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RESTAURANTS

Arirang / 2.5*

114 W UNION ST, OLD TOWN PASADENA; 626/577-8885

In a rambling warehouselike space just north of Colorado Boulevard in Old Town, Airang is a Korean barbecue culinary adventure raised to the level of, if not haute cuisine, at least highly sophisticated cooking. Most diners go for the various barbecue selections—marinated rib-eye steak, short ribs, pork, beef tongue, chicken, prawns, scallops, and the like, all of which arrive with the usual entourage of soup, rice, lettuce, raw garlic, sliced peppers, and sundry kimchees. But those who have been there and done that expand their horizons to include the remarkable pan-fried dumplings, the equal of anything found in the better Chinese restaurants in San Gabriel, along with the spring onion pancake, the kimchee and pork pancake, the dazzling tartare steak, and the various hotpots of braised tripe and vegetables or sliced pork with salted cabbage. To wash it all down, there's OB Beer from Korea, as good as if not better than the fine beers of Japan. $; AE, MC, V; checks OK; lunch Mon-Fri, dinner every day; full bar; reservations not necessary; south side of Union St west of Fair Oaks Ave.

Arroyo Chop House / 3*

536 S ARROYO PKWY, PASADENA; 626/57-PRIME

At the Arroyo Chop House, in a setting heavy with wood, glass, and brass, the pure-classic menu items start with salads: there's a salad of mixed greens, a caesar, a plate of sliced beefsteak tomatoes with sliced red onions (in the style of New York's Peter Luger's), a salad of spinach
and hearts of palm, and the pride of the house—a chilled heart of iceberg lettuce (yes!) drenched in blue cheese dressing. The steaks, equally classic, are USDA prime, every one of them—from the filet mignon (rarely found graded prime because of the heavy, even marbling that defines prime; fat is not common in filet mignon), through the rib-eye, the porterhouse, the New York strip, and the Delmonico cut. The porterhouse is a fine piece of meat, cooked to perfection in a high-temperature broiler (akin to the one pioneered at the Ruth's Chris chain) that seals in the juices, giving the meat a well-cooked crust on the outside and lots of well-blooded goodness on the inside. $$; AE, MC, V; checks OK, dinner every day; full bar; reservations required; northeast corner of Arroyo Pkwy and California Blvd.

Bistro 45 / 3*

45 MENTOR AVE, PASADENA; 626/795-2478

At the highly respected Bistro 45 (named one of the best restaurants in Los Angeles by Wine Spectator and by the readers of Gourmet magazine), owner Robert Simon (formerly of Pasadena's Cafe Jacoulet) took one of the fussiest spots in town and gave it an Art-Deco-at-the-end-of- the-decade look—very angular, very medium-cool, very edge-of-deca- dence. (He's also put in some terrifically comfortable seats; this is art that feels good to sit in, which is not often the case.) The cuisine here is basically California Bistro, and it changes often. On any given evening, the menu might include such pleasures as the salmon and tuna tartares, flavored with cilantro; rock shrimp risotto with saffron; pan-roasted monk- fish with garlic polenta; roasted veal loin filled with Roquefort; Fanny Bay oyster salad; and Nebraska pork with figs. The wine dinners here, generally built around a particular winery and often attended by the
winemaker, are almost certainly the most popular in town. The waiters define the California style of affable and knowledgeable at the same time—the only attitude here is a good one. $$; AE, MC, V; lunch Tues-Fri, dinner Tues-Sun; full bar; reservations required; www.bistro45.com;
west side of Mentor Ave south of Colorado Blvd.

