Pandemica notwithstanding, Pasadena is quickly growing into one of the premier restaurant destinations in Southern California, with a host of new eateries every month that we do our best to keep up with.
As the new shops open, it’s a good time to point out some of our favorites which have been around and are still around, still standing after the tremendous hit the dining community took in the last year.
Roll Factory by Stray Cat in One Colorado is an Asian eatery tucked into a corner between Sushi Roku and the Cafe Santorini, specializing in poke bowls with salmon, yellowtail, seaweed salad, and spicy crab meat.
You can build your bowls from a combination of bases, from white rice, to their special purple rice, made from a special vinegar, which gives it its unique tinge, along with brown rice and salad, or a combination. Then choose from sides like edamame, crab or avocado, some mixy ingredients like cucumber , masago, and pineapple, then choose their fish ranging from salmon and shrimp to scallop and yellow tail.
Choose from dry toppings and your choice of sauces, and let it rock.
Unlike many poke shops, The Roll Factory also has a wide variety of other popular (read my favorite) menu items like Ramen and a choice of traditional sushi hand rolls, all made fresh.
And lets not forget Spam Musubi, available plain or with egg and/or avocado.
Dessert? Well, there’s mochi, which was actually invented in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo, or one can also select from soft serve ice cream with flavors like rose berry, milk, black sesame, and matcha. The ice cream is served in taiyaki (fish-shaped bread, originating in Japan) or in a cup.
Meanwhile, do you think that death row prisoners order caviar and lobster for their last meals? Of course, they don’t. They order KFC and cheeseburgers. They know what they like. So, should I ever be motivated to rob the First National Bank of Greater Pasadena Amalgamated and take hostages to no good end, just have the warden send someone to One Colorado for me.
A large poke bowl, please. And don’t forget the purple rice.
The Roll Factory is at 62 West Union Street #1. Pasadena, CA. (626) 639-3500
Paulette
I’ll pass…….but, thank you for informing me where NOT to eat the next time I visit Pasadena. “Hawaiian favorites”?…….not in my experience! My gag reflex is triggered just reading about the menu options at this restaurant, but that’s just me. I’d gladly go hungry to my death row death before choosing a poke bowl and purple rice as my last meal…….YUK!