Thursday, September 22, 2005
Bodega Wine Bar
There are precious few places to go drinking in Pasadena. Correction: there are precious few places to go drinking in Pasadena that aren't pubs. I don't know why, but there is a large preponderance of pubs. And really, pubs aren't quite my scene.
Which is why I was so so happy when awine bar opened up in the area. While I initially didn't like it too much (I mean, I used to go to Bar Veloce in New York all the time - I was a hard sell), I became a quick convert.
From its inception in early 2003, I have beelined it to Bodega every time I went home on vacation. Last summer, I spent almost too much time there, getting to know the bartenders almost too well (and they were amazing, putting up with my hazy questions about what I wanted to drink), to the point that yeah, my last night there before I returned to Boston, I got wasted off an "unlimited" glass of wine that ended up costing me $5.
It's too too bad that that bartender isn't there anymore. Sigh. Although I didn't fancy him so much as the other one. Isn't that always the case?
It's a curious scene. Pasadena's just an odd social scene. It's not as trendy as LA, obviously, as it's far more suburby. And who would drive out to Pasadena just for a wine bar? Thus, you get a mix of locals, many of whom are kids home from college who don't want to head to the pubs, the occassional uber-intellectual from CalTech, and then.. well, it's just so hard to describe it. The best thing I can say is that it's just not that happening a scene, but it's enjoyable nonetheless because precisely because it's not a scene.
Which is not to say I haven't met my fair share of guys there. They're generally harmless and innocuous, good for some light conversation but nothing more. And the bartenders - well, I feel that I've already expressed my feelings regarding them, n'est-ce pas?
Unfortunately, they don't change the wine list as often as I'd like, which really is a pity because as a wine bar, I feel that it's their duty to have a list that rotates just a little more quickly as to keep the tastebuds of their clientele perked and interested. That's my only real quibble with the place. But it's such a cozy bar/lounge, that I can't help but return there time and time again.
Which is why I was so so happy when awine bar opened up in the area. While I initially didn't like it too much (I mean, I used to go to Bar Veloce in New York all the time - I was a hard sell), I became a quick convert.
From its inception in early 2003, I have beelined it to Bodega every time I went home on vacation. Last summer, I spent almost too much time there, getting to know the bartenders almost too well (and they were amazing, putting up with my hazy questions about what I wanted to drink), to the point that yeah, my last night there before I returned to Boston, I got wasted off an "unlimited" glass of wine that ended up costing me $5.
It's too too bad that that bartender isn't there anymore. Sigh. Although I didn't fancy him so much as the other one. Isn't that always the case?
It's a curious scene. Pasadena's just an odd social scene. It's not as trendy as LA, obviously, as it's far more suburby. And who would drive out to Pasadena just for a wine bar? Thus, you get a mix of locals, many of whom are kids home from college who don't want to head to the pubs, the occassional uber-intellectual from CalTech, and then.. well, it's just so hard to describe it. The best thing I can say is that it's just not that happening a scene, but it's enjoyable nonetheless because precisely because it's not a scene.
Which is not to say I haven't met my fair share of guys there. They're generally harmless and innocuous, good for some light conversation but nothing more. And the bartenders - well, I feel that I've already expressed my feelings regarding them, n'est-ce pas?
Unfortunately, they don't change the wine list as often as I'd like, which really is a pity because as a wine bar, I feel that it's their duty to have a list that rotates just a little more quickly as to keep the tastebuds of their clientele perked and interested. That's my only real quibble with the place. But it's such a cozy bar/lounge, that I can't help but return there time and time again.
Gloria 8:39 PM
3 Comments:
The last time I went drinking in Pasadena was after friends got married. (The wedding was in Sierra Madre -- the bride's hometown.)
Did you end up at a pub? I bet you did. That's all they have in Pasadena, I swear. Or, I guess, Mi Piace.
We ended up at Gordon Biersch.
