Luggage Room Pizzeria: Promising but a Miss

I had somewhat high hopes for The Luggage Room Pizzeria in Pasadena after reading some of the message boards and hearing about it from a fellow foodie friend. Then I heard it was from the owners of the adjacent La Grande Orange. First red flag. Aside from a slightly decent burger, I hadn't been impressed. Didn't like the vibe or decor there. And I felt somewhat the same way about the ambiance at  Luggage. Plus, I have yet to find a fantastic eatery in Pasadena (cue the hate mail from impassioned Pasadenos). Call me a hater, but it's true.

I entered fully prepared to like this place. I even refrained from a chance to have pizza for lunch to save myself for this pie.

But you guessed it. I was disappointed. I had been excited about the prospects of being able to top my pies with extra freebies like egg. Looks the part above, right?

Well, the crust didn't quite cut it for me. Ok, I am a crust snob. Fine, I am an everything snob. But I can't help it if I've tried the most amazing pizza in Napoli and can't get it out of my head. It set the standard and I can't go back. The crust should be crispy yet substantive enough to be able to hold the cheese, tomato sauce and other light toppings without getting too soggy. I long for light and airy pizza where you don't feel heavy at all even after four slices. I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to burgers and pizzas, but Mozza for sure and Olio does a better one than this place.

Let's start with the good -- the kale and quinoa salad. Kale seems to be making a comeback and that's a good thing if it means getting more vitamins and calcium into my body. It came shredded with some shaved Parmesan cheese and tomatoes but the nice touch was the crunch and nuttiness from the sunflower seeds. It was like a speed cleansing to prep my stomach for the unhealthy food about to make its way. The dressing was light and lemony. Thumbs up. See, I'm not always scathing.

But that was the extent of the somewhat positive experience. Service was good but the clunky wooden trays they brought the pizzas on were inconvenient and miscalculated for the small tables, especially since we had ordered three pies. Why disincentivize (I hope that's a word) ordering multiple pies and make it hard to place on the table?

The white wine Sangria that our server claimed was one of its signature drinks was basically 99% ice, 2 grape halves, one tiny orange wedge and one teaspoon of wine. Weak. I drank it because it was cold. But I can confidently say that my Sangria is at least five times better.

We got the classic Margherita, one with Italian sausage, fennel and roasted red peppers and another one with burrata, roasted garlic, piquillo peppers and balsamic reduction. The last one we topped with an over-easy egg for free. I give them props for offering the option of adding cool toppings like egg, broccolini, fresno chiles, roasted garlic, etc, for free. But alas, while I loved the egg, it wasn't able to save the mediocre pizza.

Margherita is my pizzometer wherever I go. And this didn't exactly pass. Serviceable, but not enough to want to return. My love of piquillo peppers drew me to that pie but I could barely taste them, not to mention the roasted garlic.

The sausage and fennel one was probably last  among my ranking of pizzas we had. But I am biased against meat in my pizzas. Yes, the carnivore extraordinaire, the one who adds bacon and meat to everything does not like to have meat in pizza.

We had a bunch of leftovers so my dinner mates and I took some home...and had them for breakfast with an egg the next day. Sure, eggs always take things up a notch but the pizzas were still too salty without too much else in terms of flavor.

None of the desserts enticed us so we passed.

Needless to say, I'm glad I tried it but I won't be returning.

Credits to photos 4 & 5 go to ctg. Thank you!

Slaw Dogs: Is the Spicy Polish Dog Spicy Enough? Good Fries and Beer Selection

I'm still in search of my fave hot dog -- well charred, juicy and super spicy. Add some sauerkraut, mustard and fresh bun and I'm good to go. It had been Top Dog in Berkeley for some time but a recent visit left me sorely disappointed.

I had heard about Slaw Dogs so checked it out recently. The hot dogs were disappointing but the fries weren't bad and I liked its beer selection that included Allagash, a white ale from Maine and Hitachino, one of my favorite beers of all time.


I first had the spicy Calabrese, and hated it as soon as I bit into it. It was the fennel in the sausage. I asked the guy over the counter if I could swap it for a spicy Polish and he generously gave me a new one.

I added sauerkraut, grilled onions and bbq sauce as toppings that came with it. The dog was not bad but just not excellent like the hot link at that certain Berkeley joint (at least until recently).

