Best New Restaurants

Arroyoland has long been a magnet for creative chefs working in a less structured, less stressful environment than the culinary hotbeds of Los Angeles or New York. And yet compiling any “best new restaurant” list is considered tantamount to sacrilege by some and folly by most. Nevertheless, it’s vital to be aware of new places, taste new things and open your mind — and mouth — to the wide range of local offerings.

Here then are some of the best new restaurants in the San Gabriel Foothills — a chance for you to push the boundaries of your comfort zone and expose your palate to a plethora of good eats. another pus: As a concession to current financial constraints, these exceptional restaurants have revamped their menus, pricing many dishes below $20.

1810
121 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena | (626) 795-5658 | 1810restaurant.com
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday,
11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.

Owners Marcelo Sala and Gustavo Landgrebe established this Argentinian restaurant on the site of another Argentine eatery, the uninspired Gaucho Grill. Amid unpretentious surroundings of brickwork and dark wood tables, 1810 succeeds where its predecessor missed the mark. “It’s what we like and what we know,” Sala says simply. Dishes fuse varied South American flavors; even a few homemade recipes from Sala’s grandmother make an appearance. Overall, this is a great place to bring the family. “It’s no-fuss food, simple and easy,” he says.

Taste: the Entrana ($16), a skirt steak with mushroom sauce, grilled zucchini and mashers. Minimally seasoned using only salt and top-quality beef, Sala allows the meat to express itself. Traditionally grilled medium well, this dish won’t send you running for a steak knife. The Milanesa Napolitana ($15) blankets a tender chicken breast with pomodoro sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and thinly sliced ham. Simple, yes. Satisfying, most certainly. 

Green Street Tavern
69 W. Green St., Pasadena | (626) 229-9961 | greenstreettavern.net
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.;
Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

“This is the ultimate first date place,” says Chef-owner Armen Hakobyan. The interior of this intimate space leans towards warm wood and beige tones with an ochre-colored backlit bar. Green Street offers a new cheese and charcuterie bar with a decidedly gastropub feel and a respectable wine list with such fine offerings as the $95 Caymus 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) . Hakobyan’s Wednesday night “out-of-the-box wine pairings” offer unconventional dishes like wild boar meatloaf, Cajun-style paella and alligator for a mere $45 per person, allowing customers to brave unusual foods, emboldened by the safety net of the tried-and-true wine list. The food here has gained such an outstanding reputation that chefs from across Los Angeles seek it out.

taste: the Diver Scallops ($19) with sweet-corn custard, leeks and truffle oil. The tender scallops are accented by bacon-roasted spicy corn, resulting in a well-executed dish that makes familiar ingredients more than the sum of their parts. The Sizzling Garlic Shrimp Cazuela ($15) is an assemblage of white beans, grilled French bread and shrimp bathed in a spicy garlic sauce that allows each component to clearly articulate itself.

Katsuya
702 Americana Way, Glendale | (818) 244-5900 | sbe.com
Hours: Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m.;
Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Sushi and sashimi rule in this Philippe Starck–designed spot at The Americana at Brand. The place is cloaked in industrial gray, down to the stone-topped sushi and cocktail bars inside the chic eatery. Katsuya is a mélange of striking visuals like its giant photographs of lipsticked Asian women, rather like Helmut Newton–meets–Lost in Translation décor. A sophisticated lounge upstairs is accessed through a black tunnel-like spiral staircase that leads to the room of low tables and chairs.

taste: the Spicy Albacore Sashimi with Crispy Onion ($16), thin slices of deliriously tender albacore with crispy onions scattered across the top like a munchable mohawk. There’s a perfect balance between the sweet caramelized onions and the spicy ponzu sauce. The Kobe Tobanyaki ($32) consists of diced chunks of soft Kobe beef, lightly charbroiled and flush with mushrooms — enoki, China shiitake and hon shimeji — which bring a deep earthiness to the dish, while the sake-soy reduction hints at saltiness but adds a mild kick.

 Champagne Tastes

On Nov. 10, James Beard Award-winner Roy Yamaguchi (pictured) offers a Moët & Chandon Champagne-pairing dinner at Roy’s Restaurant in Old Pasadena and around the country. The evening begins with a Moët Impérial POG cocktail (a passion fruit, orange and guava mimosa) and pairs three more Champagnes with Yamaguchi’s Hawaiian fusion cuisine: three courses of sushi, a Wagyu beef entrée and dessert. The event runs from 6:30 to 10 p.m. and costs $75 (including Champagnes) per person. Reservations are required.

Roy’s Restaurant is located at 641 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena. Call (626) 356-4066 or visit roysrestaurant.com.

Cadillac Cinema

Want a bite and a blanket with your first-run film? Then check out the Gold Class Cinema (pictured) coming to One Colorado on Dec. 4. The six-screen theater promises “to reinvent the movie-going experience” with gourmet finger food, a full bar, comfy reclining seats, pillows and “ninja-like service.” It’s the brainchild of the Australia-based global entertainment company Village Roadshow, which produced such megahits as The Matrix and Ocean’s 11. Pasadena is the fourth location for the year-old theater chain, which also has two venues in the Chicago area and one in Redmond, Washington. Register as a member at goldclasscinemas.com, and you’ll be entered in a giveaway of a year’s worth of free weekly dinners and movies. Otherwise, get ready to pony up from $22 to $27 (the tariffs in other locations — Pasadena’s isn’t set yet) for your reserved seat and parking.

One Colorado is located between Colorado Boulevard and Union Street and De Lacey and Fair Oaks avenues in Old Pasadena.

Pimp my wine

David Haskell makes his debut as director of operations and official “wine pimp” at Vertical Wine Bistro (pictured), Hollywood producer Gale Anne Hurd’s chic eatery in Old Pasadena. Haskell, who owned West Hollywood’s former BIN 8945 Wine Bar & Bistro, has added esoteric new wines to Vertical’s list of more than 400 and launched “Get EntWined” — a weekly wine-pairing class featuring three wines and three dishes for $33. Also new is a monthly local Winemaker Dinner Series, starting on Nov. 8 with Joshua Klapper of La Fenêtre.

Vertical Wine Bistro is located at 70 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. Call (626) 795-3999 or visit verticalwinebistro.com.

Celebrate the grape

Alliance Française de Pasadena hosts a coming-out party for the 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau at Pop Champagne & Dessert Bar on Nov. 22. The special wine-tasting and dinner, benefitting the Alliance, runs from 4 to 10 p.m. Wine will be served by the glass or bottle; a three-course prix-fixe dinner is planned, but food can also be ordered off the menu. Reservations are recommended. Call (626) 683-3774 or email afdepasadena@earthlink.net.

Pop Champagne & Dessert Bar is located at 33 E. Union St., Pasadena.