WHY Ordering the Dianne salad marks you as a true Pasadenan. WHAT This institution does a brisk business in Cal-American cuisine. There’s a popular outdoor patio and a modern-coffee-shop interior, but wherever you choose to sit, the go-to dish is the Dianne salad, its ginormous take on Chinese chicken salad (for a more reasonable serving, [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY A chance to hang out with the local hipsters in a laid-back neighborhood café. WHAT This funky-cute cottage across the street from Virginia Park is emblematic of the gentrification of Santa Monica’s Pico neighborhood. Pull up a chair at one of the adorable little tiled tables on the ivy-shaded patio and enjoy one of [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY It’s the best secret café in Santa Monica. WHAT You don’t have to keep this quiet: The café in Santa Monica’s fabulous Main Library offers good, made-to-order-food including turkey burgers, panini, wraps and an amazing range of salads (chef’s, Cobb, Caesar, Greek, apple-walnut). You can eat in a large, sunny courtyard, and savor the [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Tasty oat bran muffins and other healthy treats. WHAT This friendly café is well located in central Santa Monica, just a short walk from the Promenade. The coffee drinks are carefully made, and the food is actually good for you: veggie burgers, quesadillas, organic salads. Try to score a table on the patio. 530 [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Where else can $45 buy you ‘coffee & counsel’—a cuppa joe and twenty minutes of legal consultation? WHAT Corporate law was a grind, so Jeff Hughes combined his desire to become a ‘people’s lawyer’ with his love of a good coffeehouse to create this unusual place. You can drop in or make an appointment [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Major Dickason’s blend. WHAT If you must drink at a chain, this estimable Bay Area institution is the one to pick. The coffee drinks are robust and made by actual baristas, the take-home beans are addictive and thoughtfully ground, and all the locations were carefully chosen to showcase Peets’ outdoor tables in lively, people-watching [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY Can’t beat the soundtrack—great jazz on the stereo. WHAT A sophisticated, spacious spot, Perry’s is a terrific place to hold small business meetings or to work on your laptop (free WiFi). Good coffee, tasty sandwiches and Dreyer’s ice cream. WHO The hipper sorts of Northwest Pasadenans, after-school kids and employees of local nonprofits. 2051 [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY An authentic and appealing slice of European-style café life, right in the middle of Small Town, U.S.A. WHAT The sultry purple neon sign beckons passersby into this popular hangout in a handsome old brick building across from the library. On the menu: well-made espresso drinks and sunny sidewalk tables, but not much to eat. [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY You can hang out as long as you like, and the private room is great for a committee meeting. WHAT Maybe it’s not the best coffee in town—and the service is often bizarrely slow—but there’s something endearing about this appealingly scruffy place anyway. For one thing, the live music in the separate concert room [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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WHY To pole-vault into the league of the coolest foodies in town. WHAT One might assume from the ‘Pico Teriyaki House’ sign outside that this might be a divey neighborhood spot for a cheap plate of chicken teriyaki and shrimp tempura. And one would be very, very wrong. This is L.A.’s great ‘secret’ restaurant, where [...]
October 28, 2011 | Posted in
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