Monthly Archives: September 2011

From the South Lake Avenue website: 

On Saturday, October 15th from 11:00am – 4:00pm, enjoy mouth-watering offerings from the restaurants of South Lake Avenue and browse showcases from other South Lake Avenue businesses.

This FREE outdoor festival will be held at the Corporate Center Pasadena located at 251 S. Lake Avenue, Pasadena and offers:

• RAFFLE PRIZES
• LIVE MUSIC
• BEER & WINE GARDEN
• FREE ADMISSION

SPECIAL LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCES BY:

• 12:00pm DUSTBOWL REVIVAL – A rowdy Venice-based roots collective that skillfully mixes New Orleans swing, mountain bluegrass and jug-blues into a lethal Americana cocktail.
• 1:00pm JESSICA FICHOT – A delicious blend of French chanson, gypsy jazz and international folk – which she performs armed with her accordion, toy piano and multilingual vocals, and backed by her fiery band. “Delightful.” – L.A. Weekly
•  2:00pm ORGONE - With a rooted sense of funk, soul, afrobeat, deep rhythms and an intimate understanding of dj culture as well as each others’ individual talents, Orgone seamlessly slides through multiple styles and dynamic performances.
• 2:00pm – 3:00pm - Live cooking demo at Williams-Sonoma – Chef Claud Beltran of Noir Food & Wine.PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS & BUSINESSES INCLUDE:
  • Café 140 South
  • Carmody & Co.
  • Celestino Ristorante & Bar
  • Contessa Italian Home Collection
  • Corner Bakery Café
  • Fresh & Easy
  • Jamba Juice
  • Jersey Mike’s
  • Lemonade
  • Little Kuts
  • Lockheed Federal Credit Union
  • Magnolia Lounge
  • National University
  • Pasasdena Chamber of Commerce
  • Peet’s Coffee & Tea
  • Plaza Cafe
  • Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill
  • SanSai Japanese Grill
  • Sharky’s Woodfired Mexican Grill
  • Souplantation
  • Starbucks
  • The Counter
  • The Strength Shoppe
  • Wahoo’s Fish Tacos
  • Williams-Sonoma
  • Wine Detective 
  • Mr. Pasadena says:  Taste of South Lake will not let you down!  Great music, good food and a LIVE cooking demo by chef Claud Beltran, you can’t wrong!  So mark your calendars and meet me in Pasadena down on South Lake on Oct. 15^thfrom 11am to 4pm. You will be glad you did. 
  • View SLIDESHOW of Taste of South Lake 2010!This year’s Taste of South Lake will be held in conjuntion with Pasadena’s Art Weekend held on October 14, 15, & 16.  For more information regarding Art Weekend, please visit Pasadena Art Weekend.

From the Pasadena Arts Council website: Pasadena has always been a city of art and science, the two intertwined with its identity like the strands of DNA sought by Linus Pauling at Caltech in the 1950s.  There are larger cities in the world, but few if any are better characterized by the impact of art and science or able to replicate Pasadena’s extraordinary blend of institutions engaged in those two explorations.

Since 1999, arts and science institutions in Pasadena have been collaborating on a festival series which celebrates this unique heritage.  Now produced by Pasadena Arts Council, the AxS Festival will bring together some of the area’s most engaging and influential arts, cultural, and research institutions to offer performances, exhibitions, presentations, public conversations, and more to the city of Pasadena for a 16-day celebration of arts and sciences in October 2011, under the unified theme “Fire and Water,” 

With the support, in part, of generous grants from the James Irvine Foundation, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the City of Pasadena and the National Endowment for the Arts, PAC has launched the “Fire and Water” Commissioning Initiative to create and present four new art projects for premiere at AxS 2011. 

All AxS commissions will respond to the 2011 festival theme, “Fire and Water,” and will reflect the distinct identity of Pasadena as a city where art and science enjoy a rare symbiosis.  AxS 2011 will celebrate and showcase this key aspect of Pasadena’s identity, highlighting the breadth and depth of its many arts and cultural institutions, as well as leading science and research institutions.  PAC has chosen the elemental theme of “Fire and Water,” for its great resonance with both art and science, and provocative relevance to the landscape and ecosystem of the Southern California region.

For more information on the 2011 AxS Festival click here.

Let’s forget for a minute that El Portal is one of the best Mexican food restaurants in Pasadena. Instead let’s focus on their annual tequila tasting held each year around the “El Grito” (which is the celebration of Mexico’s independence from Spain). El Portal sets the standard for how to have a tequila tasting. I’ve looked high and low in Southern California but nothing compares to excellence that El Portal has achieved over the many years of hosting this event.

This past September 15^thbecame their best tequila tasting ever.  The event featured 25 tequila vendors each with all grades of their tequila, over 10 different appetizers, 12 raffle prizes and mariachis filled the air with music. The crowd was buzzing with friends meeting up and people making new friends.  The smell of delicious Mexican food filled the air like only El Portal can do.  I was later informed that close to 400 people attended the event (up from the 300 who attended last year).  It always felt like there were a ton of people around, but it never seemed like it was over crowded. 

