near Caltech

[Scotty]

Leaving Westwood for Caltech Saturday morning. Any lunch recommendations for me and my 3rd grader? He likes everything, but esp. california rolls, pasta and panda express type (for orange chicken). Our other fall back is The Hat for chili chesse fries.

Thanks

[scottca075]

Close to The Hat is Twohey's, home of the Stinko Burger, they are two of my favorite places from my childhood and visiting my grandparents in Pasadena.

http://www.twoheys.com/

Love Pie n Burger too and that is closer to CalTech.

http://pienburger.com/

[Scotty]

After our event was over, we were still a little full from our big breakfast. So while we drove to Pharo's with the idea to all share an order chili cheese fries....we went with the other recommedation of Twohey's almost next door (1st time there) and ate there. Parking is tough around there!

The boys each ordered the Stinko Burger, I got the clam chowder and the wife got a milkshake. The burger with good and came with frys. The soup had a green curry and I liked the taste of it, didn't need the tasbacco I normally use in chowder.

Have to try Pharo's some other time! I hesitated to try Pie N' Burger as I saw people compared it to Apple Pan (and I don't really like Apple Pan that much)

[Savour]

My five year old LOVES Twohey's. They have great hot fudge sundaes.

[condiment]

Within five minutes of campus are Pie N' Burger, which tend to figure in discussions of best burgers in the U.S.; Abricott, a sandwichy lunch place with an interesting Asian twist; Wolfe Burger, which has seriously good chili for the chili fries; Cham, which has a very kid-friendly take on Korean bibimbap and ssam; both Slaw Dogs and Dog Haus, which are among the best hot dog places in L.A.; and better-than-passable neapolitan pizza at Settebello and the new Blaze. Pasadena is awesome for kid-friendly food - it's the other kind that can sometimes be hard to come by.

[Ernie]

Skip The Hat for chili cheese fries. Pharo's off Atlantic Bl and Huntington blows those bland things out of the water

[Fru]

Always wanted to try Pharo's. How does it compare to Tops?

[Ernie]

I have not been to Tops in several years, but from what I recall I prefer Pharo's for stuff like gyros and chili cheese fries

[Scotty]

Better chili cheese fries than The Hat??

That is a bold statement and sounds like I have found my place for lunch this weekend.

I'll report back next week

[Ernie]

Yes. Try it and report back. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. They don't give you the obscenely large portion like The Hat, but the chili/cheese combo is much more flavorful. I've lived near The Hat for many years and after discovering Pharo's, have no desire to return

[ocshooter]

My favorite breakfast/lunch stop in the Pasadena area is Julienne's in San Marino.
http://www.juliennetogo.com/restauran...

Closer to campus is Pie and Burger on California.

If you get off campus, Sushi Roku in old town is good. So he can get a California Roll and you can enjoy good sushi options.

[ipsedixit]

My recs with your 3rd grader in mind ...

For CA Rolls, I would try Z Sushi in Alhambra (corner of Huntington, Garfield and Atlantic)

For pasta (and pizza) try Tarantino's.

For Panda Express type food, try Yang Chow.

Or, heck, just stick with your fall back option, which isn't really all that bad. It would be *my* first choice.

[wienermobile]

The Hat would be my first choice too. One order of their Pastrami chili cheese fries will easily feed a family of 4 or more.

[Scotty]

I agree with both of you, The Hat is my 1st pick as well, its just that we always go there when in the area (thank God that there isn't a Hat in Westwood, I'd weigh a few more pounds)

I have not tried the Pastrami option yet though, maybe this is the time.