RFD Pasadena

[Peripatetic]

Perhaps not a reason for much excitement on this board, but a banner over 899 E Del Mar Blvd proclaims the imminent arrival of Real Food Daily in Pasadena. Previously this was the location of the short-lived Pasadena Bob's Big Boy.

[Clyde]

I think that's great! i love the build your own; quinoa, seaweed, tofu, and peanut sauce! yum.

[Jack Flash]

I noticed that. Sort of the antithesis of Bob's Big Boy, I suppose. I'd rather have Bob's.

[Peripatetic]

FWIW, RFD Pasadena is now fully opened.

[Johnny L]

Been meaning to give it a try since I'm trying to eat better and try to cut out meat once in a while. How's the parking?

[Peripatetic]

I didn't notice whether they had valet parking. There's lots of parking on Shoppers Lane. This visual aid should help:

https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&...

(The "A" marker is where RFD is.)

Note that the Shoppers Lane parking can get competitive on weekend evenings, but there's also the parking structure by Trader Joes across the street.

[Johnny L]

Does the Trader Joe have restrictions, aka anybody watching the parking lot?

[trolley]

There's always parking behind walgreen's and all the shops on Lake. You may have to walk a bit but it'll work if you're into that kind of thing. The TJ parking lot isn't monitored by a guard but there are signs with restrictions posted. the lot is also kind of a pain depending upon the time of day/wk. the one behind Macy's tends to be slightly easier.

[Peripatetic]

I only mentioned the parking structure by Trader Joes as an alternative if for some reason the spaces in the Shoppers Lane lots are full. Check out the map in the link in my previous post and you'll see what I'm talking about. (I admit I wasn't clear that "Shoppers Lane" is just the access road to several extensive parking lots.)

The structure is for multiple businesses, not just Trader Joes (although the spaces on the top level might be reserved for TJ alone.) I agree with trolley that the structure is a pain, and the peculiar layout of the intersection of Lake and Del Mar isn't very pedestrian friendly.

[will47]

There's also usually street parking on Lake (though you have to pay the meter).

Went to RFD for lunch this past week. Seems like things are going well; food tasted similar to their other locations, and the location looks nice. I wasn't sure how they were going to fit it in the former Baja Fresh / Bob's Big Boy space, but it really works pretty well.

[Will Owen]

Shopper's Lane is always my first choice for parking, especially since I look for good excuses to walk a block or so now and then. First 2 hours free.

Mrs. O was intrigued by RFD, which was quite lively when we walked by it yesterday. She has no intention of going full vegan, but wants to learn about a larger variety of non-animal options. I'm game, so we'll check it out sometime. It looks a lot more at home there than that poor, pathetic outpost of a Big Boy.

[trolley]

drove by today and looked like there was a wait. i used to live by the one on LaCienega so it's nice to see over on this side of town. i really don't think Pasadena needed a Big Boy anyway. feels like there's plenty of Big Boy-esque type of places already. There's Lucky Boy, Tops, Pie n' Burger, IHOP, Andy's, Denny's, Coco's, Russell's, etc. etc. but not much for vegetarian /vegan specific restaurants.