Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Tuesdays with Letty: Avanti Bistro - Pasadena, California


With our son using a wheelchair, we have a need for adaptive equipment such as a lift for our van. That lift sometimes breaks down or needs maintenance. The closest service facility is MobilityWorks in Pasadena.

It's not in the part of Pasadena that's full of great restaurants and places to wander around, it's in a fairly industrial and residential part of East Pasadena on Altadena Drive...though the Rose Parade passes within about a hundred yards of it.

That means we don't have a lot of selection of places to eat while we wait for the lift to be serviced.  There's a subpar taco place and donut shop across the street, Wonder Burgers is a decent place for breakfast two blocks away, Super Burger on the other side of the 210 Freeway makes incredibly good burgers in a run-down shack, and the oldest existing and operating In 'n Out is about a half mile away.

Any will do for a quick bite but one time we wanted something a little more. Lucky for us, Avanti Cafe...known for it's wood-fired pizzas on Lake Avenue...opened another branch only a block away from MobilityWorks. This one is more upscale and called Avanti Bistro.


It serves very good pizza and Italian dishes at prices that will make you skip a breath or two but they do have a very fun and reasonably priced happy hour from 3-6 on weeknights.


Once in awhile, Letty and I will come here to take advantage on Tuesdays.  It's also the night a roving band of real estate professionals show up (they hit different happy hours each night after work). They're a fun and friendly group and we crowd into the little bar with them.

There's a drink of the day special plus discounts on wine and beer.  The happy hour dishes are very good and cheap, too.


We each get a personal pizza, which is only $8 and share a plate of calamari which will set you back $5.

It's a fun and easy place to get to but beware that outside of happy hour, the prices can give you a bit of sticker shock.

Avanti is at 187 N. Sierra Madre Boulevard at the corner of Foothill, just a bit south of the 210 Freeway.

Darryl
Copyright 2016 - Darryl Musick
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