With beloved eateries like Casa Bianca Pizzaria and Oinkster, Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock is quickly becoming "home to all things delicious." One restaurant at East LA Meets Napa had served wild boar tacos -- and I had missed it. So it was like instant karma when I met a friend for lunch at CaCao in Eagle Rock. What was that on the menu? Wild boar! This was the place. Colorado Boulevard scores again. more ›

Forget the pageantry and regal demeanor of the Rose Parade, the 31st Occasional Pasadena Doo Dah Parade is the ultimate antidote. Billed as being the loud and irreverent twister sister of the aforementioned annual march down Colorado Boulevard, the parade promises to "send up a woolly range of mischiefs, grounded superheroes, political pundits, homegrown satirists, art car inventors, and other bohemian frolickers." more ›

There were two headlines from the news today that were similar in context and timing: more ›

While hundreds of volunteers are stealthily working into the wee hours to affix flora to framework and as people begin to plan for finding space along the parade route, an unexpected battle has been waging between human rights groups and the City of Pasadena. more ›

We wanted to wait a while before checking out the new-ish Oinkster in Eagle Rock--and, admittedly, gear ourselves up for a major pig out on what they call their "slow fast food." So recently we stepped inside the red and white "shack" on Colorado in Eagle Rock for some lunch. Sitting in the interior made us feel like we'd crossed over into one of those nouveau "indie" films with big budgets; maybe it was... more ›

OK, that's not what happened, but we think this is funny. Even funnier because the editor of LAist writes his personal blog at busblog.com, and is obsessed with public transportation. This was taken today on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, as we were driving to get lunch. Said one 80 year old witness, "I've never seen anything like that in my life." Neither had we. Notice that while the bus was getting wenched onto the... more ›

Lines stretched around the block. Helicopters buzzed overhead. It was madness today at the grand opening of the Pasadena H&M, the first H&M retail outlet in Southern California. Tucked between the Tiffany and Apple stores on Colorado Boulevard, the warehouse-like space showcases on two floors H&M's womenswear line. Sorry gents, ladies only. You'll have to wait until the Oct. 26 opening of the Beverly Center H&M. Half an hour before the official noon opening... more ›

Outside of Vroman's Bookstore on Saturday in Pasadena, LAist spotted a horseless carriage. The dapper don behind the wheel -- um, rather, that stick thing -- said that his pre-car dates back to 1904. more ›

Brisk weather seems to beg for warm soothing beverages, the company of good friends, and tasty treats. This is why we recently culled together all three of those components at Pasadena's cozy Chado Tea Room for an afternoon of eats and drinks. Before we began our tea adventure, we'd done a little bit of online digging. We found ourselves on TeaMap.com, a site that, well, obviously, maps out tea houses in the U.S. We realized that while we talk about teatime an awful lot, we don't actually have it; our last local tea outing must have been years ago at the Rose Tree Cottage , although we've happily sipped a cuppa or two at the famed Empress Hotel in Victoria among other spots. But, oh, dear! The TeaMappers loathe the Rose Tree, and we had to factor in economy, so we opted for Chado. more ›

For the past several days the Food Network's ubiquitous kitchen pixie, Rachael Ray, has been invading book and cook shops in California on a signing tour for her cookbook 365: No Repeats. Tomorrow night marks her last stop in the greater Los Angeles area, with a 7-8 PM slot at Pasadena's Sur La Table. We happened to stroll by there over the weekend and noticed that their sidewalk sandwich board urged those interested to arrive at least one hour ahead of Ms. Ray's arrival in order to line up. more ›

American restaurants, for the most part, favor the ample portion. Giant salads, sandwiches the size of your head, mounds of mashed potatoes holding up something big and meaty. Sometimes a person doesn't want to eat that much--maybe it's late at night, maybe you had something super-sized for lunch and only want a small dinner. But a taste of something...now that would hit the spot! Enter tapas, the Spanish version of bar hopping and snacking that allows for the sharing of small portions of savory foods. One late night after the theatre we settled down at Pasadena's Bar Celona for some tapas, and had a lovely time. more ›

Here at LAist, we're all about making the rest of you famous. more ›

We've got two spots we've recently hit up in Pasadena that let you feast on fantastic fare for less than $25 a person. Today's spot is sushi, at a little spot on Colorado in Old Town called Ari-ya. more ›

LAist needs to admit from the get-go that we know little to nothing about Vietnamese food. We know it's typically fresher and lighter than other Asian cuisines, and that it is flavored to varying degrees with herbs like mint, basil,and ginger and spices like curry and chili. So in seeking out somewhere new to try on a night when lighter, tasty fare was on the agenda, we stumbled on Eagle Rock's Blue Hen, a nouveau Vietnamese eatery with an emphasis on fresh, organic ingredients served in a funky environment. And so our introduction to Vietnamese food began. more ›

If you hate the winter holidays, now would be a good time to head for a cave. Weekends are filling up with Southland holiday rites and rituals. more ›

Sometimes Los Angeles may be Los Angeles but doesn't feel like Los Angeles, which is totally the case for the wonderful town they call Pasadena. Nice and far away from the hustle and bustle of downtown, the self-entitlement of the Westside and the Hip-Factor of Hollywood, Pasadena and the coffee shops that reside there feel normal, comfortable and relaxing. more ›