My favorite places in Pasadena
My last blog post included a solicitation for your places to visit in Europe (near the UK), and I figured that I should, in turn, give you guys a list of my favorite places in Pasadena, near campus! The following is a list of coffee shops, restaurants, and miscellaneous other establishments that I love to visit if I have the time. This term, I’ve ended up at at least one of these places every week, but in previous terms I’ve had too much work to venture into the outside world too often. It varies! But I’ve started combining things that I already do (reading a novel for my humanities class or an article for my BEM/Ec class) with trips off campus and my favorite local treats, which has turned into a major stress-reliever. Anyway, here goes!
Home Brewed Bar (30 minute walk/7 minute bike ride) I have previously written an entire blog post about this place. I love love love this place. Mainly because I’ve never adjusted to the bitter taste of traditionally brewed coffee, and HBB excels in their cold brew coffee and tea. They claim it takes out 70-80% of the bitterness of traditional brew, and I have no idea if that’s true or not, but it is delicious. Also, they have a ton of non-dairy milk options which is wonderful for lactose intolerant people like me. The place is busy (which is wonderful news, because I want them to stay open forever)but never too crowded, so I can bring my laptop and code or read a book in there for a few hours and not feel bad about taking up space. That’s pretty much all I want in a coffee shop, after quality caffeine.
Urth Cafe (25 minute walk/6 minute bike ride)
Best bread pudding in Los Angeles. Hands. Down. I have previously blogged about my inability to choose anything else on this menu (which is full of fantastic brunch options) because their caramelized banana bread pudding is what keeps me up at night. Their coffee and tea drinks are wonderful as well, but the location is incredibly loud and crowded so I can’t get work done while I’m there. It’s a great place to take parents or friends for brunch on the weekends!
Green Street Restaurant (15 minute walk, 3 minute bike ride)
Also an amazing brunch spot: I’ve been here with family so many times. It’s pricier than Urth, but a bit closer to campus. I have the same difficulty ordering new menu items because the lox scrambled eggs are delicious. Also, their zucchini bread is known around the state as some of the best pastry you can get your hands on. It’s served with almost every menu item, and you’ll fall in love with it.
Metamorphosis (15 minute walk, 5 minute bike ride)
This boutique fitness studio is expensive ashell,but it’s a great activity to do with a girlfriend, and it’s the hardest workout I’ve ever done (and I do bootcamp workouts for fun). Grace (of Grace’s Table, my favorite blog on this website!) now lives off campus, and we meet up here or at SoulCycle on the weekends. I never would’ve tried this place if it weren’t for her, and I’ve found my new favorite workout (and money sink…hehehe).
Chouse(It’s on campus, but you do have to leave your room…)
Chouse is the student-run coffee house that operates out of the Red Door Cafe in the center of campus. Chouse is open from 10pm-2am Sunday through Thursday night (all school nights). You can get coffee drinks, boba (bubble tea, for you East Coasters), milk shakes, and food: ramen, quesadillas, mozzarella sticks, cookies, ice cream, nachos, etc. It’s the only place in Pasadena you can get coffee after midnight, and trust me, at some point while you’re at Caltech, you’ll want to get coffee after midnight.
