Good ol' Fred

In its transition from a fun and dandy eating place to more of a sports bar and nightclub, Fred’s Mexican Café has created a mood that everyone will want to be in.

For lovers of Mexican food, Fred’s continues to be very particular about what goes into everything flapped or folded and fried: This means fresh white-meat chicken breast (lowest-fat part of the bird) instead of chicken parts; top sirloin steak instead of hindquarter flank; mahi mahi instead of any available white fish, and pork steak cutlets instead of hot-dog filling. “We never use ‘mystery’ meats,” said manager Greg Baderian.

For night people, the mood is set to music, especially on Tuesday, Fridays and Saturdays, when DJ dancing holds sway. And, as in all good hot spots, there’s always a great expectation that something surprisingly good will happen — perhaps a romantic assignation and a night that stays up until dawn.

For the sports fan, Fred’s horseshoe-shaped bar, with 18 strategically placed high-def TVs, offers a great new way of looking at things. The arrangement helps real sports fans to concentrate on the games. This is in sharp contrast to Barney’s Beanery next door, where the viewer is distracted by garish ornament around the screens and a noise level of a state hospital on Saturday night.

Event planners may be attracted to Fred’s large facility — with open spaces that can accommodate crowds of close to 400, but also offering intimate spots for groups as small as 10.

For luxury-loving tequila drinkers, the bar boasts a premium list that includes everything from Grand Centenario Anejo ($8.50) to Cabo Wabo Uno ($45) and other varieties from the blue agave for as little as $5.

For Happy Hour-goers, Fred’s pours extra glee with margaritas, well drinks and domestic drafts at half-price, and offers Baja/Border noshers like $3.95 Mexican pizza or TJ Street Tacos.

And as a window dressing for sightseers, each Tuesday, Friday and Saturday features Lady Sandra demonstrating the art of tortilla-making.

The recent closure of Hooter’s has boosted business: “We’re picking up many Hooter’s ex-customers, especially for sports events,” said Baderian. “A special talking point to attract the big sport fan is our Saturday and Sunday college and pro football breakfast: It features 15 omelets, plus margarita, beer and Bloody Mary specials.”

To court the wider patronage needed to sustain a large restaurant in these hard times, Baderian suggests that Fred’s multipurpose entertainments fill the bill perfectly. When Fred’s opened late last year, I sensed that building a big nightclub and sports bar were places the ownership was already inclined to go.

They certainly knew the territory. Occupying the stead formerly held by Moose McGillicuddy’s, Fred’s is owned by Pasmoo Inc., the same group that continues to own three Moose McG’s and seven Fred’s on the West Coast and in Hawaii, plus two big nightclubs and one fine-dining establishment in San Diego.

With this connection, should we worry that Pasadena’s Fred’s will return to those halcyon, often rowdy nights earlier in the decade that beset both the Moose and the Q’s nightclub next door — nights when wrap-around-the-block crowds included many persons of interest to authorities? I don’t think so. With the price of gasoline, most out-of-town troublemakers will stay home.

Touchdowns, touch dancing and tequila tastings are fine, but, personally, I’m put into a good frame of mind by Fred’s food alone. It’s hard to find a better value or a better tasting one-dish meal than the one-pound shrimp burrito ($10.45) — impudently spiced with a secret Cajun sauce — unless it’s the surf ’n’ turf shrimp and steak burrito for the same price. Other big burrito pounders include fin, feather and flank specialties like mahi mahi filets, chicken breast and top sirloin, each at lower prices.

While most dishes I’ve tried are of a modern Baja and Border grill style, there is one — a chicken chingaderas egg roll — that has complex, extravagant “Gourmet Gringo-Mex” embedded in every bite: A mingle-mangle of everything from cheese, corn, chicken, rice, pinto beans, chipotle peppers, pico de gallo and verde sauce, it’s blended and wrapped in a flour tortilla and fried in Japanese panko breadcrumbs. You get five rolls for $7.95, and they taste like they are worth the trouble.
At Fred’s Mexican Café you don’t drink water; you drink margaritas. A beach party array ranges in price from $6.95 for a Jose Cuervo classic to $9.25 for Patron Rita. Made from premium Patron Silver tequila and citronage, a special glass — shaped something like a fine magnum wine goblet — provides a well-deserved pedestal for a snazzy drink.

Among the beers, I was disappointed in not seeing Negro Modelo. Caramel-inflected, strong, dark and hoppy, I think it would mate nicely with some of the spicier dishes.

A special event of note — Taco Tuesdays — features $2 and $3 tacos. At one recent sitting, I sampled three: a mahi mahi, a shrimp and a cheeseburger. They satisfied without overloading.