

Korean rice cakes are starchy, but accompanied with cruciferous vegetables -- "colon's little brooms," says Mario Batali.

At the start of the year, it seems like everyone is suddenly vowing to start "eating clean," posting Facebook resolutions to give up sugar and twittering ambitious exercise plans.
Here's one place to start: Cham Korean Bistro, a five month-old Korean fusion spot. The clean-lined space is just off Lake St., so it qualifies for the cardinal rule of Pasadena eating: Try to get out of Old Town.
Order dishes like bibimbap or a ssam garden bbq platter with beef, chicken, pork or tuna at the counter, then choose a booth made from minimalist laquered plywood. I tried toppoki ($6), a fat cylindrical rice cake that's like a chewy Korean gnocchi, slicked with a sweet teriyaki-type sauce and mixed with either beef or vegetables. Several dishes have a unusual touch, like the big crab claw trying to climb out of my cup of miso soup ($3). Miles' bibimbap (above, $10) and Colleen's short rib Korean stew ($12) were fresh and colorful, but maybe a little more plain and healthy-tasting than in a typical Koreatown joint. Like many places in Pasadena, Cham seems a touch more pricey than it needs to be, but in this case at least there's a good reason: The owner, a garment business entrepreneur, runs the restaurant as a non-profit and donates most of the proceeds to developing countries. After our lunch, the server delivered a bonus slice of creme fraiche cheesecake with a really nice milky tang to it -- not particularly healthy, but worth the indulgence. Sure, you can eat cheaper in Koreatown, but this is clean, healthy food -- perfect for ushering in a vegetable-intensive 2010.
Cham Korean Bistro
851 Cordova St.
Pasadena
(626) 792-2474

Top Chef Finale: Hail the hometown hero!

crispy quail with pistachio cassoulet

I would give a tooth to eat at Cyrus restaurant in Healdsburg, where the Top Chef season 6 finale elimination meal was held. Oh wait, I did give a tooth today, and now I'm sipping red pepper soup while the finale goes down. Surprise! First, the other contestants return to help out as sous-chefs. Thank goodness, because I was worried I would never lay eyes on Ashley again. High-strung Michael immediately panics, proclaiming "I'd slit my throat" if he got someone he didn't like. But no one draws Robin, and by now we barely remember Preeti and Jesse, "a real workhorse."
For the first course, each chef must use the same rather incongruous ingredients in the mystery box: dungeness crab, rockfish, Kabocha squash, hyssop and matsutake mushrooms? Squash and seafood seems especially odd, I'm not even comfortable serving yams with salmon. Kevin is spending way too much time obsessing over Preeti not helping him enough.
The next morning, Kevin's mom and Mrs. Voltaggio show up to lend a little support, telling the brothers, "No matter what happens, you're still brothers," in case they were likely to forget and start throwing punches at the end of the show.
The next course is inspired by a childhood dish: Southern fried chicken skin with liquid squash casserole and tomato for Kevin, whose mom likes to eat crunchy chicken skin by itself (just like me!)
Bryan cleverly riffs on his mom's tuna casserole with sardine, German butterball potato, heirloom tomato and bread crumbs.
The big surprise is that Michael was a super-picky eater as a kid who didn't like anything, especially broccoli. So he challenges himself with a dish of dehydrated broccoli, fried broccoli and spot prawn, but the judges find the shrimp less than riveting.
The moms nervously judge the first course, along with a crew of restaurant notables including Sam Nazarian and Drew Nieporent. Mrs. Voltaggio bravely admits she's never tasted a sardine, and then the moms are dismissed for the rest of the judging.
Judgingthe Mystery box course, Bryan's fish with squash curry had a happy sunny look, but the judges liked Michael's sweet and sour crab salad with squash and Meyer lemon tasted better.
The Chef's choice dish was their chance to spread their chefly wings and each dude chose something fairly representative of his personality:
Southern-fried Kevin shows he's most comfortable in the rooting around in kingdom of pig, though his pork belly dish falls a snout short.
Cocky Bryan tries to show his trendy, macho side, explaining that he hunts to "get more in tune with his ingredients," so he chooses venison with sunchokes.
Michael has been a bit of a sissy all the way through, despite his superior attitude, so it's no surprise he chooses a foofy dish like squab breast with pistachio cassoulet.
(Trying to find out how pistachios can make a cassoulet, I stumbled across this chef's blog Ping Island Strike, with some great molecular experiments.)
And now it's time for something sweet, after all those nasty glares the last few weeks.
Kevin returns to bacon perhaps too compulsively, offering chocolate bacon mousse with roasted banana and bacon brittle. Not all the judges are fans of porcine puddings, so bummer for Kevin.
I'd eat that: Bryan's sheep's milk dulce de leche cheesecake with fig sorbet is "subtle and sophisticated," say the judges, and I would agree that it looks best to me.Michael pairs butternut squash ice cream with molten chocolate caramel cake (above), which sounds like a mistake already, but when he overcooks the cake, that seals it.
It doesn't really matter though, since I've said since the beginning, this whole season seemed to be leading up to a brother vs. brother battle.
The chefs are asked to explain why they should be chosen as Top Chef, and Michael admits, "I just don't want Brian to be Top Chef."
After Kevin is eliminated, Michael says "We both cooked our hearts out." Well, it's better than cooking your ass off, I guess.
And just like that, the moms are back on stage, tears flowing, and Michael Voltaggio is Top Chef, season 6.
He'll be cooking at the Dining Room at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena at least through April...though the Dining Room closes in the spring for some freshening up.
And here's the Voltaggio brothers' new website, if you want to leave a congratulatory comment.

