DINING

BAKERY OF THE YEAR

Le Pain Quotidien
88 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 396-0956 | www.lepainquotidien.com
Traditional recipes made from organically sourced flours create a host of fancy sandwiches, deluxe breads and a heavenly array of 16 pastries. Communal tables enable patrons to sample new friends as well as new flavors at this franchise of the French bistro chain that Old Pasadena diners have embraced as their own.

RUNNER-UP
Euro Pane Bakery
950 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 577-1828
This tiny bakery has a huge reputation, thanks to healthy treats low in fat, sugar and dairy products. Its stunning chocolates draw long lines of appreciative fans.

BEST RESTAURANT

Gale’s
452 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena | (626) 432-6705 | www.galesrestaurant.com
No less than TV chef Elmer Dills sings its praises as special, and with an open kitchen enabling diners to see Tuscan-style steak cooked to order in a pizza oven, lamb chops and exotic fish of the day, it’s easy to see why. Ten types of pasta, flavorful sauces and lots of veggies make an outing hearty and healthy.

Runner-up
Parkway Grill
510 S. Arroyo Pkwy., Pasadena | (626) 795-1001 www.theparkwaygrill.com
Often called “the Spago of Pasadena,” it’s upheld the standard for sophistication with classy cuisine like seared muscovy duck breast and pan-seared Lake Superior whitefish.

BEST NEW RESTAURANT

Il Capo
1001 E. Green St., Pasadena | (626) 683-0550
Relax in this neighborhood joint, where an extensive Argentinian and Spanish menu offers tapas, excellent empanadas and perfect paellas. Even better, it’s affordable, as two dinners, two glasses of wine and some lemonade all cost just $40.

Runner-up
The Vault Bar & Grill
2675 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 683-3344
www.thevaultpasadena.com
Appetizers like Vault beer-steamed mussels lead the way to everything from sushi to sandwiches and seafood, proving the Vault holds the secret to a great meal.

BEST BARBECUE

Gus’s
808 Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena | (626) 799-3251 | www.gussbbq.com
Since 1946, Gus’s has survived even earthquakes to bring earth-shattering tastes ranging from “Gator Egg” appetizers (jalapeños with cream cheese and ranch dressing) and a dozen sides to Gus’s own original sauce. It’s old school, but it’ll teach you how down-home cooking is really done.

Runner-up
Barn Burner
1000 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena | (626) 403-7427
www.barnburnerbbq.com
Texas-style barbecue served up in an actual barn-like structure, along with hot country bands. Big platters will make sure your group will barely be able to exit.

BEST BREAKFAST

Julienne
2649 Mission St., San Marino | (626) 441-2299 | www.juliennetogo.com
This stylish sidewalk café offers luxury French bistro fare including open-faced omelets with chicken sausage, Gruyère, tomatoes, rosemary-roasted potatoes and spinach-crusted quiche Provençal. Add in French toast made from baked crème brûléée or bread pudding and chocolate waffles with honey-vanilla crème fraîche and breakfast will truly get your motor running.

Runner-up
Marston’s
151 E. Walnut St., Pasadena | (626) 796-2459
www.marstonsrestaurant.com
There are always people lined up outside this cottage-style restaurant, and after eating its French toast coated in corn flakes or massive Powerhouse Omelets,
you’ll know why.

BEST BUFFET

Burger Continental
535 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 792-6634 | www.burgercontinental.com
Take the spacious and airy dining area, add in a bodacious salad bar, loads of Mediterranean meats and a tasty array of burger toppings, and you’ve got a healthy and hearty combination. Drop by on Monday and Tuesday nights and add the goofy fun of one of the area’s most popular karaoke stages.

Runner-up
Ritz-Carlton, Huntington Hotel & Spa
1401 S. Oak Knoll Ave., Pasadena | (626) 568-3900 | www.ritzcarlton.com
Sunday brunch can’t be beat in the Terrace Restaurant’s glamorous setting, where you’ll find the $75 champagne brunch with made-to-order omelets, crepes and beignets well worth the money.

BEST BUSINESS LUNCH

Smitty’s
110 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 792-9999 | www.smittysgrill.com
Down-home dishes like chicken pot pie and mac and cheese with ham share the menu with upscale fare like short ribs Osso Bucco style to create a friendly mood that will ease open any checkbook. In this classy atmosphere you have the perfect recipe for a memorable meal that could lead to memorable deals.

