Tracy’s Restaurant Guide
Updated January, 2007
This is my personal, subjective, and often updated guide to local food and drink establishments located mostly in the Northeast Los Angeles area, branching out to Pasadena, South Pasadena, Altadena, San Gabriel. Asterisks indicate that one of us on my team has been there, tasted the food, and likes it. Call the restaurant for current hours.
*Armon’s 5056 Eagle Rock Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.478.1440
Good solid American breakfast and lunch, also some Chinese fare. Nice neighborhood atmosphere, friendly waitresses, good daily lunch specials.
*Auntie Em’s 4616 Eagle Rock Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.255.0800
www.AuntieEmskitchen.com. Great breakfast and lunch, cookies, soups, indoor and outdoor seating, also excellent catering. Vegetarian friendly but they also have good pulled pork sandwiches. Next door is their gourmet cheese shop. Occasional Market Dinners with wine suggestions you can buy from Colorado Wine Company—sign up for their email newsletter and catch the next Dinner, it’s fantastic!
*Bistro de la Gare 921 Meridian Ave. South Pas. 626.799.8828
www.bistrodelagare.com. Really charming, great French bistro food, wine bar, located right by the Gold Line.
*The Blue Hen 1743 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.257.5654
www.eatatbluehen.com. Vietnamese food, lunch and dinner. This restaurant supports local farms and sustainable farming practices, and it’s good food, too.
*Brownstone Pizza 2108 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.257.4992
Good New York style pizza and you can also buy it by the slice!
*The Bucket 4541 Eagle Rock Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.257.5654
Known for Basque-style hamburgers. Longtime Oxy hangout.
*Café Beaujolais 1712 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.255.5111
Classic French bistro food, extremely good.
*Café Culture 1359 N. Altadena Blvd. Eagle Rock 626.398.8654
Coffee house with good baked goods.
*Camilo’s Café & Catering 2128 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.478.2644
California bistro serving tasty breakfast, lunch, dinner. Also afternoon tea by reservation and excellent catering. Live music on Thursday evenings. Atmosphere is lovely, great for any occasion.
*The Capri 4604 Eagle Rock Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.257.3225
Good solid traditional Italian food, large portions, old-style Italian restaurant atmosphere.
*Casa Bianca 1650 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.256.9617
“The Best Pizza in Southern California.” It is good! Try to beat the rush, but they have chairs outside so you can just visit with your friends while you wait. Takeout is a good choice.
Cinnamon Vegetarian 5511 Figueroa St. Highland Park 323.982.9480
www.CinnamonVegetarian.com. An international but mostly Southwest/South American menu, all meat-free. Very tasty food, a nice, clean, comfortable space, friendly service.
*The Chalet 1630 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.258.8800
This is one cool bar, no food served at all. Lodge-like interior with fireplace, rock wall, dim lighting, even winter snowscape paintings on the walls. Great jukebox, good martinis.
*Classic Thai 1708 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.478.0530
Charming atmosphere, moderate prices, good Thai food.
*The Coffee Gallery 2029 N. Lake Ave. Altadena 626.398.7917
www.coffeegallery.com. Neighborhood coffee house with entertainment in the back room venue. Get on their email list, they have incredible talent performing, especially old folkies, acoustic guitarists and songwriters.
*The Coffee Table 1958 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.255.2200
www.coffeetablebistro.com. Sister to the one in Silverlake. Great space, good food, coffee and now beer and wine. Sensitive restoration of the historic building and old photos of Eagle Rock add to the ambience.
*Colombo’s 1833 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.254.9138
Prime rib, steak, seafood, pasta. Piano music every evening, dimmed lighting, full bar with the strongest drinks around, interesting paintings, old neighborhood feel. Now with some outdoor seating as well.
*The Colorado Wine Co. 2114 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.478.1985
www.cowineco.com. Neighborhood wine bar with tastings Friday evenings and Sunday afternoon. Buy a glass or a case. Sign up for the email list for John’s literary musings on the art and comedy of wine as well as details of the next tasting or art opening there.
*Dave’s Chillin’ & Grillin’ 2152 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.490.0988
www.daveschillin.com. Dave is passionate about his sandwiches and he has every reason to be. Fresh, tasty, a bargain—the Eagle Rock business model between two halves of a fresh roll.
Ernie Jr’s Taco House 2803 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.256.1298
One of the oldest restaurants around serving old-style American Mexican food. I have to mention that they put mayonnaise in their tostada dressing.
*Elvira’s 1757 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.257.3216
Homemade Mexican food with lots of vegetarian choices, prepared and served with love. Pepe Serna paintings on the walls.
*La Estrella #3 6103 N. Figueroa Highland Park 323.982.0179
Colorful house, corner location, great tacos. Served open with shredded carnitas, limes and very inexpensive. Voted one of the top 25 Mexican restaurants in LA in 2004.
*Fatty’s 1627 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.254.8804
www.fattyscafe.com. Gourmet vegetarian food, excellent wine list, good beer. Some very amazing and delicious desserts as well. Open for dinnertime only, but you can just have dessert or a glass of wine if you like.
*Firefly Bistro 1009 El Centro Ave. South Pas. 626.441.2443
www.eatatfirefly.com Exceptional New Orleans style cuisine. The occasional 5-course wine dinner is to die for.
*La Fuente 2256 W. Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.344.3796
Reliably good, satisfying Mexican food. Beer & wine served.
*Jamba Juice 5053 Eagle Rock Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.349.0670
One of the many signs that Eagle Rock has arrived. Healthy, quick juiced drinks. This is in a building that was not torn down by the Walgreen’s next door.
