|
View Nano
Cafe Menu
|
Restaurant: Nano Cafe
Where: 975 N. Michillinda, Pasadena – and now
in Monrovia, too!
Phone: (626) 351-0388
Reservations: No
Cocktails: Beer and Wine
Service: Full service
Atmosphere: Casual
Outdoor Dining: Yes
Credit Cards: Major credit cards accepted
Kid’s Menu: No
Senior Discount: Yes
Food to Go: Yes
Catering Menu: Yes
Price Range: $ 3.75 - $17.95 |
|
Nano
Cafe is in the Albertson's Shopping center at Michillinda and Sierra Madre
Blvd. |
Clam
Chowder |
|
Salad
served w/entrees |
Cooking on the Bar-B |
|
Babyback Ribs |
Rosemary Chicken Ravioli |
|
New
York Steak |
Tiger
Shrimp Kebab |
|
Fruit
Crepe for dessert |
|
|
|
A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
Nano Café in Pasadena A Great Choice for Dining
by Bill Coburn
Nano Café has just expanded with a new location in
Monrovia, on Duarte Road in the building that used to be B.J.’s Coffee Shop,
just east of Mayflower. Owner Jackie Shue is the former owner of Old Town Café
in Pasadena (1986 – 1995) and more recently owned the successful News Café in El
Monte from 1992 - 2003. I never went to either of those restaurants, but I
have visited her latest endeavor, the original Nano Café, which is the subject
of this week’s spotlight.
Nano Café opened in January, 2004, right on the
border of Pasadena and Sierra Madre. There are several booths and tables, a
counter, and a warm welcome feeling as you walk in the door. There’s also a
nice big patio area. It is shielded from the supermarket parking lot by
lattice, which allows an open air feel while minimizing outside noise and
distractions, and shielded from the sun and rain by a sturdy patio cover. The
patio is decorated with strings of white lights, and on a balmy evening warmed
up by Santa Ana winds, it’s a great place to enjoy dinner.
I spotlighted Nano Café back when they opened, and
wrote about the good breakfasts we’d enjoyed, and dinners, too. You can find
that spotlight at DotComDining.com. But Nano Café is trying something new on
Friday and Saturday nights, with an expanded BBQ menu. I say expanded, because
they have BBQ on the regular menu all the time, but on Friday and Saturday
nights, they now also have an outdoor woodfire BBQ, with a special menu just for
that BBQ. And that’s the reason we stopped by this night, to try the new
special BBQ menu.
I ordered the Babyback Ribs, and a Tiger Shrimp
kabob, available as an add-on to your entrée for a very reasonable price.
Keelan ordered a Rosemary Chicken Pasta with a Cream/Spinach sauce. Katie
ordered a New York steak.
Our dinners came with a choice of soup or salad, and
I tried the clam chowder, which was pretty good, not quite as thick as I like
it, but plenty flavorful, and lots of clams, like I like it. Katie and Keelan
both had salads, which were true garden salads, not just lettuce. Celery
stalks, sliced cucumbers and carrots, cabbage, and a fairly good portion, as
well. For side orders, I chose mashed potatoes and gravy and steamed
vegetables. Katie selected a yam and coleslaw. Yams are not written anywhere
on the menu, but Jackie had mentioned to me that they are available, so Katie
jumped all over it. She loved it, because you don’t find yams in a restaurant
very often. Keelan didn’t get the choice of sides, but his pasta did come with
some really good garlic bread.
I really enjoyed my ribs, which had a BBQ sauce that
was kind of sweet, not real smoky. They were meaty and cooked pretty well, not
quite falling off the bone, but tender and juicy. The shrimp kabob was also
quite enjoyable, there were several shrimp on the kebab, with onions, bell
peppers and mushrooms mixed in. The vegetables were also tasty, nice and crisp
broccoli and carrots, not overcooked like lots of places. And the potatoes were
fluffy and light, with plenty of nice brown gravy.
As I said, Katie enjoyed her yam, and commented on
how flavorful her steak was. It was cooked as she ordered it, there was plenty
of it, and I tried a bite, and agreed that it was a pretty good steak.
Keelan’s ravioli was also quite good. The
cream/spinach sauce was cooked to order, they don’t have a big pot of sauce in
the back, they make it fresh for each order. There was more there than he could
eat, so I helped him out, and I have to say, while I’m not a big ravioli fan,
I’d order it, it was pretty tasty.
We didn’t really see the dessert menu, because
Jackie was nice enough to have the chef prepare some fresh fruit crepes for all
of us. Sliced strawberries, bananas and mangos were in abundance on top of
whipped cream that smothered the crepes, filled with a low-fat yogurt. Yeah,
low fat, I guess to counterbalance all the whip cream. Any way, we all devoured
every bite.
Nano Café always has specials to go along with their
regular menu. They’ve added a beer and wine menu, and their corkage fee for
those who want to bring their own is beyond reasonable. They offer senior
discounts, and have a loyalty reward card where repeat customers can save up to
20% with accumulated points. They offer to go food, and have a catering menu,
and can accommodate banquets, as well.
One other thing about Nano Café. You ever go to a
restaurant, and wait around for a few minutes till the hostess comes back, and
the waitresses stand by the cash register, ignoring you because it’s the
hostess’ job to seat you, and they’re busy? Doesn’t happen here. Every person
I’ve ever seen walk in that door, and I’ve seen a few, is greeted before they
get a couple feet in the door. The waitresses know and recognize the customers
who’ve been in before, and everyone is thanked profusely before they leave. The
waitresses are courteous, efficient and polite. So you get good food, good
service, and low prices. I recommend it highly. You can find Nano Café’s menu
on the web at
www.sangabrielvalleymenus.com/nanocafe.htm, or go directly to
www.nanocafe.us.
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. |