Runner-up
Houston’s
320 S. Arroyo Pkwy., Pasadena | (626) 577-6001 | www.hillstone.com
Big booths, bustling business and dim lighting complement gigantic steaks and salads that could feed a family and transform any squabble into a lasting agreement.

BEST CHEAP EATS

Top’s
1792 E. Walnut St., Pasadena | (626) 584-0244
3838 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 449-4412 | www.topsburger.com
You can’t leave here hungry. Not with 14 burgers, 13 Mexican dishes, 17 sandwiches, three types of hot dogs, seven salads and 12 types of breakfast on the menu, all for under six bucks. Charbroiled chicken plates, rib-eye steak plates, fish & chips and chicken strips add hearty heft at dinner for just a little bit more.

Runner-up
In-N-Out Burger
2114 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena | (800) 786-1000 | www.in-n-out.com
There’s a reason cars are lined up for blocks 15 hours a day: the double-double cheeseburger, which has earned a reputation as one of the tastiest burgers from any fast-food chain around.

BEST DELI

Pasadena Sandwich Company
259 Sierra Madre Villa Ave., Pasadena | (626) 578-1616
www.pasadenasandwichcompany.com
You can take a tasty tour of America via such sandwiches as the Chicago and the Virginian, but the real claim to fame here is the Trust the Cook sandwich. For $7.25, you’re promised a big sandwich but the chef gets to keep it a surprise.

Runner-up
Vince’s Deli
111 W. California Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 792-7149
Call ahead with your order or risk the long lines, but either way the Famous Deli sandwich on French roll is what word of mouth is made for.

BEST Dessert

21 Choices
85 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 304-9521 | www.21choices.com
It’s no wonder this place has some of the longest lines in the city, since it changes its incredible array of yogurt flavors daily. One recent day featured Just Peachy, Valrhona Chocolate, Blushing Oreo (Oreo & strawberries), and vanilla roasted almond. Toss in nuts, fruits and candies mixed right before your eyes and go straight to heaven.

Runner-up
Cold Stone Creamery
330 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 440-0140
415 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 440-7060
5047 Eagle Rock Blvd., Eagle Rock | (323) 255-5882
7 Kersting Court, Sierra Madre | (626) 355-7000
901 W. Glenoaks Blvd., Glendale | (818) 246-1000 | www.coldstonecreamery.com
Nearly 20 years after its founding, the 1,400-store chain has staked a claim to the tastebuds of Pasadena-area fans thanks to its
11 million-plus combinations.

BEST FAMILY RESTAURANT

Buca di Beppo
80 W. Green St., Pasadena | (626)792-7272 | www.bucadibeppo.com
Family values here put faith in fundamentals: Sinatra and Martin on the sound system, vintage family photos on the wall posing with Italian icons like DiMaggio and Loren, and overflowing, rich southern Italian food platters designed for sharing. You’ll need a New York boarding-house reach to beat others to the paunch.

Runner-up
Gale’s Restaurant
452 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena | (626) 432-6705 www.galesrestaurant.com
Like its cellar of wine, fine Italian foods and intimate family relations are treasured.
Even casual acquaintances are made to feel like they’re attending a family reunion.

BEST HEALTH FOOD

Whole Foods
3751 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 351-5994
331 N. Glendale Ave., Glendale | (818) 548-3695 | www.wholefoods.com
Whole Foods already has some of the best organic foods around, but if you want to spare yourself the cooking time, take a seat at one of the in-store cafes and enjoy a meal made just for you. Fans of the megastores can also pick up pre-made meals to go, giving them options to keep them healthy on the fly.

Runner-up
Souplantation
201 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 577-4798 | www.souplantation.com
Come for the enormous salad bar, stay for the delicious soup selections, the potpourri of pastas and pizzas, and even the delicious desserts. You get an amazing amount of food for an amazingly low price.

BEST HOTEL DINING

Ritz-Carlton,
Huntington Hotel & Spa
1401 S. Oak Knoll Ave., Pasadena | (626) 568-3900 | www.ritzcarlton.com
With three restaurants to choose from on palatial grounds in the midst of one of Pasadena’s swankiest neighborhoods, the Ritz-Carlton offers an abundance of atmosphere to accentuate the finest meals. Hottest tip of the week is the $75 champagne brunch, but you can bring the kids for a “mere” $35.