*Johnny’s Bar 5006 York Blvd. Highland Park 323.551-6959
Evilly good martinis. No food. Eat at the nearby York Pub and stop in here as part of your Highland Park Pub crawl.
*Larkin’s Joint 1496 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.254.0934
www.larkinsjoint.com. Contemporary California soul food in a juke joint atmosphere. Come here when you have no dietary restrictions, because this is good old fried catfish & greens, sweet potato pie, BBQ’d tri-tip kind of fare.
*Marty’s 5137 York Blvd. Highland Park 323.256.2400
The gentrification of Highland Park began here. Yummy bar food like Kobe beef burgers. Bouncers dressed in black, valet parking. Yes!
*Mia Sushi 4741 Eagle Rock Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.256.2562
www.mia-sushi.com. Eagle Rock’s first sushi restaurant. Great food, decor, valet parking. For you no raw fish die-hards, there is a selection of cooked non-fish Japanese-style items that is very good as well.
*Oinkster 2005 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.257.3892
www.theoinkster.com. “Slow fast food” is their motto. It’s really good and it’s really, really slow. House cured pastrami, slow roasted pork and chicken, fresh good food.
*Panang 1801 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.344.3796
If you’re feeling like you might be coming down with a cold, go have a nice big bowl of Thai noodles, a tall frosty beer, and be happy.
*Polka 4112 Verdugo Road Glassell Park 323.255.7887
www.polkacatering.com. Jonathan Gold says, "Polka, a sweet Polish restaurant near where Eagle Rock fades into Glendale, is that rarity in Los Angeles, an authentic, home-style Eastern European restaurant of the kind so common in Cleveland and Chicago...”
*Pat & Lorraine’s 4720 Eagle Rock Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.257.7926
Local breakfast and lunch joint—it closes at 2:30 pm!
*Petit Beaujolais 1651 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.255.5133
Great coffee, fresh croissants, very tasty breakfast and lunch, a perfect place to sit outside on a balmy day and just be in the heart of Eagle Rock.
*Santa Maria Barbecue 626.963.3935
All you can eat barbecues, parties, events. Simple fare and really tasty. Tri-tip top sirloin, chicken, beef ribs, beans, hot dogs or hamburgers, and that’s about it. They only cater. www.santamariagrill.com.
*Scoops 712 N. Heliotrope Dr. Los Angeles 323.906.2649
Gelato, vegan ice cream, & sorbet. You can have a taste of whatever they have available that day. Wild tastes like Jack Daniels & Cream, Blackberries and mango. Worth the drive out of Eagle Rock!
*Senor Fish 4803 Eagle Rock Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.257.7167
Great fish tacos and other Mexican food. Good outdoor seating.
*Spitz 2505 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.257.5600
Home of the Doner Kebab: lean meat, chilies, tzatziki, tomatoes & cucumbers in grilled focaccia, sweet potato fries. Good fast food plus gelato! Two Oxy grads went to Europe, liked what they saw, and brought it back to Eagle Rock.
*The Spot 2032 Lincoln Ave. Pasadena 626.296.3184
(Formerly Vintage Café)
www.thespotpasadena.com Now a catering business only, and really good.
*Stoney Point 1450 W. Colorado Blvd. Pasadena 626.449.9715
www.stoneypointrestaurant.com. Italian-style cuisine, great atmosphere.
*Swork 2160 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.258.5600
www.swork.com. Good coffee, Free—note, Free wireless internet, kid-friendly hangout, a great community hangout, the first of the “cool factor” beginning of Eagle Rock’s commercial core.
*The Taco Spot 2005 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.257.4727
www.taco-spot.com. Really tasty, fresh Mexican food. Reasonably priced, good service, very convenient.
*Timbo’s Fresh Cuisine 519 N. Avenue 64 Highland Park 323.344.7420
Freshly made, good Mexican food.
*Tommy’s Burgers 1717 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.982.1746
Some people in my family love Tommy’s. If you want a heart attack on a bun, you can start here. Some people have this for breakfast. It takes all kinds to make a world.
*Villa Sombrero 6101 York Blvd. Highland Park 323.256.9784
They make guacamole at your table, serve up good, classic Mexican food.
*York Pub 5018 York Blvd. Highland Park 323.255.9675
www.theyorkonyork.com. Another of the new bars along York Blvd, part of the renaissance of Highland Park and the birth of the cool. Lots of good beers, good food, good times, and now even open for brunch on the weekends.
*Zankou Chicken 1415 E. Colorado Blvd. Glendale 818.244.1937
Some of the best fast food in the world. Garlic sauce, hummus, pita bread, rotisserie chicken, shwarma, it’s actually addictive.
FREE DELIVERY(most with a minimum order)
*Elvira’s 1757 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.257.3216
Italiano’s 6500 N. Figueroa Highland Park 323.255.6155
Also at 5101 York Blvd. Highland Park 323.255.0016
*Sicha Siam 4403 Eagle Rock Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.344.8285
*Thai Spirit 2617 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.256.1644
*Two Guys from Italy 405 N. Verdugo Rd. Glendale 323.254.0404
*Zangezour Grill 2750 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock 323.259.9500
Do you have restaurants you’d like to see included on this list? Do you have any real estate needs? Call Tracy King, Realtor, Coldwell Banker, at 626-844-2256 or email at Tracy@TracyKing.com. Check out my website at www.TracyKing.com.
- 1 -
posted by Tracy King @ 4:52 PM
0 comments