I got it charbroiled as opposed to steamed, which is how I like it. The bread was fresh enough and the toppings were fine. The sausage itself just wasn't the same.

The sweet potato and regular fries combo basket was good but nothing mind-blowing.

It's a cute place and maybe I will try the Thai dog or other specialty ones others have raved about. But I much prefer the ambiance at Wurstkuche with the communal tables in Little Tokyo. It is a bit out of the way but maybe good for a quick bite if you're in the area.

Cafe Santorini: Fantastic Grilled Squid

I was so stoked to find a place that served decent squid reminiscent of the gems I had in Santorini overlooking a beautiful, deep blue ocean. Ok, it wasn't as good, mind you, but it was one of the best I've had in LA.

Cafe Santorini in Pasadena is the kind of place that you'd miss if you blinked. Its sign is barely visible and it's one of those walk-ups like many of the places in Pasadena. But I'm so glad I ran across it in my research for spots to go to after a cool event at the Pacific Asia Museum nearby.

Let's start with the really solid grilled baby squid salad. The squid was soft, charred just right on the edges and while it was a tad on the salty side, it's one of the best squid salads I've had in a while. On top of that, it was great value with generous portions, which is more than I can say about some of the fine dining establishments I've been to over the past few years where the squid or octopus may be passable if not for the measly portions at higher price tags.


The greens could have used less dressing that was slightly creamy but nonetheless they had me at squid (Nothing that a few squeezes of lemon couldn't ameliorate). Will definitely be returning for more.

Even the bread was yummy. It was like flat-bread topped with roasted garlic bits. What's not to like? Plus it was nice and warmed up. Can we say Greek bread sticks? Anyhow, the vibe of this place was interesting. It has a banquet hall-like space in an adjacent room and a leveled private dining area that overlooks the banquet room. Our waiter was also straight out of a foreign film, an older gentleman who was passionate about his food and no-nonsense in an endearing way.


My next favorite item -- it was a toss-up -- was the kefta kebab, which was ground beef formed into patties with herbs and spices (some parsley mix I'm sure) that came with rice, a roasted tomato and roasted bell peppers. I've always liked kefta kebab in Lebanese restaurants but this one was juicy and grilled to perfection. I mean, check out those grill marks.

I wasn't crazy about the rice, which I expected to be basmati but it was too watery and didn't separate easily like I usually expect the rice to. The veggies were ok but the clear winner was the meat.



My third favorite was the cheese borek, an amazing mix of feta and mozzarella cheese with mint and parsley wrapped in filo pasty. It was ethereal and crunchy without being too heavy. Delicious.

We got the mezze sampler that included babaghanoush, cucumbers, stuffed grape leaves, olives, sojouk sausage, grilled hallumi cheese (sheep's milk cheese) and some unremarkable pita bread.
Everything on the sampler plate was just ok except for the borek. The sojouk sausage tasted like chorizo. There's definitely some kind of smoked paprika-like spice in there. The sausage was a bit overcooked so it was hard to taste it as much as I would have wanted to. The babaghanoush wasn't as good as Zankou, my go-to spot for this (called mutabal there).

The tzatziki yogurt dip was really good, creamy and refreshing at the same time. It made for a great dip for the kefta chunks I had one too many of.

The hummus was not that flavorful but I'm looking forward to returning and trying some of their more interesting takes on pasta and pizza, or even some of their kebabs and slouvakis. Yum. What a find!

Daisy Mint in Pasadena: For Emergency Thai Cravings Only

Who woulda thunk it? Two words: Thai + Pasadena. I didn't think they'd mix either, but I was surprised at the decent Thai served up in an area known more for housing overrated bakery Europane than good Thai eats.

Daisy Mint looks like it was obviously converted from a bohemian cafe -- judging by the cool art hanging on the walls, what looks like a glass pastry display by the cashier and the prerequisite old-school chandelier.

I had the chicken pad see ew and the tofu penang curry with brown rice. The pad see ew was above average, and I liked that it was stir fried with some black beans to give it a heartier flavor. The chicken tasted fresh and came in generous chunks instead of it being mostly noodles and greens.

The tofu penang curry was on the overly sweet side for me but once I added some hot sauce, it was better. I liked the pumpkin and the other healthy veggies in the curry. Having it with brown rice adds to the good-for-you appeal. I like it better when the tofu is fried but then I catch myself and think, oh, that's right. I was trying to eat healthy.


