Gin Sushi

I can’t front: Gin Sushi serves the best sushi I’ve ever eaten. Complete with a sushi bar and photographs of happy customers sprawling across its walls, this restaurant’s food quality is hard to beat. Although the service varies highly, especially during the busy night hours, I do not recommend skipping this joint while in the San Gabriel Valley.

Here are photos that detail my latest splurge there:

Salmon sashimi: fat, smooth, and creamy.

Philadelphia roll: The cream cheese does not overwhelm the roll. Instead it complements well with the creamy salmon, making this dish a smooth and fresh delight.

Unagi roll (right): Served with a sweet sauce, this roll’s unagi boosts both freshness and flavor. The unagi itself was a bit crisp around the edges.

Spider roll (left): Crunchy and tantalizing. The mix of ingredients in this provided a light and cold feeling.

Baked scallop crab roll (BSCR): Wonderful! + Tastes heavy. The best verb I can use to describe this is “ooze”. The big amount of sauce on it just oozes out of the roll. The blended flavors just ooze easily out. This roll is such a mouthful that its ingredients just ooze out of your mouth when you bite into it.

Cherry blossom roll: I was informed by a regular of Gin Sushi that this was a new roll. The spicy tuna serves as the main flavor and the rice seems to taste extra sweet. The salmon was just as fat and smooth as the ones used as the sashimi dish.

Dragon fire roll: Filled with cream cheese and spicy tuna, the roll itself was excellent! The pepper was simultaneously juicy and crunchy, which complements well with its crunchy fried exterior. The spicy bang seems to fade the longer the roll sits uneaten, so be sure to eat this the moment it arrives!

Caterpillar roll: The fact that I somehow forgot to take a picture of this roll should not unjustly make you think that this roll isn’t memorable. This perfect combination of the avocado and unagi is one of my favorite dishes at Gin Sushi. It was a bit salty this time, but the avocado never fails to be fresh and the unagi never fails to be sweet.

Might I mention that the prices are also rather fair for such good sushi? Everything totaled about $65 (minus tip).

Don’t be fooled by the photos’ focus on sushi. Gin Sushi serves other kinds of Japanese food, such as noodles, rice bowl combinations, and delicious desserts (pictured: strawberry mochi ice cream and tempura green tea ice cream):

Gin Sushi
3589 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107
(626) 440-9611
website
Sun - Thu 11:00AM to 10:30PM
Fri - Sat 11:00AM to 11:00PM

All India Cafe

My friend Diane wanted to try Indian food and I, being the nice friend I am, did a little research on what nearby restaurant could provide quality Indian food. Via some websites, All India Cafe has had some strong ratings, and I decided to take my taste buds (and Diane, my human bud) to the restaurant's Pasadena branch.

The food was mostly excellent. I shared naan with Diane. The bread came to the table fresh and hot. Steam wasn't the only thing emanating from it--so was a heavenly and delicious scent! Although it looked a bit too burnt in certain areas, it still satisfied me. With a taste heavily reminiscent of pancake, this naan was unlike any naan I've had before. However, the taste complemented well with the tandoori chicken salad.


The salad itself was beyond wonderful. Each ingredient in the dish provided an individual texture and taste that blended well together. Upon first glance, the cheese cubes looked like tofu and the vivid red color of ripe tomatoes dotted the salad of fresh and large green leaves. The cheese had a rather unique taste in that it was a sharp contrast to other cheeses I've encountered--its taste was incredibly mild. The most evident thing about it was its loose texture in the mouth. The mushrooms were excellent and succulent, as were the tomatoes, but the chicken pieces were a bit dry. The dish is saved by the smooth and cool feeling of the zucchini, which balanced out the overall texture of the chicken. The lettuce was tangy, thanks to the dressing, and the leafy greens rounded out the whole party of textures by being crisp.

I've seen this restaurant accused of serving Indian food that's ethnically diluted. From my limited experience, I would have to agree, but that should not deter any potential patrons. The food is still yummy, and the overall atmosphere of the place is resoundingly splendid in colors!

All India Cafe
39 S. Fair Oaks Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 440-0309
website

Mon - Thu 11:30AM to 10:00PM
Fri - Sat 11:30AM to 11:00PM
Sun 11:30AM to 10:00PM

Houston's

On Saturday my family and I (and fellow blogger Lyndsay) ate at Houston's in Pasadena for my sister's birthday. My sister loves Houston's and has been wanting to go there for a long time, and always talks about how good it is. I should have been skeptical when she said she always orders the fish there, even though Houston's is a steakhouse.