Buca di Beppo / 2*

80 W GREEN ST. OLD TOWN PASADENA (AND BRANCHES); 626/792-7272

Buca di Beppo is often compared to Carmine's in New York, for both are notable for red-sauce chow served in giant portions. But where the food at Carmine's is simply okay, Buca serves good stuff—as long as you don't mind blowing your diet for the whole rest of the year on one meal. The folks responsible for the national Buca di Beppo chain describe their creation as "a Southern Italian immigrant restaurant" and a recreation of the "Italian supperclubs of the '40s and '50s." Actually, it's closer to a Smithsonian of Italiana, with hundreds of photographs on the walls of gangsters, priests, pretty girls, grouchy mamas, and musicians. Buca is to Italians what Sammy's Roumanian in New York is to Jews—a place where you can revel in your roots and chuckle at them at the same time. The trick to eating here is to go with a lot of people. (There's even a Pope's Table that can accommodate probably 20 hungry souls.) All the portions are for groups of four, which makes the prices—in the high teens—a terrific deal. And this is chow that sticks to your ribs (and various other internal organs)—garlic bread, roasted peppers with garlic and anchovies, good pizzas as big as breadboards (try the one topped with Gorgonzola, provolone, mozzarella, and Romano), rigatoni tossed with white beans and sausage, chicken cacciatore served over garlic mashed potatoes, and linguine topped with an ocean of seafood. There's a commitment here to piling as many calories on the plate as possible, so don't expect to undereat. Additional locations are in Encino (17500 Ventura Blvd; 818/995-3288) and Redondo Beach (1670 S Pacific Coast Highway; 310/540-3246). $; AE, MC, V; checks OK; dinner every day; full bar; reservations recommended; southeast corner of DeLacey and
W Green Sts.

Cafe Santorini / 1*

64 W UNION ST. OLD TOWN PASADENA; 626/564.4200

Cafe Santorini sits around the corner from the AMC Multiplex in Old Town, down an alleyway, with a single neon sign overhead. While the large upstairs room with bare brick walls and polished wood floors has a number of pleasant tables, they aren't nearly as popular as the tables
outside. The patio is clearly the place to sit at Cafe Santorini, overlooking the crowds coming and going at the theater complex below. The thing to do here is to start with the mezze platter, a bounty of stuffed grape leaves, spanakopita and tiropita, fried kibbeh, tabbouleh, and feta cheese that's enough for a light meal for two. From there, things wander a bit—from a caesar salad with salmon, a cheeseburger made with kasseri cheese, Armenian sausage pizza, and an oxtail pizza made with shiitake mushrooms, through the realm of pasta, finally refocusing on souvlaki, lule
(ground meat) kebab, a terrific oven-baked chicken with ratatouille and kalamata olives, and a casual bouillabaisse of prawns and scallops in a swell tomato broth. Prices are right. And sitting on the patio, you won't feel like you're in Pasadena anymore. You can almost smell the Mediter-
ranean in the air. $; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch, dinner every day; full bar; reservations recommended; north side of Colorado Blvd west of Fair Oaks Ave.

Celestino / 2*

141 S LAKE AVE, PASADENA; 626/795-4006

Celestino is the creation of chef Celestino Drago, formerly of II Giardino, Chianti Cucina, and currently behind Santa Monica's stylish Drago, and Beverly Hills' II Pastaio. Here Chef Drago (along with his brother Gia comino) has created his own version of II Fornaio, with a dominant motif of light, casual, surprisingly inexpensive cooking. This is a great spot for serendipitous dining; you show up, look at the menu, and find something you want, even though you didn't know you wanted it. It's unlikely you'll find a better bruschetta this side of the Po River— wonderfully crisp bread, topped with just the right balance of garlic, tomato, and arugula.
The less-traditional arancine di riso (literally, "little rice oranges") look like inverted ice cream cones filled with a dollop of beef stew, peas, and provolone. Pastas come in two forms—egg or durum wheat. Drago is a master of risottos—flavored with such combinations as beets and goat
cheese, porcini and mascarpone, lobster and peppers, or squid and scallops. Think of Celestino as a casual Italian cafe where you can feast (lightly) on dishes that always satisfy, no matter what you're in the mood for. $$; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch Mon-Fri, dinner Mon-Sat; full bar; reservations recommended; west side ofS Lake Ave south of Green St.

Clear-water Seafood / 2*

168 W COLORADO BLVD. OLD TOWN PASADENA; 626/356-0959

At Clearwater Seafood (formerly Clearwater Cafe) you'll find New Wave seafood in a comfortably modernistic setting. Call it seafood for the '90s: the freshest of fish cooked in a wide variety of ways, a good deal of heart healthy Mediterranean ingredients thrown in for good measure, a fair number of vegetarian dishes, served in a setting complete with a dramatic
outdoor patio. Oysters are whatever happens to be fresh and available— perhaps nothing more complex than Blue Points from Long Island and Dungeness Bays from up north. Though the menu changes regularly expect a fine cioppino (award-winning, since they're using a similar recipe as at their sister restaurant, Ocean Avenue Seafood in Santa Monica), roasted halibut on greens with sweet potatoes and mushrooms, crisp striped bass on teriyaki noodles, mahi mahi with basil-flavored mashed spuds, and the like. Prince Edward Island mussels and Hog Island Manila clams are steamed. Soups and salads abound. This is easily some of the best seafood in Pasadena. $; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch, dinner everyday; full bar; reservations recommended , southeast corner of Colorado Blvd and Pasadena Ave.