The worst part was the dessert. I mean, look at this monstrosity! The day's special, banana-stuffed dosa with vanilla ice cream, sounded so good on paper. Unfortunately, it was an awful execution. The deep-fried pocket filled with banana wasn't even warm (we were told it's usually warmed but this one wasn't because it was closing time, so they microwaved it for us, which helped a little but not enough to salvage it.) and the ice-cream didn't taste like vanilla at all. To make matters worse, they drowned, and I mean, drowned it with this awful berry syrup and condensed milk. If there ever was a dessert crime, this would be it.

One interesting thing I noticed from the menu was that it had Korean elements on it, including barley tea, kimchi fried rice and ribs. Although I probably wouldn't go here to get my Korean food fix, I thought it was an interesting mix. I asked if the owners were Korean. It turns out the owners are a Thai woman and Korean man couple. Cute.

Although I'm not sure I'll be returning anytime soon, it is good to know that there is a place to get half-way decent Thai in the middle of Pasadena. Me, I'm lucky to be closer to Thai Town than I was before, so there's little reason to venture out to Pas.

Euro Pane: Best Croissant it is Not

I admit I had high expectations for Europane, the venerable bakery in Pasadena whose chocolate croissants sell out so quickly I haven't yet sunk my teeth into one. Maybe I should defer my review until then, but I have to say, if the chocolate croissants are anything like its regular croissants that I have tried, I haven't been impressed. Breadbar has a far superior croissant. It wasn't as flaky or buttery and just didn't do the trick. Europane's quiche was no contest to Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, which is as delicious as it is decadent. The macademia nut tart was too hard and not seasoned right. Its sandwiches sounded good on paper -- roast beef with horseradish sauce on cranberry walnut bread. The bread was fantastic -- fresh and flavorful. The sandwich? Not so much. Meat was hard to bite into because of all these connective tissues and it was a bit bland. Still, Europane seems to be doing something right to expand to an Old Town location that's decidedly bigger. I just need more flavor that lives up to its hype.

Vertical Wine Bistro: Calamari Time

I'm not much of a bar hopper, but when I do drink, I look for a place where food is as good as the wine choices. Also important are comfortable chairs, good lounge music, laid-back vibe and most importantly, not having to fight with 20 other people decked out in black elbowing their way to a drink at the bar (Edison, anyone?).

I should also say I don't like the bars much in LA compared to ones in NY, only because they seem to lack a certain edge, quaintness as well as indescribable coolness factor. I'm not talking velvet rope. I detest that. But I think I found at least one wine bar I like in Pasadena, Vertical Wine Bistro.

Sure, it's overpriced ($15 for unremarkable braised garlic chicken!). You pay for the ambiance and decent food. The star of the night was hands-down the fried calamari with apple aioli and lemon. I don't think I've had calamari in LA that's crispier and fluffier on the outside. It was also just chewy enough on the inside without being gummy. Because the batter was so ethereal, it almost felt like guilt-free fried food. I could hardly taste the apple in the aioli but the garlic in the mayo dip was good enough for me.



Another nice feature is the bar's 17 wine and champagne samplers. They are called "flights" and range from 3 Sauvignon Blanc sampler for $16 to 3 Northern Italy sampler for $26. There is an extensive by-the-glass wine list and other cocktails or drinks available. The sparkling wine sampler was fun. I'd like to try the fortified wine sampler sometime as I love port, although not so much with savory food.

The delicious arugula and pear salad with goat cheese (the hard kind) and toasted hazelnuts tempered the heavier fried calamari very well. It was simultaneously crunchy and refreshing. Less impressive were the grilled cheese sandwiches, which came in all-too-sweet raisin walnut toast bread that took away from any hint of the gooey cheese. Big distraction. The braised garlic chicken was nothing special. The grilled wild salmon with lentils and bacon was a tad fishy, but the flavorful lentils were cooked just right, as was the bacon. Then again, anything tastes better with bacon.



As the name suggests, the entrance takes you up to the second floor where a cozy lounge area, bar and separate restaurant side await. The service is even and crowd very casual. Let's just say you won't run into young hollywood in this joint. One thing management could train staff better on is to avoid pressuring patrons by asking multiple times whether staff could clear the table when we weren't finished with the dishes. I felt unnecessarily rushed.

Vertical Wine Bistro
70 N. Raymond Ave
Pasadena, CA 91103
(626)795-3999