When we first got there, the hostess told me the wait for a large party would be around two hours. Now, I don't know about you, but I expect the food to be spectacular if I had to stand there and wait 2 hours to be seated. It's because they don't take reservations here. However, we got lucky and a table was available for us within a half hour ( just about when the rest of the family got there). Houston's is primarily made up of large, dark booths and we ended up getting the corner booth. I'd like to think that's where the VIPs sit. All of the waitstaff is extraordinarily attractive and slim, and our waitress also happened to be very nice.

I ended up ordering the fish (what was I thinking?) which was the halibut. My sister ordered the other fish that was available: salmon. The cool think about Houston's is that you can choose what side you would like with your entree, which ranges from french fries and a baked potato, to the seasonal vegetables of the day, which this time included chilled asparagus, glazed carrots, spaghetti squash, or cauliflower. Almost everyone got the chilled asparagus.

My halibut was served grilled with a half of a lemon covered with cheesecloth and four big spears of asaparagus lightly drizzled with some sort of creamy vinaigrette. The halibut was perfectly grilled with just a bit of salt, but I found it lacking in flavor. The lemon juice helped a bit. The asparagus was slightly cold and delicious with the vinagrette, but I wish there was more of the dressing. It perplexed my dad as to why there was "no flavor" so he put a lot of lemon juice on his asparagus.

I found myself craving some sort of carbohydrate...which was thankfully placated by a big mound of french fries in the middle of the table, which my sister had ordered for everyone to share. The french fries here are delicious, cut thinner then regular french fries, but fried just enough to be crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. I think that was my favorite part of the meal. I was still pretty hungry after finishing my fish.

I tried a bit of my boyfriend's prime rib, but I thought it was too beefy for me. My family laughed when I said this, because after all, prime rib is beef. However, when I eat steak, I like to taste the flavor of the grilling and the spices put into it, with the texture of the beef. I do not like thinking that my steak just tastes like...plain meat. Or plain cow in this case. I also tried the rotisserie chicken that my mom ordered. The glazing on the chicken was delicious, but the Louisiana dirty rice that accompanied it was nothing to write home about.

In the end, I think if you like steak you would like Houston's. Also, if you like spending almost 30 dollars a plate after having waited for 2 hours, you would like Houston's. If you don't mind a lack of presentation (though I guess most steakhouses aren't big on this anyway) and a weird menu (the restaurant serves sushi, salad, burgers, and steak and chicken), you would like Houston's. I was unimpressed overall, but I think I would give it another shot on someone else's dime.

Houston's
320 S Arroyo Pkwy
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 577-6001
website

Sun - Thu 11:30AM to 10:00PM
Fri - Sat 11:30AM to 11:00PM

Europane Bakery

I first discovered Europane Bakery while salivating over tasty-looking creations on the picturing_food livejournal community. A picture of an egg salad sandwich had arrested my wandering eyes. The sandwich looked small, but extremely appetizing. After hassling the owner of the photo for a couple of days, I found out which restaurant made the sandwich.

I arrived to find that Europane Bakery had outdoor seating on the street; inside was a short line of people trying to place orders. The line quickly grew to be a lingering snake inside the little bakery. There was a beautifully painted ceramic pitcher of free water balancing itself on a divider. I was impressed with the atmosphere almost immediately. It was hip and a perfect place to have a cup of hot chocolate on a rainy day. Not only that, but tantalizing loaves of bread line the shelves on the wall. I even found a loaf of bread intricately craved into a picture. The only drawback in the ambiance was its limited seating. It was hard to navigate (especially when the line got longer) and it felt as if I could not have a private comfort zone.

I ordered what originally enticed me there--the egg salad sandwich--on wheat, and also a chocolate dessert which caught my eye while I was waiting in line. Since I don't have photos this time around, I'll use my words to describe just how amazing the food was.