Crocodile Cafe / 1*

140 S LAKE AVE, PASADENA (AND BRANCHES); 626/449-9900

The Crocodile Cafe (a creation by those behind the upscale Parkway Grill) is the sort of restaurant where you can drop by for a casual burger or where a sizable group can go for a jolly and festive birthday celebration. It's a dandy place, with smart young waitpersons and a sense of
being on the cutting edge, at prices that are more than reasonable. What they do, they do very well—the black bean and sirloin chili is one of the best in town. The quesadilla is packed to overflowing with jack and ranchero cheeses and topped with salsa and guacamole. There are pot-stickers filled with shrimp and veggies in a lime-ginger-soy dip. They make a classic hamburger here, oak-wood grilled, served with fries, and with or without grilled onions. The pizzas and calzones are fine, variations on the Spago/California Pizza Kitchen style, with the barbecue chicken pizza a real standout; smoked gouda is a swell pizza cheese. Of the large plates, the Cuban chicken breast is quite a feed, a big plate of cinnamon-and-raisin sweetened chicken, with bananas and rice on the side. It's easy to get stuffed here for very little and have a heck of a good time in the process. Other locations include Old Town Pasadena (88 W
Colorado Boulevard; 626/568-9310); Burbank (201 N San Fernando Boulevard; 818/843-7999); Glendale (626 N Central Avenue; 818/241- 1114); and Santa Monica (101 Santa Monica Boulevard; 310/394- 4783). $; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch, dinner every day; full bar; reservations not necessary; east side ofS Lake Ave near Green St.

DeLacey'sClub41 / 1*

41 S DELACEY ST, OLD TOWN PASADENA; 626/795-4141

DeLacey's is one of the most comfortable steak houses around. It's a manly establishment, heavy with wood, glass, and brass, with a fine bar at which a thirsty cove can pause for a beverage, and spacious booths where an affectionate couple can lose themselves, gazing deep into each
other's eyes over a nice shrimp and crab Louis, or perhaps some lovely crab cakes, properly crisped, sufficiently padded with crab. Though DeLacey's is just a decade old, it smacks of early times. Service is the style you'd expect at Musso & Frank's in Hollywood, or the Dal Rae in Pico Rivera—efficient without being abrupt. The menu is classic—there's a whole section of dipped sandwiches (roast beef, roast pork, roast lamb), along with "hot plate specialties" of the same roast threesome, plus roast turkey, meat loaf, London broil, and calf's liver. Spinach salad is served with a proper hot dressing; filet mignon is wrapped in bacon; there's veal chop bordelaise, chicken piccata, chicken Marsala, even fettuccine alfredo. But mostly, there's meat. They make a very nice 10-ounce pepper steak at DeLacey's—not a big piece, but a very satisfying one, crusted with peppercorns, dripping juice, just terrific accompanied by some garlic
mashed potatoes, home-fried potatoes, or French fries. $; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch Sun-Fri, dinner every day; full bar; reservations recommended; west side ofDeLacey St south of Colorado Blvd. Av

