RIP: Dish Bistro (Pasadena)

[ipsedixit]

Guess it shuttered sometime over the weekend (?).

Oh, well, another Old Town eatery bites the dust.

In other news, meteorologists are reporting that the sky is blue.

[farmertomato]

Whoa! Had me scared there—thought this referred to the far superior Dish Restaurant in La Canada! Wouldn't want to lose that one,

[foufou]

used to love Dish in LaCanada......it was my favorite breakfast spot.....but after two consecutive mediocre meals, I haven't been there in over a year.....did notice a page of coupons in Sunday's LA Times and considered a revisit.....has anyone been there recently?

[medrite]

I had a late lunch at the La Canada Dish last Saturday -- all I had was a burger, but it was great, and my friend and I sat right by the fireplace, which was perfect for a rainy, chilly afternoon. Good bar, nice wine selection, not at all crowded.

[foufou]

thanks for the update; glad I saved the coupon

[trolley]

I'm not surprised. The first and last time I went to Dish they seemed like they were hanging on by a string. They had some sort of happy hour with small plate specials so we walked in for a quick drink and a bite. the food was ok. there was a decent mussel dish with spinach and shallots but the french onion soup tasted like it had a whole container of salt in it. we were the only one's there beside the server and they were especially surly and pathetic. pretty much down right mean to us and you don't do that with your only customer! i think i read someone's review of it here and the main complaint was the giant tv that didn't really go with the rest of the restaurant decor. it's like what are you? a sports bar or a bistro? which one? b/c cute bistros don't have a giant flat screen TV with hockey on with cheap movie posters that i used to have on my wall when i was in college. anyway, sad to see all these independent restaurants fold but i suspect from my experience that it's not entirely the fault of the old town curse.

[Bradbury]

As long as all three of the following conditions persist, Old Town Pasadena will continue to be the Bermuda Triangle of good restaurants:

1) Oversupply of restaurants
2) Undersupply of parking
3) Overpriced rents

By way of comparison, Brentwood has #2 and #3 but not #1; Santa Monica Place/Promenade has #1 and #3 but not #2; and most Valley Blvd minimalls have #1 and #2 but not #3.

Personally, I think Old Town would be a better dining scene with half as many restaurants. But then maybe I'm dating myself, because I remember when the biggest thrill in my high school days was parking my hand-me-down '79 Rabbit Diesel in the Arroyo garage and running past the crack dealers into the hidden alley behind Raymond for a another open-mic night at the Espresso Bar.... ;-)

[Fru]

I was walking to an appointment in Old Town a couple of weekends ago and thought I saw Dish on Union and thought it strange since I knew it was on Green. Guess it moved? I cannot find any announcements doing a Google search except that the address is 53 E Union Street, 626-795-5546 .

[carter]

Well, this Union Street location is the home of the former Brenart, which never got off the ground, and now both the phone number and website for Dish Bistro on Union are no longer operative, yet they opened in about January of 2010 - talk about not that long ago.

-----
Dish Bistro and Bar
53 E Union St, Pasadena, CA 91103

[mc michael]

Those were the days by the railroad tracks.

[Will Owen]

Bradbury, I remember very well when Old Town was home to junk stores and hippie crafts shops. The first Old Town restaurant I visited was Café Jacoulet. It was also the first one whose demise I sincerely mourned. I can't really think of any I'd miss now; the only one I've been to repeatedly is Café Bizou, and while it's not a bad place to eat at all there are many worthier spots away where parking is easier.

[carter]

and thinking of Jacoulet, Robert Simon, son of Alvin and former co-partner in Jacoulet, has recently opened his AKA, a Bistro in the former Gordon Biersch space at One Colorado, with many French foods on the manu.
Might want to determine if his place might be worthy of returning to Old Town again.

[Will Owen]

Well, it will certainly be an improvement over the former occupant! We got dragged in there once by a non-foodish friend who just ADORED their chicken salad and had a nowhereburger and some okay beer for too much money. So let us hope …

Was this the Cinnabar guy?

[mc michael]

The Cinnabar guy's son.

[carter]

No, Alvin was the Cinnabar guy, and he passed away about a year or so ago.
Robert, said son, is the owner of Bistro 45 further east.

-----
Bistro 45
45 S Mentor Ave, Pasadena, CA 91106

[mc michael]

Robert also briefly had a Glendale place called Soleil or something to that effect.

[Fru]

No, he was both the Cinnabar and Cafe Jacoulet guy. And yes, his son was a partner in Cafe Jacoulet and now owns Bistro 45-at least at the time of this printing 3/14/10. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/...

[Petey McNichols]

At this point its just disheartening to keep track.