Michael Voltaggio: Why the Langham Dining Room?

"Top Chef" contestant Michael Voltaggio is quickly cementing a reputation as an arrogant, bad loser, despite his artistic food creations. But whatever his TV persona, his opinions about taking the job at the Langham hotel Dining Room are refreshingly direct in the latest issue of Pasadena Magazine.
“My first impression was no. I don’t want to go back and work in an old hotel, in an old dining room,” he tells writer/editor Linda Immediato, who is even more candid in her description: "The Dining Room feels like Grandma’s house. It has an air of mothballs. And it certainly doesn’t match Voltaggio’s sultry, intellectual and playful modern cuisine."
But after "Top Chef," Voltaggio decided to ride out the renovation planned for next year and see what happens. What will he do while the restaurant's being renovated? He has said he'd consider another TV job at some point, if it had the right focus.
If you want to read Jonathan Gold's article on Pasadena dining, you'll have to buy the print edition.

Michael Voltaggio moves from Top Chef's kitchen to the Dining Room

We like the spoon tattoo, Michael!

That's the Dining Room at the Langham Huntington Hotel, where previous chef Craig Strong netted a Michelin star. The 100-year old Huntington Hotel is a lovely, but staid place, but it's getting a one-two punch of new energy. First salvo is appointing 30-year old Michael Voltaggio, who helped The Bazaar net four stars from S. Irene. Voltaggio and his brother Bryan will both be competing on the new season of Top Chef: Las Vegas starting Wednesday, so that should be interesting. Second, the Dining Room is set to close Jan. 1, 2009 for a three to four month renovation and "repositioning" to freshen things up a bit.

A truffled brioche: not molecular, just utterly delicious. Why isn't there a truffled brioche truck?

We were invited to try some of Voltaggio's creations for the Dining Room last night -- here's a few of his ideas, many reminiscent of the Bazaar:

- Yellowtail was paired with watermelon and topped with a briny-tasting "sea sponge" -- kind of a a cross between a marshmallow and a mousse.

- Octopus (left) rested on a puree with a "buttered popcorn" flavor -- the crunchy, tangy-sweet slice of punched-out piquillo pepper made it fun.

- Turbot (right) was topped with crunchy tomato granola, which worked well with the mild fish.


- Lamb confit was paired with silky pickled lamb tongue, both cooked sous-vide.


- Suckling pig (below) was a very refined take on the rustic dish, topped with a salty dish of...pork skin?



- Chocolately coffee-flavored minicakes were topped with espresso mousse frozen with liquid nitrogren, with lemon curd sauce providing a welcome tart foil to the chocolate.

Sommelier Matthew Lathan picked out some fascinating pairings for our meal, including one course with Unibroue 17 Strong Dark Ale. I particularly liked Paringa's sparkling shiraz with the chocolate dessert.

Stay tuned for the Voltaggio brothers "Top Chef" debut Wednesday on Bravo!