Derek's / 2.5*

181-185 E GLENARM ST, PASADENA; 626/799-5252

What used to be Dickenson West has been transmuted into Derek's (half of the same ownership, new chef, spiffed-up decor), a casually elegant Cal-American restaurant where the simplest way to approach dinner is to head straight for the Chef's Menu. It changes weekly, shifting with the
seasons and with the whimsy of the moment. A typical menu (at $39 a person) went from seared foie gras with caramelized mango (so indulgent it was almost embarrassing) and a plate of happily plump grilled Santa Barbara shrimp atop mashed spuds flavored with truffle oil to roasty duck with a perfect risotto flavored with sweet sauteed onions. After the cheese course, dessert might seem a bit extraneous. But desserts here are awfully hard to pass on—especially the tart lemon tart with a sauce of wild huckleberries, the fig-and-raspberry tarte tatin, or the lemon ver-
bena creme brulee. Those who opt against the Chef's Menu might consider the absurdly addictive tower of ahi and salmon tartare, the blue plate special of lamb curry, the impressively moist pork tenderloin, or the perfect rack of lamb with peppered gnocchi. Derek's needs looking for; even those driving down Glenarm might not notice it. But as an exercise in serendipity, it's worth sleuthing out. $$; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch Tues-Fri, dinner Tues-Sat; full bar; reservations recommended; north side of Glenarm St east of Arroyo Pkwy.

The Grill at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel & Spa / 3*

1401 S OAK KNOLL AVE, PASADENA; 626/577-2867

Dining is more of an event than a meal in this elegant hotel restaurant. Wood-paneled walls, crystal sconces, seascape paintings, and a collection of antique carved ships create a sophisticated clubby atmosphere that perfectly accentuates the menu of continental classics. Although executive chef Denis Depoitre, who has been with the hotel since 1993, over sees the hotel's restaurants, chef Fabrice Huet, who hopscotched from Ritz-Carltons in Shanghai and Seoul to his current post, presides over the kitchen in the hotel's most formal dining room. Appetizers here, as refined as the setting, might include salmon gravlax with a marinated
vegetable salad, lamb confit in crepinettes, and roasted squab with Moroccan couscous, baby artichokes and yellow curry vinaigrette—all served by tuxedoed waiters whose professionalism is quintessential Ritz- Carlton. A respectable selection of grilled prime-aged meats includes
tender double lamb chops and succulent chateaubriand a deux, each served with a rich bearnaise, merlot, or peppercorn sauce. Norwegian salmon, Atlantic grouper, and Lake Superior whitefish are among the fresh seafood entrees, grilled, poached, or sauteed. A classic rendition of herb-crusted rack of lamb for two is beautifully presented, as is the roasted wild sturgeon with an accompanying crab souffle. An impressive wine list of more than 350 vintages ensures you'll find the perfect bottle to complement your meal. $$$; AE, DC, DIS, JCB, MC, V; no checks; lunch Sun, dinner every day; full bar; reservations required; www.ritzcarlton.com; exit 210 Fwy at Lake Ave and go south until it becomes Oak Knoll St.

Houston's / 2*

320 S ARROYO PKWY, PASADENA; 626/577-6001

Houston's is a burgeoning chain now numbering some two dozen, with restaurants in Southern cities like Atlanta, Dallas, and, yes, Houston. It's an interesting concept in terms of large-market dining—a good-looking, steakhouse-like setting with an open kitchen and a menu that mixes
burgers with barbecue. A sizable number of menu items run under $10, a surprise for a relatively upscale eatery. Though the beef choices, like the filet mignon, the New York strip, and the prime rib, hover in the high teens, they're also large enough to feed two persons with ease. The thing
to chomp on while you wait for your meal at Houston's is the Chicago- style spinach and artichoke dip, a ridiculously caloric bowl of creamed spinach and artichoke hearts topped with melted cheese, accompanied by sour cream and salsa, and tortilla chips. Main courses are straight- forward and to the point—good, solid, culinary Americana. There's a fine hickory burger, and an intriguing firehouse chili-topped Texas burger that's served only on Saturdays. And there's everybody's favorite dish of choice, the barbecued ribs. The menu says "Our Knife and Fork Version," but that isn't really true: pick up the tender ribs with your fingers, and the meat absolutely drops off the bone. $; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch, dinner every day; full bar; reservations recommended; east side of Arroyo Pkwy south of Colorado Blvd.

