orange grove shopping center

orange grove gardens

even better than yesterday's orange grove manor - am i right??

pasadena - happy fourth of july!

orange grove manor

i spotted this apartment complex with a very eloquent title.

and get this, i've got an even better one for tomorrow.

dena burgers

woah - what happened to mi ranchito, and what in the world is dena burger?

just a few of the questions i had the other day as i walked by the former mexican restaurant on the corner of los robles and orange grove.  mi ranchito appears to have gone the way of so many other businesses at this intersection.  i guess it shouldn't surprise me.  people seemed to prefer getting their tacos, burritos, and other mexican street food from the butcher counter at king baja ranch (oddly enough you can still buy coupons to mi ranchito from restaurant.com).

dena burgers (like pasa-"dena", get it?) seems like your standard los angeles county burger stop.  the menu includes a small selection of other sandwiches, plus breakfast items, burritos, pastrami, and stuff like that.  i ordered the cheeseburger and fries, and while it was certainly worth eating, it wasn't anything overly special.  the bun was enormous - maybe too big for the patty - and the fries were thinner shoestring-sized - pretty similar to the kind you find at chains with golden arches.

granted, this was just their second day in business, but i'd much rather go down the street to fatburger, or up the hill to connals.  but this place is really close to where we live, so i'm sure i will give it another shot.

la luz de mundo

i've often wondered about this church along orange grove avenue - traditional church appearance, but star of david on top, and menorah on the doorway...  the sign is in spanish, so that isn't very helpful.  can anyone give me any insight?

from blue sky to trees to tarmac.

pasadena has many of these locations where the urban bumps up against nature in strange and beautiful ways.  you might even say it is where nature meets the road.

inviting?

i'll let you be the judge of whether this photo feels warm and welcoming - but i felt that the faint glow coming through the stained glass window at messiah lutheran church was drawing me in.

perdue's bbq & catering

sigh.

i'm not sure why it has taken me so long to get to this place. friends have told me i would enjoy it. bloggers have told me they make excellent southern barbecue. heck, even their yelp reviews are solid. and the worst part, i live less than half a block away.

after recently discovering a pasadena blogger who appears to be a kindred spirit, (sharing a love of baseball and barbecue) and reading his review of perdue's, i knew i had to take the plunge.


i knew right away i was in for a treat. i had called in my order, so the woman working there called me by name when i walked in the door - wow. I turned to my left and saw a baseball glove hanging on the wall next to some negro baseball league paraphernalia. i was hooked and i hadn't even tasted the food!

well, the food was wonderful. the ribs were moist and delicious, and the spicy sauce was actually spicy. i chose the baked beans and mac and cheese as my side dishes, and both were spot on. the cornbread muffins were a little dry, but dipped in some stray barbeque sauce made them go down easy too. this place took me back to our time in virginia eating meals at wonderful places like bbq ranch, the smokin' pig, or fat boys pork palace.


a little slice of heaven in my own backyard.

the corner of los robles and orange grove

this mixed use complex has always caught my eye. probably due to the fact that it doesn't really feel like it fits in with the rest of this particular street corner. it is home to several small businesses that continue to open, exist for a few months, and then close.

the cookie monster cupcake

i've been curious about polkatots cupcakes since i heard that they won some awards at an l.a. cupcake challenge. it took me a while to venture a few blocks down the street to sample their confectionary delights, but i was happy i did. as the title of this post suggests, i ordered their "cookie monster cupcake" - a delicious chocolate cupcake with cookies and cream frosting. kind of pricey at $3, but pretty delicious washed down with a tall glass of cold milk. check them out at the corner of lake and orange grove.

just hungry

on any given night in the city of pasadena, an estimated 1,165 people are homeless.*

unfortunately, pasadena has many homeless people, and many people who make their living by begging on the street. i admit that i struggle with how to respond. on the one hand, the money handed out to people like this often encourage begging to take place. on the other hand, living a life like this can't be very rewarding, no matter how much money you are earning.

i was struck by how young this guy was. he could easily be my age. i can't tell if the smirk on this guy's face was because he knew i was taking his picture, or if i simply caught him thinking about something happy. either way, it didn't last long, as a police officer arrived soon after i took the photo to ask him to leave.

my ethics are built on the teachings of jesus - especially things like the sermon on the mount. i believe we are called to reach out to those on the margins of society in whatever way we can. in this photo i wanted to demonstrate the pain of life on the street, but his expression totally changed the way the photo came out. i was reminded of the beatitudes and how difficult they are to understand. one in particular - blessed are the hungry - maybe this guy understands more about that than i will ever know.

at the corner of los robles and orange grove

down on the corner. i hope you like it. enjoy your saturday!

7-11 at the corner of orange grove and lake

not my best composed image, but i like it.

orange grove shopping center

not the first time this sign has made an appearance on the blog - going back to the friday neon series. i'm up in the mountains doing a little camping right now, should have a few pictures when i get back.

flashback to the rose parade

the corner of colorado and orange grove is painted with numerous indicators that help with rose parade set up. some are for the parade floats, some are for the grandstands, and others - like this photo - tell the tv networks where they can set up.

you can see some of my photos from this past year's parade right here.

waiting patiently

tomorrow is the big day. we'll be camping out overnight to get a good spot for the parade. this is the corner of colorado and orange grove, where the crowds and tv cameras will be. i took this picture a few weeks ago during the massive set up for this event. hopefully i'll have lots of good pictures to share in the coming week.

say goodbye to 2008!

by the way - today is your last chance to vote for your favorite photo of the year in the poll on right the side of the blog. to check out the photos in contention, visit this link.

corner mini mart

located along orange grove blvd. it's not often you see a hand painted sign. i like it!

the sky is big on orange grove

this plaza has been featured before, only from other angles. this picture is from shortly after we moved to pasadena, taken on our old camera, and on a bright spring day. i've played with the color a little, as well as the contrast.

life in technicolor

moving along orange grove blvd at dusk.

aaron proctor has a great review of the blogger party right here.

taco cart

the street taco is one of the hidden gems of living in southern california. it's fast food, but not like taco bell. it's not a restaurant (although this cart is actually a part of a restaurant), but it serves tasty food. totally mobile, sometimes controversial, and really fantastic.

this cart is situated in front of "el carrizal", a mexican restaurant in pasadena located along orange grove blvd. it opens late in the evening, most nights of the week. i recommend the al pastor tacos, but i bet everything is pretty tasty late at night.

if you want to learn more about the los angeles taco scene, check out this great website.