Pasadena
30 March 2024
Having established that it does indeed rain in Southern California, it’s worth acknowledging the freeways aren’t engineered with this as a consideration. They are predominantly concrete and, as every motorcyclist knows, concrete affords excellent levels of grip when dry and a lot, lot less when wet. It doesn't drain well either so the Californians mould it with thin groves running the direction of travel to disperse the minimal surface water that is ordinarily expected.
Combine these factors with the biblical levels of rain of today and it’s absolutely treacherous on two wheels. The spray is so bad, visibility is twenty yards or less and the bike keeps slipping perceptibly over the groves like a jogged stylus over a gramophone record.
Thankfully, Californian drivers are a considerate bunch. They leave me plenty of room and are gracious, allowing me lane changes and other manoeuvres. The driving standards are really good overall. Much better than the UK but not quite up to German standards as they lack the iron-willed lane discipline that is the required standard in the Fatherland. What drivers in both countries have in common is covering long distances at pace, and it shows.
Pasadena is 27 miles from LAX (the airport), about twelve miles from the centre of Los Angeles. Not that anyone can say definitively where that is, as LA is more a collection of cities, strung together with freeways. As it’s nestled at the the foot of the San Gabriel mountain range and the abutting the Angeles Nation Forest, it feels noticeably, higher, fresher and healthier yet very much still LA.
This relaxed community of just 135,00 is as cool and inviting as Santa Monica or Venice Beach with a combination of turn-of-last-century and Art Deco buildings, the most striking of which is the Pasadena State College. And it has the dining and other entertainments of Hollywood or Beverly Hills, but at a much lower price point.
Der Wulf is one of several proper-looking pubs with a selection of funky, local brews. One is the 11.5%, ‘818’ Stout I was given a sample of before ordering. Nice touch this, and typical of most good bars specialising in beer.
While inhaling this, I find there and are three Michelin-guide restaurants within walking distance, so am spared the collective wisdom of TripAdvisor contributors. This posse seem, by and large, to be more concerned about what goes out of their bank account than what they shovel into their mouths so largely irrelevant to many travellers.
Fishwives have a walk-in space at the bar. I go for a SoCal take on New England Clam Chowder (much lighter, with micro-diced crunchy vegetables to balance out the richness) and a Maryland Style Jumbo Blue Crab Cake. Flattened to look like a hamburger, it’s properly cooked through and served with from-the-garden-fresh mixed greens and mustard vinaigrette. Washed down with two-glasses, a Pinot Gris from Oregon and Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley, it’s a nigh-on perfect two-course dinner and at $65 excluding service, is definitely the best meal so far on a price-performance basis. TripAdvisor pundits rate it the 50th best in Pasadena with a basic-looking diner rated as the best…
Walking back to the motel, I pass at least a dozen places - none of them chains - that I’d like to try and a nose in the windows of Realtors (Estate Agents…) confirms Pasadena as that rarest of finds: somewhere I’d like to live I could actually afford.
Now that I’ve been, it’s where I’ll go back when next in LA and recommend you do the same. After all, a car (or a motorcycle) is a necessity when visiting and Sat Nav’s now make sense of the cats-cradle of freeways, so these no longer intimidate. And contrary to popular belief, they aren’t jammed all the time, just busy.