II Fornaio / 2*

I COLORADO BLVD. OLD TOWN PASADENA (AND BRANCHES); 626/683-9797

AIL This outpost of the II Fornaio chain is noisy in the way that restaurants filled with people having a very good time tend to be noisy. It's a happy jy noise, with lots of waving of arms at old friends, and air kisses flying. It's very much like being in Italy, with food to match: soft polenta (not fried and rubbery) with mushrooms and Parmesan, an outstanding and a perfect eggplant dish with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, onions, capers, and balsamic vinegar. They make a heck of a fine Tuscan bean and barley soup and a tomato soup with Tuscan bread that's good enough to raise the dead. The pizza is crispy-crunchy, thin-crusted, topped with the sort of stuff you might find in the Piazza Navona in Rome—mozzarella, provolone, grilled eggplant, ricotta, red onions, garlic, and so forth. It works perfectly as an appetizer for two or as a main course for one. Their pizza permutation of focaccia bread stuffed with gorgonzola, pine nuts, basil, and onions is what sandwiches dream of someday becoming. Additional Southern California locations include Beverly Hills (301 N Beverly Drive; 310/550-8330) and Santa Monica (1551 Ocean Avenue; 310/451-7800). $; AE, MC, V; no checks; breakfast, lunch, dinner every day; full bar; reservations recommended; north side of Colorado Blvd west of Fair Oaks Ave.

Kingston Cafe / 1*

333 S FAIR OAKS AVE, PASADENA; 626/405-8080

The Kingston Cafe looks as if it was someone's home in the not-too-distant past—a nice frame house several blocks south of the manic energy of Old Town's Colorado Boulevard. It's divided into four separate rooms, in which you can enjoy a distinctive amount of privacy and friendly
service along with your good Jamaican meal. The menu here offers a fine cross-section of that cuisine that hits all the right notes—many of them, though not all, at the spicy end of the spectrum. The option is yours, but know that if you ask for a dish to be prepared hot, it will indeed be very much that. The ubiquitous specialty of Jamaican restaurants is jerk chicken, which here is titled Hot Flashes and is so tender it falls right off the bone. Curried chicken is named Yellow Glow, curried goat is Kingston Glow, and their chicken rich with the taste of molasses is
known as Air Condition. Their Matrimony bread pudding is sweeter than most marriages, and holds together far better. $; DIS, MC, V; no checks; lunch, dinner Tues-Sun; beer and wine only; reservations not necessary; west side of Fair Oaks Ave south of Colorado Blvd.

Kuala Lumpur / 1*

69 W GREEN ST, OLD TOWN PASADENA; 626/577-S175

At Kuala Lumpur (named for the capital of Malaysia), dishes are both familiar and unfamiliar. The satay is as good as any in town—skewered beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp with a peanut-chili sauce so good it could be served for dessert. The puteri roll is a good-sized Malaysian egg roll, very crisp, filled with what seems to be just about everything in the kitchen. Kung pau mango shrimp involves tiger shrimp stir-fried with mango, mango juice, chile sambal, garlic, and onions. The deep-fried pulau shrimp's flavor is tempered with a sauce of lemongrass, garlic, and
shallots, which allows you to encounter a new flavor every time you take a bite: a remarkable experience. Fish comes cooked in a tamarind sauce more mundane ketchup. For dessert, among others, there's durian ice cream, which neither smells as bad as its press implies nor tastes nearly
as sweet. $; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch, dinner Tues-Sun; beer and wine only; reservations recommended; north side of Green St at DeLacey St.

Market City Caffe / 1*

33 S FAIR OAKS AVE, OLD TOWN PASADENA; 626/568-0203
164 E PALM AVE, BURBANK; 818/840-7036

There are few pleasures more satisfying than finding a nice table on the outdoor patio at the Market City Caffe and spending a long evening sip- ping a glass or two of pinot grigio while nibbling on dish after dish from the antipasto buffet (one of the best around, with a rich assortment of recipes handed down from the owner's grandmothers). This is a trattoria in the best meaning of the word—a casual, family-oriented sort of place where eating and drinking can be done at ease in comfort, and the cost doesn't cause any indigestion afterwards. They make quite a pizza, and the great bar at the other end of the patio—martinis on one side, antipasti on the other—certainly makes for one of the clearer definitions of heaven on earth. $; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch, dinner every day; full bar; reservations recommended; west side of fair Oaks Ave south of Colorado Blvd.

