Pasadena Move - Part 1

Although we haven't had a new Fatty Shaddy post in nearly six weeks, there hasn't been a lack of dining. It has just been a whirlwind month in which Fatty Shaddy has moved down to Pasadena in Southern California. Because of our chaoitc schedule, we really didn't get to complete our bucket list in Northern California before we left. But we did get to dine at Manresa the night before driving down to Pasadena, which wasn't as amaze-balls as it usually is, maybe because of the newly redesigned noisy dining room. But it's still Manresa and of course we had a couple awesome highlights.

The dining scene in Pasadena is completely different from what we're used to, mainly because we're two blocks from Old Town Pasadena and have been able to walk to most of our dining ventures. Unfortunately though, our point and shoot camera is broken and I didn't want to lug the DLSR for our first few days in the area. So for now, Fatty Shaddy is on a minor hiatus. But here's a rundown of the places we've been since moving and the highlights. We look forward to starting it back up full force soon.

Euro Pane Bakery - Almond Brioche (good but not as good as Baker and Baker in SF), Ham and cheese Quiche (good buttery crust) and a fresh squeezed OJ. We also went back for lunch the following weekend and had an egg salad sandwich on brioche and meatloaf sandwich on rosemary, current bread (both tasty).Rating 6.5/10

Shaddy Approved

Quadrupel Brasserie - Duck Confit Sandwich, Red onion & cranberry chutney on grilled sourdough (tasted like Thanksgiving, but cold shredded duck was just okay) and The Nordli Burger, Dry aged beef filled with fontina and parmesan cheese, topped with Grilled red onion, tomato, smoked gouda, and bbq sauce ( a small burger, but was very good). The fries also stood out, crisp, maybe cooked in duck fat and the iced tea was freshly brewed with a floral accent. Rating 6.5/10

Matsuri - 7 piece sushi lunch (Maguro,  Sake, Hamachi, Ebi, Spanish Mackerel and spicy tuna) Chirashi bowl (which had all of the above including ika, surf clam, Japanese tuna salad, eel, and seaweed). Both were affordable lunch specials and good quality fish for a neighborhood joint. The regular dinner prices and the a la carte items from the sushi bar seemed pretty high though ($16 for ame ebi). It's the preferred Sushi place on the Cal Tech side of town so I'm sure we'll be back. Rating 7/10

Choza Mama - We got this order to go and dined at my aunt's home just a few blocks away.We had the Loma and Pollo Saltado, Steak sautéed with onions tomatoes and french fries and the chicken version also. We also had an order of Seco de Carne, beed stewed in green cilantro sauce. When it says with french fries, that doesn't mean that its on the side, it means its stir fried with the rest of the ingredients. Basically, it was Peruvian stir fry that you eat with rice. An interesting first for us and a unique change of pace. Rating 6/10

Din Tai Fung - One of the most exciting reasons we couldn't wait to get to in So Cal was DTF in Arcadia. It's because the best dumplings we've ever had when we dined here in Beijing. The menu is slightly different than Beijing, but same concept overall. We ordered the pork and shrimp dumplings and an order of crab and pork ones. They were good, but not as good as in China. We also had a  beef noodle soup. It's a pricey experience and we'll probably end up searching for a good hole in the wall place that serves these at half the cost. But if you're taking out guests, this is the place to go. Rating 6.5/10

Vince's Deli - A local deli within walking distance, Vince's comes highly recommended as a value deli. We completely agreed with this assessment as we were able to get two "regular" sized sandwiches (one pastrami, one turkey, roast beef, avocado) both on french rolls, and a medium fountain drink for $13, about the same as a trip to Subway. The soft, fresh bread, and fresh veggies and pastrami were far superior to any visit to a chain sandwich shop and we really enjoyed it. My pastrami sandwich was a bit more loaded than Chu-Toro's, but both were great. If you're looking for sandwiches in Pasadena, definitely a place you should check out. Rating 7/10

Shaddy Approved