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View
the La Fiesta Grande menu
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Restaurant: La Fiesta Grande
Where: 624 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, also
at 1107 Mission, South Pasadena
Phone: (626) 795-5577, So. Pas. (626)
441-6217
Reservations: Not necessary
Cocktails: Yes, So. Pas Beer and Wine
Service: Tableside wait service
Atmosphere: Casual
Outdoor Dining: No
Credit Cards: MC, Visa, American Express,
Debit w/logo
Kid’s Menu: Yes
Senior Discount: No
Food to Go: Yes
Catering Menu: Yes
Price Range: $6.95 - $14.95 |
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La
Fiesta Grande is at 624 E. Colorado in Pasadena |
Mai
Tai and Colossal Cadillac Margarita |
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Al-Bone-Dee-Gahs! |
Carne
Tampiquena |
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Bean
and Cheese Burrito |
La
Fiesta Grande Special Enchiladas, Guacamole on the side |
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Flan |
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DOT COM DINING A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
La Fiesta Grande Provides an
Enjoyable Night Out
By Bill Coburn
La Fiesta Grande in
Pasadena is right near the Pasadena Playhouse on Colorado Blvd., and serves up
some mighty good Mexican food, and cocktails, too. We stopped by last night and
enjoyed a nice dinner, and would definitely consider it a good dinner stop prior
to the play if we were going to the theater.
Katie ordered a mai
tai to begin with, and I ordered the Colossal Cadillac margarita. They also
offer strawberry, melon, peach and banana margaritas, but I just took the
standard. By the way, while we’re on the subject, La Fiesta Grande offers 20
different tequilas. Katie took one sip of her mai tai and said “Whoa!” I heard
her tell someone today that she really couldn’t taste the juice. I tried it,
and while I could taste the juice, it was definitely not lacking in the rum
department. My Colossal Cadillac was served in what I’m guessing was probably
about a 20 – 22 oz. glass, and it, too, was not lacking in liquor, but with that
big a glass they had room to put enough mixer that it wasn’t overpowering with
the tequila. But be warned, cocktails this good and this large don’t come
cheap.
I ordered the
albondigas soup to start with. I’ll be honest here, I’m not a big fan of
albondigas soup. I like meatballs, and I like spicy things, but one of the big
ingredients in most albondigas soups is celery, and I’ve never been a fan of
cooked celery. Just don’t like the texture, and find it to be kind of a squishy
tasteless part of the soup, and I usually eat around it. The main reason I’ve
started ordering albondigas occasionally is that I love saying that word.
Al-BONE-dee-gahs! Keelan’s heard me say for years that it’s one of my favorite
words, and listened as I repeated it, in kind of a deep deejay style voice, at
the table, and he eventually started pointing out that the restaurant had “my
favorite soup” when he saw it on the menu. So I started trying it occasionally,
and like I said, I like the meatballs and the spices, but could do without the
celery. That’s one of the things that was different at La Fiesta Grande. The
celery wasn’t the tasteless mushy celery that I can’t stand, it was crisp, and
actually added to the taste. There were plenty of meatballs and it was spicy,
but not too spicy. Definitely in the top two or three of the Al-BONE-dee-gahs!
soups I’ve tried.
I
ordered the Carne Tampiquena, Katie had the La Fiesta Special Enchiladas and
Keelan ordered a Bean and Cheese Burrito (surprise!). Carne Tampiquena is
an 8 oz New York
steak, butter-flied and prepared "rajas" style with Anaheim chile strips and
onions plus guacamole, though I ordered my guacamole on the side. It’s served
with rice and beans. It was excellent, cooked just right, the chiles and onions
added to the delicious flavor of the steak. Katie tried it and thought it was
quite good, too.
The
La Fiesta Special enchilada(s) consists of flour tortillas filled with chicken
and chorizo, covered with a delicate tomato sauce and topped with cheddar
cheese, sour cream and guacamole. Katie also ordered her guacamole on the
side. You can order one or two enchiladas, she chose two, and they were served
with rice and beans, as well. She said she really enjoyed it, and commented also
on the guacamole, which she noted was not loaded with fillers like many guacs
are, that it was just good, tasty guacamole.
Keelan enjoyed his
burrito, too, but there was just too much, and he didn’t get it finished. The
transition from kids’ meal burritos to adult meal burritos was a little
overpowering tonight. But I’m sure that the chips he chowed down with salsa and
ranch dressing while our dinner was being prepared were not a factor, right?
After dinner we
split a flan three ways. It was delicious, good texture, not over or
undercooked, topped with whipped cream and a cherry. A nice finish to a good
meal.
La Fiesta Grande
offers a nice selection of traditional Mexican cuisine, including enchiladas,
tostadas, seafood, burritos and much more. They offer combination dinners with
your choice of one, two or three items. There are a couple of mole items on the
menu, as well as steaks, chicken, tacos, etc. You can access menus for both
stores at
www.sangabrielvalleymenus.com/lafiestagrande.
Stop by and enjoy
some delicious Mexican cuisine at La Fiesta Grande, and be sure and let them
know you read about them in Dot Com Dining!
Bill
Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a restaurant website featuring
more than 150 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. |