Marston's / 2*

IS I E WALNUT ST, PASADENA; 626/796-2459

Marston's is not an old restaurant, but within a decade it has become a Pasadena tradition. It's not a big place, so come lunch time, there's always a wait. Breakfast is a gala affair, a meal for those who like their first meal of the day big and sumptuous and couldn't give a fig about cholesterol. The menu includes arguably the best French toast in town—two fat slabs of sourdough soaked in egg batter, rolled in cornflakes, griddled to marvelous brownness, and served with hot syrup and soft butter. There are also fine macadamia nut-blueberry pancakes with enough blueberries to keep the usual "what berries?" grumbles to a minimum. For lunch, the
best of the best is the Pasadena Salad, an incredible mixture of spinach, avocado, candied pecans, chicken, scallions, and bacon in the slightly sweet house dressing served with a basket of crunchy cheese popovers. You might also consider the super Cobb salad, grilled chicken caesar, grilled chicken breast club sandwich with black bean mayonnaise, white
lightnin' chili with chicken, or a grilled chicken and Gorgonzola melt. $; MC, V; no checks; breakfast, lunch Tues-Sat; no alcohol; reservations not accepted; north side of Walnut St east of Raymond Ave.

McCormick & Schmick's / **

I I I N LOS ROBLES AVE, PASADENA (AND BRANCHES); 626/405-0064

This is seafood, done both traditionally and California-style, in a setting right out of downtown San Francisco. Those with a piscatorial bent can usually be found crowding the bar, feasting on an impressive selection of oysters on the half shell—Dungeness Bays, Olympias, Samish Bays,
Quilcenes, Eagle Creeks, and Snow Creek Belons, all from Washington State and all so fresh as to be transcendent in terms of oysterness. And they're just the start of an encyclopedic seafood menu that runs from steamed Manila clams in garlic and white wine broth, Penn Cove or
Emerald mussels steamed with garlic and herbs, and traditional oyster stew, to fine popcorn rock shrimp, very good Dungeness crab cakes, one of the best salades nicoises around, and a particularly rich clam chowder. There's much more, some of it on the line between creative and butterly wild-eyed—Chilean white sea bass grilled with mango aioli and red potatoes, ling cod with pesto and sun-dried tomatoes, and white Alaskan king salmon pan-fried with Moroccan black barbecue sauce. Additional locations include one in Beverly Hills (2 Rodeo Drive; 310/859-0434), another in downtown Los Angeles (633 W 5th Street, in Library Towers;
213/629-1929), and one in El Segundo (2101 Rosencrans Avenue; 310/416-1123). $$; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch, dinner every day; full bar; reservations required; west side of Los Robles Ave north of Colorado Blvd. Av

Mi Piace / 2*

2S E COLORADO BLVD, OLD TOWN PASADENA; 626/795-3131
801 N SAN FERNANDO BLVD. BURBANK; 818/843-1111

Mi Place is a phenomenon—a restaurant that's never without customers. Even on nights when the streets of Old Town Pasadena are empty and most local restaurants are sending their excess staff home, you can bet your bottom dollar Mi Piace will be full. The formula is simple—lots of
good Italian comfort food freshened up with California touches, served in a cheerful setting, at very reasonable prices. The room is warmly high tech, with massive mirrors hanging from the back walls, an open kitchen, and a busy bar that separates the restaurant from the adjacent bakery. You can easily mix and match a meal of classic pasta, chicken and veal dishes with cutting-edge carpaccios, risotti, and seafood, all made with state-of-the-art olive oils and balsamic vinegars. The pizzas are wonderful, too, with a good crunchy crust and enough toppings to satisfy even the most persnickety pizza lover. $; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch,
dinner every day; full bar; reservations accepted for groups of 4 or more; north side of Colorado Blvd between fair Oaks and Raymond Aves.

Parkway Grill / ir-k-k

510 S ARROYO PARKWAY, PASADENA; 626/795-1001

Commonly regarded as the Spago of Pasadena and certainly one of the best restaurants in town, the Parkway Grill offers utterly and totally revisionist American fare. When you enter, you're overlooking the open kitchen, in which a bevy of chefs are making pizzas and composing
salads. The room itself is warm and welcoming, wonderfully open, and filled with a small forest's worth of plants and trees. All told, it's a nearly perfect piece of design. The design of the menu is fairly perfect as well Consider appetizers like delicate corn cakes with warm oysters, small
^- sausages, and a vaguely spicy tomatillo sauce; black bean soup with smoked pork and a lime cream; or roasted chiles filled with smoked chicken, corn, cilantro, and cheese. Think of marvelous pizzas topped with lamb sausage, grilled eggplant, clams, and scallops; smoked chicken and cilantro; and even black beans and smoked pork, or roasted Chinese air duck with apricot-ginger glaze, long beans, and Napa cabbage; and whole catfish fried crispy with ginger lime soy sauce and caraway rice They sound silly, but they sure do taste good. $$; AE, MC, V; checks OK; lunch Mon-Fri, dinner every day; full bar; reservations required; east side of Arroyo Pkwy north of California Blvd.