Eating L.A. visits Heidar Baba, while the NY Times goes Persian too

Last Friday, we celebrated my son's 18th birthday at Pasadena's Heidar Baba. He chose the Persian restaurant because he had served their kebabs during his report on Iran at Pasadena City College across the street. Portions are Heidar Baba are huge, and the grilled meats are quite good. I can't run photos of fesenjon chicken, because it looks like brown mud, but although the pomegranate and nut flavors weren't quite bright enough the first day, the leftovers were excellent. Service was on the poky side, but Heidar Baba is still a solid choice for takeout or a pre-Bulgarini Gelato meal.
The New York Times also visited L.A.'s Persian enclave this weekend, and in addition to the usual Westwood stops, the writer of Persian Cooking Finds a Home in Los Angeles visits the lesser-known It's All Good House of Kebab in Reseda.

Bulgarini's wonderful raw milk gelato discovered by the gelato detective

Bulgarini Gelato: Don't forget to ask about the unmarked flavors

It helps to be really persistent to find out what's good at Bulgarini Gelato Artigianale. First, you need to make the commitment to drive several miles north of Pasadena to the sleepy town of Altadena, where Bulgarini shares a small shopping center with Rite-Aid. "It feels like we're on vacation in another city," says my son, and indeed, it feels like we're in Palm Springs or somewhere far outside L.A.
You can order coffee or chocolate gelato right away, as my kids do, or if, like me, you're a gelato detective, you can patiently ask for tastes of three or four unmarked gelati at the rear of the case. If you do, you will be rewarded with a delicately floral white tea/jasmine tea gelato which was the perfect finish our rich Persian dinner at Heidar Baba.
Even better, though, is the raw milk lime gelato that Leo Bulgarini was serving when we were there on Friday evening. He explained that it's safe for anyone because he lightly pasteurizes the raw milk, which he gets at Whole Foods. Apparently the DIY pasteurization is enough to kill the germs, but not the flavor of the fresh milk. In Italy, there are at least half a dozen types of "plain" gelato. There's vanilla, of course, and zabiglione with eggs and marsala, and crema with eggs. But the most pure is fior di latte, the flower of milk. Bulgarini infused his raw milk fior di latte with a hint of lime zest, which brings a subtle citrusy note without overpowering the grassy flavor of the fresh milk. Chocolate orange gelato was also intense and perfectly balanced. I'm not sure how I would feel about a whole cup of the olive oil yogurt flavor -- I love salty flavors but I'm not sure it works with the tart yogurt.
Unless you're my ex-husband or Jonathan Gold, Bulgarini probably isn't very convenient. But raw milk lime gelato isn't found on just any old street corner, so it's well worth the trip.
Bulgarini Gelato Artigianale
749 E. Altadena Dr. (near Lake)
Altadena
(626) 791-6174

Tibet Nepal is as exotic as it gets in Old Town Pasadana

steamed chicken momos

Eating at Tibet Nepal House for the first time, I couldn't help but imagine how cool it would be if the cozy storefront was a real Nepalese themed restaurant: The power would only be turned on for alternate evenings, grimy urchins would make the rounds selling Chiclets, while a huge dessert menu would offer apple strudel and German chocolate cake to stoned backpackers. Oh, right, we're in Pasadena here, not Katmandu. vegetable curry sampler

Old Town Pasadena is decidedly less exotic, but while it has a reputation as a restaurant wasteland, Tibet Nepal House is sufficiently quirky and ethnic to make it worth a try if you're in the neighborhood. With Tibetan prayer flags and some bronze buddhas, there's a bit of ambiance to help you forget all the surrounding chain stores. And what's not to like about a place with a large "We serve yak!" placard at the entrance. Actually, we weren't in the mood for yak, nor for thukpa, the sturdy roasted wheat pasta native to Tibet. So we started with the steamed chicken momo dumplings, basically like Chinese dumplings with Indian dipping sauces. I had a daal-bhaat takkari plate, basically the same vegetable curry sampler as in an Indian restaurant, but the spiced cabbage had a different flavor than an Indian dish. Matt tried Tibetan chicken phing (above), quite a tasty noodle dish reminiscent of pansit. The menu at Tibet Nepal is huge, divided into Nepal cuisine which is quite similar to Indian but a little heartier and heavier for the cold winter nights; and the doughier Tibetan cuisine. I'm not sure which country the goat fried rice hails from. OK, we skipped the butter tea also, so I guess we missed some of the native specialties, but at least returning to Old Town will be a lot easier than a trip to Nepal. Matt likes fictional beasts, so he had to try a Yeti beer, which went well with the mildly spiced food.
The best part: The noodles with some sriracha made a wonderful lunch the next day at work. Prices aren't rock bottom here, due to the location, but we had a lot of food plus a Yeti for about $45.
Tibet Nepal House
36 Holly St.
Pasadena