Pasadena: How to Escape the Big City Without Going Far

Some Pasadena locals like to say that their town and Los Angeles were about the same size years ago, but that their place spent time growing gracefully while the Angelinos let their city mature without any wisdom into the sprawling mess it is now considered to be. Pasadenans have long considered themselves a cut above the hurly burly in LA, the smaller city's manicured lawns, imposing but dignified residences and quiet air a pleasing (to them) contrast to the bigger city's vulgar noise and energy.

I enjoyed Pasadena as a ten-year-old, playing under and on the Colorado Street Bridge as it was known then, and wondering why anyone liked the avocados growing in our temporary home's back yard nearby. (Nobody told me about vinaigrette back then.) Visiting just last month, I was pleased to see how the town had grown, yet how it has retained its quiet and rather dignified manner.

Best of all, it's a cultural heaven, with the at least two world-class museums, a marvelous and walkable downtown, and proximity to LA without being in LA.

Highlights

There can be no doubt of the very best thing to see in Pasadena. It's worth a trip to the West Coast just to experience the marvelous complex of the Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens. The Library and some of the Art Collections have been here since the death of Henry Huntington (a railroad magnate), who provided for them to be open to the public after his death, which they were in 1928. Highlighted by the celebrated duo of portraits, Blue Boy and Pinky, which were the very first famous museum oil paintings I ever saw, the Art Gallery reopened after two-year-long extensive $20 million renovations just this May. It is well known in particular for its British, French, and other European art.

In the library (with 6 million items), you can see a genuine Guttenberg Bible on vellum, the double-elephant folio edition of Audubon's Birds of America, and early editions of Shakespeare's works.

New since February is the fabulous Chinese Garden, which is already, I believe, the best such in North America and the first public one in California. Called The Garden of Flowing Fragrance, it consists of gorgeously landscaped views, weird scholar's rocks, weeping willows, and five pavilions for viewing, taking tea, and more. It's less than half the size it will be when completed, I was told. The Japanese Gardens (1912) are splendid, but, alas, no fireflies in California.

Admission to the Huntington for adults is $15 weekdays, $20 weekends and holidays, less for students and seniors. Closed Tuesdays. More information at tel. 626/405-2100; www.huntington.org.

Equal to The Huntington in importance and even wider in scope, if not in space, is the Norton Simon Museum, famous for its collection of European art from the Renaissance to the 20th century and for its South and Southeast Asian art. Here you can see masterpieces by Rembrandt, Raphael, Van Gogh, Monet, Cézanne, Degas and Picasso, the name only a few artists whose works attract the knowledgeable. Admission $8 for adults, less for seniors and students. 411 W. Colorado Blvd., tel. 626/449-6840; www.nortonsimon.org.

Third on your must-see list and unique in its own nature is the Gamble House, a piece of architecture surprisingly full of meaning today. Built in 1908, it is considered a masterpiece of the American Arts & Crafts Movement. On the National Register of Historic Places, it has just completed a multi-year rehabilitation to bring it back to its original aesthetic and glory. 4 Westmoreland Place, tel. 626/793-3334; www.gamblehouse.org.

If you have time, look at the Pacific Asia Museum here, with a fine Himalayan collection as well as art from the rest of the Pacific and Asia. Founded in 1971, it is the only museum in Southern California devoted solely to Asia and the Pacific. The Chinese-style building (1924) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Admission $7 adults, $5 for students and seniors. 46 North Los Robles Ave,.tel. 626/449-2742; www.pacificasiamuseum.org.

Follow up the above highlights with a walking or driving tour of Pasadena, and check out such sites as the Pasadena Playhouse and the district named for it, complete with art and antique shops, bookstores, museums, restaurants and coffee houses, and more. Details at tel. 626/744-0340; www.playhousedistrict.org.

The venerable Rose Bowl, scene of the New Year's Day football classic, is known locally as well as for its "mother of all flea markets," as an area magazine calls this collection of junk and treasures. Held on the second Sunday of each month, admission charges depend on how early you come, starting at $15 for 7 AM, then $10 for 8 AM, and finally, $8 at 9 AM. If you're really serious, you can get in at 5 AM by paying $20. The displays cover some 25 acres and boasts some 2,500 vendors, they say, and there's even a free appraisal tent near the exit. Info at www.rgcshows.com.

Dining Out

Opened in April of 2008, La Grande Orange Cafe takes up the entirety of the old Santa Fe Railroad Station, which was moved away while the adjoining new Metro rail line was built, then hustled back across the tracks to its former location. Open for lunch and dinner daily, but I chose to have lunch on a sunny day as the Metro trains glided smoothly by. I enjoyed six Deviled Egg halves for just $7, and two side orders, each at an astoundingly low prices of $3, fruit salad and my all-time favorite comfort food, mac n'cheese, both in ample amounts. You can get a burger for $12 (with fries, and greens) or a Reuben for $13. 260 S. Raymond Ave., tel. 626/356-4444.

Green Street Tavern sits on one of Pasadena's greenest streets, the latter shaded by old trees for many blocks of its length. My dining companions swore by the barbeque shredded chicken sandwich at $10, I had a huge Gourmet Ham & Cheese sandwich at $11, complete with a bowl of fresh fruit. 69 Green Street, tel. 626/229-9961; www.greenstreettavern.net.

By far the best restaurant in town is The Dining Room at the Langham, Huntington Hotel, the only hotel-run restaurant in Los Angeles area to get a Michelin star, back in November 2007. Craig Strong is the creative genius behind such dishes as the ones I enjoyed, namely Dungeness crab and avocado salad at $18 and Alaskan Halibut with beans, turnips and mushrooms at $36. There's a superb Chef's Tasting Menu of five courses for $95, of which I sampled only a neat squash blossom tempura. For an unusual dessert, consider the crepes with orange cream sickle ice cream at $14, well worth it. The excellent wine collection vintages I sampled were expensive, but justifiably so, an organic 2007 Chardonnay from Argentina going for $16 a glass, an Oregon 2006 pinot noir from Hocus Pocus at $15. Dinner only; tel. 626/585-6264; www.langhamhotels.com.

Where to Stay

If it's peace and quiet you want, in a lovely setting, consider the very pleasant Arroyo Vista Inn B&B, with ten guest rooms. It's an historic Craftsman home (designed by Lester Moore in 1910), surrounded by fine old oak trees and with a pleasant view out across the Arroyo Seco to the San Gabriel Mountains. Several rooms have spa tubs, four have balconies. Rates from $175 to $300. When possible, the owner, Pat Wright, uses fruits and herbs grown on the property for her superb breakfasts. 335 Monterey Road, South Pasadena, tel. 888/9ARROYO or 323/478-7300; www.arroyovistainn.com.

Without doubt Pasadena's foremost hotel is the Langham Huntington Hotel, formerly the Ritz-Carlton, and before that, the venerable Huntington Hotel, opened in 1907. The 380 rooms (from $269) are above deluxe in furnishings and comfort, but you also come here for the Spa and to see the Picture Bridge with its 40 hand painted murals, dating back to 1932, and the Japanese Gardens, dating from 1911, whose landscape architect was also responsible for the gorgeous gardens at the Huntington Library. 1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue, tel. 626/568-3900; www.langhamhotels.com.