So let me thank those of you that took time out of your busy schedule and showed up on a Thursday night. It meant a lot to me that you came out in force to support Mr. Pasadena and to support a great event.  I know from the feedback that it will not be too hard to convince you to come again next year.  Abel Ramirez (owner of El Portal), his son Armando (owner of Yahaira’s cafe) , Ramon Arellano (general manager of El Portal)  all wanted me to thank you for making this the best year ever.    I also wanted to thank my photographer Brian Carter.  He came through in clutch and took some amazing photos and an outstanding multi-media slideshow. If you need a professional photographer, he is worth every penny; I suggest you contact him for your next event. He can be reached @ http://pixelthatphotos.com/ . Tell him Mr. Pasadena sent you!

As you saw above, I have attached the slideshow here in the hopes that I can convince all those that didn’t make it that this is one of the top 7 events that you must attend in Pasadena each year. The El Portal tequila tasting event seems to get better each year and to my readers I promise to blog about it and give you a heads up that it’s coming. Ok?  Great!  Cheers to you and Cheers to El Portal on another great tequila tasting! 

Wheel Foods Wednesday really took me by surprise.  I truly did not understand how excited the Pasadena community and the social network would become over a food truck rally. Whether you were invited by Mr. Pasadena or you were told by a friend that they should really go and try it out, you went and you told more of your friends to go until this little food truck rally exploded into a Weekly food truck festival of great food, great music and great fun.

 I have to hand it to Chuck B. Jones and Jones Coffee for implementing the idea to roll out Wheel Food Wednesday. WFW made summer fun for adults.  It made the hump day a fun day. Where else in Pasadena could you take a few chairs outdoors, eat some gourmet grub and chill out to great music? “It seemed to break us out of our rut and smile again.” said Hector Chavez a constant patron of WFW. “All you could see were happy adults, happy kids and happy pets. It was truly one of the best things to happen to Pasadena and we are all happier because of it.”

Sadly all good things must come to an end.  Jones Coffee is hosting its last WFW for the summer tonight (starting @ 5:30pm). Will it come back next year?  I spoke briefly with Chuck Jones and he is very excited about WFW returning sometime in the spring, he even entertained the thought that WFW will be back for some intermittent holiday events, but rather than bleed it dry he is going to let it rest and be fresh for next year. Chuck noted that WFW truly exceeded all his expectations and thanks all of WFW hundreds of followers on Twitter and Facebook. Chuck also wanted to send a special thank you to Molly Taylor (top cookie over at the Sweets Truck).  Without Molly none of this could have been.

Well thank you Chuck! Thank you Molly! And thank you all for coming out to Wheel Food Wednesdays.  Hope to see you all there tonight for one last gourmet bite! Until next year, Chuck, Cheers!

Goorin Brothers site says:  Goorin arrives at yet another historic location in California: Old Town, Pasadena. Our hatters are proud to adorn your crown with one of our signature hats to prepare you for your walk through the historic streets, novel alleyways, rustic brick façades, and architectural accents Old Town has to offer. Originally a business district, the neighborhood is alive again with open-air eateries, specialty boutiques, galleries, theaters and antique shops—a skillful blend of old and new that we at Goorin can relate to.  Address:   49 W Colorado Blvd  Pasadena, CA 91105  Hours: Mon. – Sat. 10am-9pm  Sun. 11am-7pm   Phone: (626) 440-1895

Mr.Pasadena says : Goorin Brothers have been making hats since 1895.  No doubt they will be  a great addition to Old Town Pasadena and with 116 years of experience at making hats. It’s safe to say that they know a thing or two about hats.  Personally,  I look forward to finding and purchasing “the” official hat of Mr. Pasadena” at Goorin Brothers. 

My advice? It’s simple. Take some time during your weekend visit to Old Town Pasadena to visit Goorin Bros. and try on a few hats, you might find a few that really complement your style. Besides sooner or later everyone needs a hat. Why not just add it to your Old Town Pasadena to do list?

Drive on down to Old Town Pasadena and…

1. Grab some lunch and watch the game at Kings Row
2. After game nosh on something sweet from 21 Choices.
3. Stop in to Goorin Bros. for new “me” hat.
4. Hang out and catch Columbiana at Gold Class Cinemas

You see? Lunch, sweets, new hat and a movie. All here waiting for you in Pasadena.

Cheers and have a great weekend! Hope to see you in Pasadena real soon.

From the Old Pasadena website:

Old Pasadena Locals Only Thursdays

Every Thursday for the month of September and October Old Pasadena merchants are offering special discounts and promotions to Pasadena residents as well as those who work in Pasadena during Old Pasadena’s Locals Only Thursdays.  Receive exclusive savings and giveaways at more than 50 of Old Pasadena’s finest retailers, restaurants, spas and beauty salons! Just show your driver’s license or business card.

To take a look at all of the wonderful promotions our merchants and restaurants are offering you, please visit: http://www.oldpasadena.org/localsonly/

Mr. Pasadena says ” Dining, Shopping and Spa and Beauty salons all discounted for locals on Thursday?!”  Well they finally got it right. Three Cheers for locals only Thursdays ( and to those who work in Pasadena too)!