Pinot Restaurant & Martini Bar / 3*

897 GRANITE DR, PASADENA; 626/792-1 1 79
What began as Pinot at the Chronicle is now the Pinot Restaurant & Martini Bar, superchef Joachim Splichal's hometown operation (he lives in nearby San Marino). It's an excellent, elegant, yet easygoing place to go tor an encyclopedic assortment of martinis along with an equally extensive selection of classic and modern bistro dishes—including everything from grilled chicken with garlic-flavored French fries, crisp duck leg confit with red lentils, braised veal short ribs with horseradish mashed potatoes, and potato and goat cheese terrine to crisp sweetbreads endive and Roquefort salad, oven-baked onion soup, grilled lamb sirloin, and an awesome smoked salmon club sandwich. There's a spa menu for those who worry about such things, but in the face of food this good, we recommend just buying a larger size of clothing. $$; AE, MC, V; no checks- lunch Mon-Fri, dinner Mon-Sat; full bar; reservations required; on tiny Granite Dr, northeast of the intersection of Lake Ave and California Blvd.

The Raymond / 2*

1250 S FAIR OAKS AVE, PASADENA; 626/441-313

The Raymond is, in its own understated way, one of the most traditionally romantic spots in Southern California—a place that doesn't scream romance but subtly lets it get beneath your skin. It's actually the sort of romantic restaurant makes guys feel rather comfortable—all that nice
^ wood in a lovingly restored California bungalow (formerly the care-taker's cottage at the Raymond Hotel), the kind of place that Tim Alien might like. The food is also special without being overly fussy—Long Island roast duckling with fresh pomegranate and cranberry sauce, soft- shell crabs with sliced oranges and toasted almonds, rack of lamb chops with fresh rosemary and garlic, and medallions of beef with Stilton cheese and port wine cream sauce. Nothing precious here, but there is music, wonderful service, and soft lighting. She'll love it; he won't mind it. $$; AE, MC, V; checks OK; lunch, dinner Tues-Sun; full bar; reservations
recommended; east side of Fair Oaks Ave north of Pasadena Fwy.

Shiro / 3*

1505 MISSION ST, SOUTH PASADENA; 626/799-4774

Shiro is named for its chef, who first leaped to prominence with his fine cooking at Pasadena's long-departed Cafe Jacoulet. In the tradition of many of L.A.'s Cal-Asian restaurants, the room is high-ceilinged and noisy. The virtually all-seafood menu, printed daily, is as stripped down
as the setting: it might consist of no more than six appetizers and six entrees plus a couple of specials. The Asian influence is manifest in dishes such as the superb Chinese ravioli filled with the most delicate shrimp , salmon mousse and nestled in a mild fennel sauce; smoked salmon with masago roe on potato pancakes (Jewish-Japanese cooking?); California king salmon napped in a ginger-lime sauce; and Shiro's signature dish, a whole sizzling catfish (you can order either medium or large) served with sweet ponzu sauce. This last is arguably the best catfish this side of N'Awlins, and may be even better than anything down there. Shiro is, genuinely, one of the restaurants that makes life in Southern California so very . . . livable. $$; AE, MC, V; dinner Tues-Sun; beer and wine; reserva tions required; south side of Mission St west of Fair Oaks Ave.

Twin Palms / 2*

101 W GREEN ST, OLD TOWN PASADENA; 626/577-2567

When it comes to re-creating the feeling of a bistro-cafe by the Mediterranean, there are few settings more dramatic or successful than Twin Palms. This is a Disneyland version of a cafe in Nice or Cannes, with a iy billowing tent wrapped around the central patio like Christmas wrap-
ping. The cooking has evolved over the years from the California-French cuisine of Michael Roberts to the California Coastal cooking of Tony Zidar, who's given the menu a fresh approach that works especially well on warm January days following the Rose Parade. Main courses include roast chicken and bacon Brie crostada, and herb-crusted filet mignon with potato leek gratin in a port wine sauce. There are 450 seats here that are almost always full—and are definitely packed come Sundays, when Twin Palms erupts with the joy of a wonderful gospel-music buffet brunch. Praise the Lord and pass the eggs Benedict. $$; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch, dinner every day; full bar; reservations required; northwest corner ofDeLacey and Green Sts.