Runner-up
Ventana’s (at the Westin Hotel)
191 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena | (626) 792-2727
California casual dining just walking distance from the heart of Old Pasadena puts hotel visitors at the heart of the action and in place for a truly tasty meal.

BEST INDEPENDENT COFFEE HOUSE

Buster’s Coffee Shop
1006 Mission St., South Pasadena | (626) 441-0744
The funky, fun atmosphere with a cozy and seemingly secretive upstairs room offers everything from hot coffees to chilled smoothies, plus ice cream that can make for a life-saving stop off the Gold Line on a hot summer’s day. If you’re looking for the antidote to corporate coffeehouses, this is a perfect alternative.

Runner-up
Equator
22 Mills Place, Pasadena | (626) 564-8656
A massive redesign has replaced yesterday’s funky feeling at this Old Pasadena institution with a sleek atmosphere, but the hookah pipes still lure tons of regulars looking to get wired in more ways than one.

BEST INDEPENDENT ICE CREAM SHOP

21 choices
85 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 304-9521 www.21choices.com
This local favorite manages to outdraw the giant ice cream chains with creative flavors, a funny staff, fun music and video screens to keep you entertained during the long waits (which are well worth it), proving this is the place to be for the sweet stuff in Old Town.

Runner-up
Fosselman’s
1824 W. Main St., Alhambra | (626) 282-6533
www.fosselmans.com
This has been the public home base of the regional ice cream empire since 1941, offering specialty and seasonal flavors in an old-style atmosphere that draws in fans who take home extras.

BEST JUICE BAR

Jamba Juice
64 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 666-1500
204 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 744-5200
3595 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 351-4333
3751 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 351-5994
1101 Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena | (626) 799-1775
745 W. Naomi Ave., Arcadia | (626) 446-9483
5053 Eagle Rock Blvd., Eagle Rock | (323) 349-0670
1131 S. Fremont Ave., Alhambra | (626) 588-2490
138 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale | (818) 550-0922 www.jambajuice.com
If you’re looking for an icy, flavorful and heartily healthy drink, this is the place for you. Plenty of fruity combinations offer a vitamin boost to your day while energy and protein boosts are available for free. It’s worth walking in just to take a big whiff of what smells like an orange grove right in the heart of the city.

Runner-up
Juice It Up
390 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 395-0145
165 N. Hill Ave., Pasadena | (626) 793-3344
442 Foothill Blvd., La Canada-Flintridge www.juiceitup.com
Fruit smoothies, fresh juices and organic coffees offer visitors the chance to start their day in a healthy way, or receive a pick-me-up anytime they feel the need for a natural jolt.

BEST INDEPENDENT BURGER STAND

Tops Restaurants
1792 E. Walnut St., Pasadena | (626) 585-0244
3838 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 449-4412 | www.topsburger.com
In the crowded circuit of convenience foods, Tops, as the name implies, is ahead of the rest by providing fast-served but painstakingly prepared specialties like first-quality pastrami streaked with just enough fat for flavor, gourmet burgers, classic chili and jumbo onion rings, buttermilk-dunked and deep-fried to a blistered crunchiness.

RUNNER-UP(TIE)
Pie ‘N Burger
913 E. California Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 795-1123 | www.pienburger.com
Michael Osborn, owner: “Haven’t changed the recipe for burgers and pies since 1963. Change in restaurant business is certain; progress is not.”
Wolfe Burgers
46 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 792-7292 | www.wolfeburgers.com
As perhaps the only restaurant extant that serves a fine glass of Chardonnay with a great hamburger and other popular fast foods, it surely deserves this toast.

BEST LATE-NIGHT SNACK

Wokcano
33 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena | (626) 578-1818 | www.wokcanocafe.com
What a surprise treat for last-call bar crowds, and their support groups, to have a place during haunting hours with food that really ticks. Wee-hour chefs somehow manage to buckle down to impressive cooking that rises from communal snacking plates and sushi to succulent dishes like pan-roasted lobster and honey-walnut shrimp.

Runner-up
In-N-Out Burgers
2114 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena | 800-786-1000 | www.in-n-out.com
Suggesting that you “stop after” a movie or game for a burger at any other place will get your pals rolling in the aisle with laughter.

