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View the Connal's Menu
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Connal's is at 1505 E. Washington Blvd, in Pasadena |
Staff
hard at work in the kitchen |
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Corn
dog and a bowl of chili, under $3.50 plus tax |
Frings |
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Pastrami sandwich |
Double bacon cheeseburger |
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Club
sandwich, fries and beverage combo |
Fried
Zucchini |
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Philly
Cheesesteak |
Connal's Special (fresh lemon, fresh lime, wild cherry syrup and sprite or
coke |
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DOT COM DINING A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
Connal’s Burgers, Salads
and Subs – a Worthy Landmark, A New Habit
By Bill Coburn
You know, it’s funny what creatures of habits we
humans are. I’ve spoken with several people this week, who told me that they,
like me, just don’t go north of Foothill Blvd. when they go to Pasadena. That
may be because we’re coming from Sierra Madre, northeast of most of Pasadena, so
when we get down off the hill, we just don’t think to go back up once we’re in
Pasadena. Well, I found out recently that I’m missing out on a lot due to this
habit. I had heard about a place called Connal’s, advertised as “a Pasadena
landmark since 1958,” and didn’t know how I could have missed this landmark.
Then I found out it was on Washington Blvd., and realized why. I just don’t
usually get up in that neck of the woods.
So I left Sierra Madre, went down to the freeway,
got off at Lake, since I wasn’t quite sure how far west I had to go (it’s just
east of Hill, actually), and went up to Washington. I went east on Washington,
and found the place (1505 E. Washington Blvd, (626) 794-5018), with a big sign
that said “Sandwiches by Connal.” It was early in the morning when I went, so
instead of having a sandwich, I had a breakfast burrito, which was egg, cheese,
bacon and hash browns on a flour tortilla. It was big and tasty. I don’t
usually like potatoes in my breakfast burrito, but there was just enough that I
knew they were there, but not enough to overpower the bacon, egg and cheese. I
noticed when I was ordering that Connal’s menu doesn’t stop with food, though,
they have a large beverage menu, including flavored sodas, malts, freezes,
floats and shakes. I had a strawberry shake (after drinking my milk, because I
need milk with breakfast, another one of those silly human habits). The
strawberry shake left me wanting more. But the big surprise came when I was
going home. I decided to follow Washington, and it turns out that Washington
ends up bringing me back to Sierra Madre Blvd., not far from Sierra Madre. By
using this route, I can get back to Connal’s in about half the time, and travel
less than half the distance. Again, habits (and failure to look at a map) can
cause us to miss out on a lot.
Since then, I’ve returned to Connal’s twice, both
times with the family. I tried the double bacon cheeseburger with frings
(French fries and onion rings) the first time, Katie had a pastrami sandwich,
and Keelan had a corn dog with a side of chili (you can order chili with or
without beans). We were all quite pleased with our meals. And the portions
were more than generous, especially at the prices we paid. Connal’s makes their
own 1000 island, and the burger was fresh and filling. The size of the cup of
chili, for just $1.79, compares to bowls of chilies I’ve paid $6.00 and more for
in restaurants. The frings were enough for all three of us, and Katie had
enough sandwich to take home half to eat later. She was especially pleased that
slice their pastrami thin, like she likes it, and when you get two meals out of
a sandwich that cost less than $5.00, you’re doing good. When you do that and
you really like the sandwich, you’re doing great. We thought we did great. By
the way, I also tried the Connal’s Special, a soda that includes fresh lemon,
fresh lime, and wild cherry syrup. I ordered it in Sprite, but you can get it
with coke. This was cold and refreshing, and while I didn’t expect Katie to
like it, she told me the next time we went that she had been wanting one of her
own all week.
When we went back tonight, I had the Philly
cheesesteak sandwich, and Katie and Keelan and I split the Club sandwich combo
special (comes with fries and a medium drink, which I took), while Keelan and
Katie split the rather large order of fried zucchini. I forgot to mention, we
ran into some friends the first time we went, and never having been there
before, they ordered an order of fries each. They won’t do that again, one
order would have been enough. So anyway, I got the fries and soda, Katie had
the Connal special to drink, to satisfy her craving, and Keelan had a chocolate
peanut butter shake. That’s right, a chocolate peanut butter shake. I told you
their drink menu is an attraction in its own right, they have pineapple-banana
shakes, chocolate banana, coconut-pineapple shakes, and quite a few other not so
common concoctions. Once again, we were all quite happy not only with the taste
of the food, but the generous portions. I recommend Connal’s highly. It’s a
good place to eat, and we’ll be making it a habit to do so often. You can find
their menu at
www.sangabrielvalleymenus.com/connals.
I stopped by Café Mundial in Monrovia the other day,
and they have an upcoming wine/dinner event you might want to check out.
Steltzner Vineyards will be featured, with hostess Allison Steltzner heading the
festivities on June 14th. There will be a meet and greet reception
at 6pm, with the evening’s one dinner seating taking place at 7pm. There will
be hors d’oeuvres, a 5-course dinner (menu TBA), and 5 Napa Valley wines
featured. The whole evening will cost $69 plus tax and gratuity, and seating
will be limited, so call Café Mundial at (626) 303-2233 to get your reservation
in now.
I also stopped by the Sierra Madre Chamber of
Commerce mixer a little while back, which was held in the building that used to
be the Raven and The Rose, then it was Sunset Sierra Madre, most recently it has
been Tailgator’s Mexican Grill/Sportsbar. But it will soon be undergoing a
major transformation, including a new patio dining area that will have a
breathtaking view of the mountains behind Sierra Madre. Owner Consuelo Lopez
was telling me that they will be bringing the best of their popular Peppertree
Grill (also in Sierra Madre) to this new location, and keeping some of the
favorites from the Tailgator’s Mexican menu. I’ll let you know when they’re
getting close to their Grand Opening.
Bill Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a
restaurant website featuring dozens of restaurant’s menus, as well as
downloadable coupons. He has nearly 20 years experience in the restaurant
business, and has been eating for much longer than that. |