Xiomara and Oye! / 2*

69 N RAYMOND AVE, OLD TOWN PASADENA; 626/796-2520

Xiomara and Oye! are two restaurants under one roof, a brilliant concept engineered by wildly energetic restaurateur Xiomara Ardolina, with Xiomara in the front and Oye! in the back. Xiomara is home to New World cuisine, the sort of dishes found down in Miami at hot spots like
Mark's Place and Chef Alien's. Oye! is where Xiomara serves a sort of Cuban-Asian amalgam that's not so odd when you consider that Cuba has long had a sizable Asian population. Oye! translates as "Listen!" So listen: It's well worth trying. Go here for Peruvian jalea (marinated,
fV breaded, deep-fried seafood), churrasco anticucho (pesto-flavored skewered skirt steak) with sweet-potato fries, Ecuadorian ceviche (rock shrimp, scallops, and avocado), traditional Galician appetizers (cured Spanish ham, wonderfully dry manchego cheese, cantimpalo sausage),
pork-filled wonton taquitos with a snappy chipotle dip, and warm duck salad with what has to be the world's only Key lime-hoisin dressing.
There's nothing quite like the place. $$; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch Mon-Fri, dinner every day; full bar; reservations recommended; west side of Raymond Ave north of Colorado Blvd.

Yang Chow / 2*

3777 E COLORADO BLVD. PASADENA (AND BRANCHES); 626/432-6868

Yang Chow has long been the place to go for well-nigh perfect versions of the Top 100 Chinese dishes. Although the menu does offer sea cucumber (served with either brown sauce or shrimp eggs), generally you won't find the sort of dishes that only restaurant critics trying to prove how cool they are order. This is the sort of place to go for a Platonically perfect experience. No meal should be embarked upon without orders of spicy Szechwan wontons, which are soft and hot-sweet in a broth the color of a fire engine; cold noodles tossed with shredded chicken and
warm-cool sesame sauce; steamed pork dumplings; hot and sour soup; or the dish that most people think of when Yang Chow comes up in conversation—the slippery shrimp. It's a wonderful dish—plump shrimp in a crisp batter under a sweet-sour-hot sauce. One bite and you're hooked.
The restaurant's two other locations (819 N Broadway Avenue, LosAngeles; 213/625-0811 and 6443 Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Woodland Hills; 818/347-2610) offer the same menu. $; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch, dinner every day; beer and wine; reservations recom-
mended; north side of Colorado Blvd east of Rosemead Blvd.

Yujean Kang's / 2.5*

67 N RAYMOND AVE, OLD TOWN PASADENA; 626/585-0855
8826 ROBERTSON BLVD, WEST HOLLYWOOD; 310/288-0806

There's a subtlety to Yujean Kang's cooking that one needs to be prepared for. It's quintes-sentially understated—so much so that it's hard to say whether the food is Chinese or Kangian. His menu changes with clock work regularity, for there is a restless imagination at work here. Typical of his twists are his Chinese dumplings with hot chili oil, tiny, perhaps a quarter the size of the normal model—a bit like gnocchi filled with minced pork and garlic chives. Kang is fond of sweetness, a trait found in appetizers like the catfish with kumquats and passion fruit. Tender and
moist, elegantly swimming in a stream of kumquats, silver sprouts, red and green bell peppers, and chiles, it's a catfish dish for people who never knew they liked catfish. The soup called Pictures in the Snow is a brown stock with julienne of chicken, ham, and mushrooms, and a floating island depicting a scene created out of vegetable bits. Additional offerings might include beef with oyster mushrooms, chicken with glazed cashew nuts, Santa Barbara prawns in a green herb sauce, salmon sauteed with garlic chives, and tea-smoked duck. Whatever is on the menu, this is very impressive, very personal cooking, and like nothing we've had before. $$; AE, MC, V; no checks; lunch, dinner every day; beer and wine; reservations required; west side of Raymond Ave north of Colorado Blvd.

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