BEST LOCAL PIZZA JOINT

Avanti Cafe
111 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 577-4688 | www.avanticafe.com
In the early 1990s, boldly going where no pizza had gone before, Avanti started turning out designer pizza provisioned with ingredients like goat cheese and duck sausage. Barely out of the box, it was an instant success and a slew of Best Gourmet awards ensued. Now, exultant in stylish innovation, our readers say it’s the Best Pizza period — the new standard.

Runner-up
Manny’s Pizzeria
16 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena | (626) 795-7330 | www.mannyspizzeria.com
This excellent Italian restaurant builds a following by making pizza the way founding fathers in New York say it’s supposed to be made: with hand-tossed dough and fresh, premium mozzarella.

BEST OUTDOOR DINING

Twin Palms Restaurant
101 W. Green St., Pasadena | (626) 577-2567 | www.twin-palms.com
Its hovering white canopy solves our most challenging outdoor dining problem: waiters scrambling to rearrange umbrellas to confront the ever-changing positions of the sun. By day, the setting romanticizes lunches like Mediterranean platters for two. Come evening, the tent creates a smiling reception for musical events, big parties and big plates.

RUNNER-UP(TIE)
Cafe Santorini
64 W. Union Ave., Pasadena | (626) 564-4200 | www.cafesantorini.com
With swirling Mediterranean meze appetizer plates glinting in the moonlight and a view
of the One Colorado plaza below, balcony patio dining abounds in associations global
and picturesque.

Mike & Anne’s
1040 Mission St., South Pasadena | (626) 799-7199 | www.mikeandannes.com
This is American regional cuisine, with multicultural inflections and served in a Spanish Mission setting, that brings on the best of three worlds: familiarity, discovery and reminiscence.

BEST SEAFOOD

Cameron’s Seafood
1978 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 793-3474 | www.camerons4fish.com
Myriad fresh daily catches, seasoned just so and wood-fire grilled, evoke raptures too deep for words to describe. And a net is spread for impressive crustacean collections, moderately priced. As much as the tide brings in, it’s the time taken over dishes like oysters Rockefeller and Maine lobster thermidor that draws the crowds.

Runner-up
McCormick & Schmick’s
111 N. Los Robles Ave., Pasadena | (626) 405-0064 | www.mccormickandschmicks.com
With classic Greene & Greene design, it becomes the luxury liner of the fishing fleet with a captain’s table kitchen preparing as many as 30 fresh fish arriving daily.

BEST SODA FOUNTAIN

Fair Oaks Pharmacy
1526 Mission St., South Pasadena | (626) 799-1414 www.fairoakspharmacy.net
Splits, phosphates, rickeys, egg creams, chocolate sodas, grilled cheese and Coney Island hot dogs could not be garnished in more nostalgically favorable surroundings than this fountain with red leather and chrome stools. Nearby stands a candy counter with yellow packets of Abba Zaba, in a drugstore with amber bottles with glass stoppers.

Runner-up
Johnny Rockets
52 Hugus Alley (One Colorado Courtyard), Pasadena (626) 793-6570 | www.johnnyrockets.com
The name may sound like a rock star’s or a ride in an amusement park, but smiles and cheers come from exciting ice cream creations and sandwiches.

BEST SOUL FOOD

Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘n Waffles
830 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 791-4890 | www.roscoeschickenandwaffles.com
After reveling in a No. 3 Special — four pieces of chicken and two secret-battered waffles, oozing
with whipped butter and house-made syrup —
no cravings for Big Easy-style breakfasts will ever again be satisfied with any simpler arrangement. The restaurant is a picture of the South, framed
and glazed.

Runner-up
Big Mama’s Rib Shack
1453 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 797-1792 | www.bigmamas-ribshack.com
Heirloom recipes like molasses pork spare ribs from Emma Sue’s — “Big Mama” — family album, will leave bite marks on your soul.

BEST SPECIAL OCCASION DINING

The Parkway Grill
510 S. Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena | (626) 795-1001| www.theparkwaygrill.com
For more than two decades, it has been the meeting ground for important business arrangements, and a stepping-out place for other significant engagements. Whether it’s business dealing, friendship keeping, promise observing, comings or goings away, Parkway has just the right sense of finesse to meet your needs.