While I waited for my sandwich to be made and brought to my table, I dug into the chocolate dessert. It looked kind of like a cupcake, except it wasn't, and was topped with milk chocolate shavings and a raspberry. Honestly, the milk chocolate shavings were probably the best part of the dessert. Although it wasn't dry (but definitely not moist), I was offended by the lack of fudge or any other kind of filling inside the round dessert. I felt that it had too much flour substance, though I won't deny that the quality chocolate taste was evident and that that was the main reason for actually somewhat liking the dessert. Before I go on to rave about the sandwich, I need to say two more things about this dessert: it was more expensive than expected and locating its price prior to buying it was impossible. I could not find its price (nor the prices of the other desserts or the names of this and other desserts) on its display and I certainly couldn't find it on the written menus on the wall.

Let's continue onto the something more spectacular: the sandwich.

When the sandwich was brought to me, I was blown away. In addition to its tomato pesto sauce, and fresh, dark green lettuce, the egg's yolk was just oozing a bright yellow and orange. I will not lie: it looked--and I later discovered it was--delicious. Despite the fact that the actual salad dwarfed my wheat bread slices because the toasted bread was so small, I had no complaints about the sandwich. I could clearly taste the pesto sauce whenever I bit into the bread and the bold taste of egg yolk was rampant. It was so bold that I wondered if any egg white was even used. It was very very good.

My total for this meal came to $12.02, the sandwich being around $6.85, which makes the ambiguously priced dessert to be around $5.00. I would say this is a moderately priced bakery, but the sandwiches seem to be worth every cent, if not more, of their prices. Although I wouldn't suggest eating at the restaurant itself due to its seating arrangements, I do suggest stopping by even for just a cup of coffee. The quality of the food is mostly superb.

Europane
950 E. Colorardo Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 577-1828

Mon - Sat 7:00AM to 5:30PM
Sun 7:00AM to 2:00PM

Orean the Health Express

The thing that's confusing me most about this place is whether to call it Orean's Health Express, Orean's the Health Express, or Orean the Health Express. The restaurant's name, not its serving of healthy fast food, is the most confusing thing about the restaurant. But since I cannot quite clarify which is the correct name, I will talk about something I can vouch for: the healthy fast food.

Concepts of health and fast food are usually akin to oil and water, never mixing. However, Orean's has mastered speed, healthy-goodness, and taste. This vegetarian restaurant even proudly touts an "American Heart Association Approved" sticker on the front. It utilizes a wide variety of ingredients to make each dish flavorful, exciting to eat, and healthy. For instance, the Orean Salad Burger has garden vegetables, sunflower seeds, black beans, tomatoes, onions, pickles, and organic clover sprouts.

I made two trips to Orean's; on my first trip there, I decided to order the African quesadilla at the window and sit down to enjoy the meal. I'm accustomed to quesadillas with cheese and grease seeping out of the tortillas and soaking onto the plates, so I was genuinely surprised to find that the quesadilla wasn't at all greasy. In fact, the tortillas looked kind of dry. I felt disappointed and thought perhaps I should've ordered something to drink to help eat it, but my first bite told me that it was flavorful and definitely not dry. The variety of ingredients including sunflower and pumpkin seeds, beans, and cornmeal gave it an amazing blend of colors and an amazing tangy taste. The only bad thing about this dish is that I found it smaller than expected.

Because the prices were moderately cheap (it was $2.79 for the quesadilla!), I made a second trip there the same day. This time, I used their drive thru to buy the African burrito and Strawberry Super Shake ($4.69 for the burrito and $2.85 for the shake). I found the African burrito to be large and well worth the money; in addition, this boldly flavorful dish boasted more ingredients and was tastier than the quesadilla. The freshness of the vegetables was hard to escape notice and it was so juicy that I had to use a paper bag to prevent the juices from falling onto my lap. The strawberry shake was quite thick and creamy, but I detected a taste of soy powder that was perhaps too strong. Other than that complaint, the shake was overall pretty good.

I would greatly recommend this restaurant to anyone, even to non-vegetarians. The fresh food is so good that people who love meat will not complain. The time it takes the food to be prepared is not long and I found that using the drive thru actually decreases waiting time. Just as I thought the restaurant couldn't get any better, I found out that it sells a healthy whole wheat vegan pancake and waffle mix at the restaurant--it has no cholesterol, dairy, or eggs! Excellent!

Orean... the Health Express
817 N. Lake Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91104
(626) 794-0861
website

Mon - Sun 9:30AM to 9:00PM