Runner-up
The Raymond
1250 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena | (626) 441-3136 www.theraymond.com
Through the years, it has been the place where very particular people on a mission congregate and surrender wholly to the charms of a vine-webbed, rose-trellised old house, set in a wooded glade.

BEST STEAKHOUSE

Arroyo Chop House
536 S. Arroyo Pkwy., Pasadena | (626) 577-7463 | www.arroyochophouse.com
The moment inevitably comes when reason says to appetite, “I feel like a steak,” and smart people always return to this scene of the prime. Here, every steak in the house is USDA-aged, grain-fed prime. Matched against lesser grades of beef, it is like comparing Elsie, the beast of Borden, with a common old cow.

Runner-up
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
369 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 583-8122 | www.ruthschris.com
Decadence, as determined by the size of your bill, is worth every indulgent dollar for steaks, puttied with globs of butter, that take a fork to its hilt.

BEST SUNDAY BRUNCH

Ritz-Carlton,
Huntington Hotel & Spa
1401 S. Oak Knoll Ave., Pasadena | (626) 568-3900 | www.ritzcarlton.com
First you approach the place via one of Pasadena’s smirkingly sophisticated neighborhoods, and then you’re admitted by a handsome, liveried doorman to a hotel that sets the standard for good taste. You’d think such a promising prelude would make brunch on the Terrace seem pedestrian by comparison, but not after experiencing the duck mu shu and avocado gelato.

Runner-up
Twin Palms Restaurant
101 W. Green St., Pasadena | (626) 577-2567 | www.twin-palms.com
Casual but elegant, like short sleeves and silver spoons, every Sunday includes special brunch fare like made-to-order omelets and mini French pastries.

BEST TEA HOUSE
Scarlet Tea Room
18 W. Green St., Pasadena | (626) 577-0051 | www.scarlettearoom.com
Whether you’re in the mood for an exotic array of international teas or contemporary lunch and dinner plates with an intriguing Middle Eastern touch, Scarlet Tea Room promises to deliver with panache and elegance. Patrons can not only enjoy the ambiance, but also appreciate the down-to-earth staff who make this high-class tea room inviting to everyone.

Runner-up
Huntington Tea Room & Rose Garden Café
1151 Oxford Road, San Marino | (626) 405-2100 | www.huntington.org
Visiting the simple yet sophisticated atmosphere of the tea room after perusing the cultural treasures of the Huntington completes a splendid afternoon with an uncompromising dining experience.

BEST VEGETARIAN CUISINE

Orean The Health Express
817 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 794-0861 | www.oreanshealthexpress.com
Good-looking people on the go — women as slim and silky as a sash, men as lean and mean as a hatchet — are regulars at this imaginative, all-vegetarian fast-serve drive-thru. Even confirmed carnivores sometimes climb the magic beanstalk just for the surprisingly fine taste of ersatz burgers and burritos.

Runner-up
Souplantation
201 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 577-4797 | www.souplantation.com
It arouses curiosity, if not amazement, how attendants manage to keep busy salad stations from looking picked-over like a rack in an after-Christmas department store sale.

BEST ARMENIAN CUISINE

Burger Continental
535 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 792-6634 | www.burgercontinental.com
With all-you-can-eat dinner specials Monday through Thursday nights, including chicken Tevouk kebabs on Thursdays, 10 types of kebabs including Casablanca steak and spicy chicken shislik, Mediterranean combos, belly dancing and even twice-weekly karaoke, it’s clear this is one exotic place that’s fun and affordable.

BEST CALIFORNIA CUISINE

Green Street Café
146 S. Shoppers Lane, Pasadena | (626) 577-7170 | www.greenstreetrestaurant.com
An extensive menu of 16 sandwiches, four quesadillas, four burgers and 10 salads, including the nine-item cornucopia salad, ensures that this is the perfect place to chill for any taste. Its location along the little-traveled Shoppers Lane means there’s also a relaxing, laid-back atmosphere that defines the California spirit.

Runner-up
Crocodile Café
88 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 568-9310 | www.crocodilecafe.com
With healthy eats like a pear & Stilton salad and steak and warm wild-mushroom salad, along with tasty treats like the wood-grilled New York steak, this is the kind of place where you can linger for hours.

BEST CARIBBEAN CUISINE (THREE-WAY TIE)

Madre’s
897 Granite Drive, Pasadena | (626) 744-0900 | www.madresrestaurante.com
Chandeliers and vintage china set a high-class tone, but the food gets down to business at Jennifer Lopez’s local outpost. There are also plenty of plantains to complement the pollo, puerco, pescado and carne de res dishes that make Madre’s muy autentico and will leave you saying “Ay caramba!”

Cuban Bistro
28 W. Main St., Alhambra | (626) 308-3350 | www.cubanbistro.com
Live Cuban music every Friday and Saturday night adds flavor to the ever-inventive weekly dinner specials. Be sure to stick around for the legendary rice pudding — your tummy will thank you.

Hutch’s
390 E. Walnut St., Pasadena | (626) 449-8095
Jerk chicken linguini is just the tip of the iceberg for creatively spicy dishes at this low-key spot; the funky old house it’s based in adds plenty of character.

BEST CHINESE CUISINE

Panda Inn
3488 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 793-7300
111 E. Wilson Ave., Glendale | (818) 502-1234 | www.pandainn.com
When you’re looking for true Szechuan or Mandarin cuisine, this has been the place for 30 years. Nine types of chicken, eight seafood dishes, six veggies, three beef or pork plates and seven noodle dishes all combine to make you feel like you’re on the other side of the planet right here in the Pasadena area.

Runner-up
Oak Tree Inn
1315 Fair Oaks Ave., South Pasadena | (323) 682-2882
The waitstaff is renowned for teamwork and is also popular for fast takeout service, but pick anything on the extensive menu and you’ll be impressed.

BEST FRENCH CUISINE

Bistro 45
45 S. Mentor Ave., Pasadena | (626) 795-2478 | www.bistro45.com
For 17 years, the Bistro has been tantalizing area diners with dishes like Composed Salad with Belgian organic tomatoes, Humboldt Fog goat cheese, mache and cucumber-mint dressing and the “Volcano” Colorado lamb shank. With meals like that, it’s impossible not to say “oui!”

Runner-up
Crepe Vine Bistro
36 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 796-7250 | www.thecrepevine.com
This new addition to the Old Pasadena scene dishes out delicious crepes that are also affordable, as well as fine wines and finer sandwiches.

BEST INDIAN CUISINE

All India Cafe
39 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena | (626) 440-0309 | www.allindiacafe.com
As the name implies, this restaurant offers a complete course in alimentary geography from the fertile northern plains of the Punjab, where tandoori cooking is a specialized art, to the storied southern reaches of Madras and Goa, where fiery lamb vindaloos simmer. To extend boundaries, salads are adapted to California tastes and dishes are lightened with canola oil.

Runner-up
Akbar Cuisine of India
44 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena | (626) 577-9916 | www.akbarcuisineofindia.com
This gourmet restaurant lives up to the spirit of Akbar the Great, a mogul ruler of an enlightened India, who lived the good life by eating well without a buffet.

BEST ITALIAN CUISINE

Mi Piace Italian Kitchen & Bakery
25 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 795-3131 | www.mipiace.com
All the positive indulgences to which Italian “chic” is susceptible — temptation to put oneself “out there” in the see-and-be-seen attitude of the fashion world, fine northern Italian dining, New York nightclub-style drinking, luscious desserts for la dolce vita — continue to serve Pasadena well after 18 years.

Runner-up
Gale’s Restaurant
452 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena | (626) 432-6705 | www.galesrestaurant.com
There’s no limit to the vigor of appetites for dishes ranging from giant meatball sandwiches to exquisite burrata appetizers and Tuscan-style New York steak.

BEST JAPANESE CUISINE OR SUSHI

Sushi of Naples
735 E. Green St., Pasadena | (626) 578-1123 | www.sushiofnaples.com
While the sushi bar is a visual sensation of knickknack noshes, its next of kin — the kitchen stove — is a richer relation. It features moderately priced beef, chicken and seafood teriyaki and tempura, plus delicacies like seared bonito salad (the most strongly flavored of tunas) and miso soup, enlivened with oyster.

Runner-up
Sushi Roku Pasadena
33 Miller Alley (One Colorado), Pasadena | (626) 683-3000 | www.sushiroku.com
Beyond sushi bar fantasies — some pebbled with caviar — the kitchen serves sukiyaki trembling at the table in a cast-iron skillet, while the bar pours sake in chilled bamboo hollows.

BEST MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE

Cafe Santorini
64 W. Union St., Pasadena | (626) 792-6634 | www.cafesantorini.com
Like gulls circling over a fishing boat in the Adriatic seeking permission to land, drivers in Old Pasadena circle blocks hoping to land a Mediterranean table here. Too good to miss, the luxury dining experience, enhanced by regional traditions of hospitality, is nurtured by painstakingly prepared dishes like lamb souvlaki, long marinated and cut so that every trace of fat is removed.

Runner-up
Burger Continental
535 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena | (626) 792-6634 | www.burgercontinental.com
With moderately priced servings in generous portions from recipes of six Mediterranean countries, it’s also a fun place where a fork may run away with the spoon.

BEST MEXICAN CUISINE

El Portal
695 E. Green St., Pasadena | (626) 795-8553 | www.elportalrestaurant.com
El Portal has so many good things going for it: Yucatecan cooking, unique among fine Mexican cuisines; a swanky list of tequilas; its brick and palmy patio setting; live music on weekends; and regular patronage of the arts. The dining experience promises that all who enter are welcome and all who leave are satisfied.

Runner-up
Mijares Mexican Restaurant
145 Palmetto DrIVE, Pasadena | (626) 792-2763
1806 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 794-6674 | www.mijaresrestaurant.com
After 87 years of preserving Old California values for Pasadena, while building margarita-driven youthful enthusiasms, this accolade burnishes a golden past and augurs for a platinum future.

BEST MIDDLE EASTERN CUISINE

Zankou Chicken
1296 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 405-1502 www.zankouchicken.com
Not only is the wishbone from great chicken dishes the source of a lucky break for countless diners, but good fortune also comes through a host of other Middle Eastern specialties. Imaginatively crafted for popular cafeteria-style appeal but rich in Armenian tradition and generously portioned, they include minty tabbouleh salads and beefy shawarma sandwiches.

Runner-up
Lebanese Kitchen
1384 Washington Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 296-9010
At a time when many restaurants confuse guests with mixed cuisines, you’ve got to salute this family operated place whose menu comes from one nation, indivisible: Lebanon.

BEST SPANISH CUISINE

La Luna Negra
44 W. Green St., Pasadena | (626) 844-4331 | www.lalunanegrarestaurant.com
With rustic furnishings, the restaurant is reminiscent of a tavern in a town by the Pyrenees mountains where Europe ends and real fun begins — a place where a young crowd can talk about a Velasquez masterpiece before painting the town red. A good start here is blood-red sangria and the spicy cranberry sauce that smacks beef tenderloins.

Runner-up
Bar Celona
46 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 405-1000 | www.barcelonapasadena.com
With a tantalizing mosaic of small-bite tapas and selected entrees, sensuous musical events and a stylish Spanish decor, it’s a unique exotic experience.

BEST THAI CUISINE

President Thai
498 S. Rosemead Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 578-9814 | www.president-thai.com
In the belief that what is served without grace and charm is eaten without pleasure or notice, guests are greeted at the door with a mannerly nod by a hostess in native Thai dress and escorted to their tables through a room well-favored with traditional design. Then they settle in for impressive fare like three-flavor filet of sole, hot pot soup and soft-shell crab.

Runner-up
Saladang Restaurant
363 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena | (626) 793-8123
With many stars in a bulging book of awards, the picks of the glitter are myriad sauced dishes with doses of chili and spices adapted to modern American tastes.

BEST VIETNAMESE CUISINE

Indochine
950 E. Colorado Blvd., #204, Pasadena | (626) 584-7118
Though wedged in the second story of a strip mall, an anomalous location for a fine restaurant, Indochine conforms to fixed principles of fine cookery with Asian classics like Saigon crepe. In it, rice batter makes a golden pay envelope for shrimp, pork and mung beans — the sweet fruit of bean sprouts.

Runner-up
Blue Hen
1743 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock | (323) 982-9900 | www.eatatbluehen.com
A place Eagle Rock didn’t know it needed so badly until it got there; now the community relies on its tasty menu featuring organic ingredients purchased from local farms. Blue Hen also offers lots of options for vegetarians.