The MaiTai Tom Dining Guide:
In Search Of Excellence In Restaurants
MAITAI’S FOOD FOR THOUGHT
If there’s anything that Tracy and I like, it’s a good meal. We will share our restaurant experiences as we discover new restaurants and revisit some of our old favorites. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner, we’ll give you some ideas to chew on.
January 30, 2021
“Cheeseburger! Cheeseburger!” Pasadena, CA: The City Where The Cheeseburger Was Invented I’m proud to hail from the city that is home to the Rose Parade and the “Granddaddy Of Them All,” the Rose Bowl Game. However, the historic event that solidifies Pasadena, California, as an American treasure, is that my […]
January 12, 2021
On Call Breakfast! Millie’s Cafe – Pasadena, CA Last Visited: December 2020 • Breakfast Every once in a while, everyone needs a great breakfast fix. Fortunately for Tracy and me, we have a nearby restaurant close by that has served us well for the past couple of years. Millie’s Cafe […]
November 16, 2020
“Over The Moon Italian Cuisine” Luna Trattoria – Mendocino, CA Visited: October 2020 – Northern Italian On the recommendation of the Sea Foam Lodge in Little River, our foursome had made dinner reservations a few weeks previously at Luna Trattoria in Mendocino. Tracy and Mary scouted it out an hour […]
November 6, 2020
Fabulous Frogtown Fiesta of Food Salazar – Los Angeles (Frogtown), CA Sonoran-Stye Mexican – Last Visited: October 2020 Ever since we “discovered” Spoke Bicycle Café in Frogtown (an area located near downtown Los Angeles), we’d been hearing and reading of a Mexican barbecue restaurant named Salazar in the nearby vicinity. […]
October 23, 2020
Bistro 45 a Pasadena Icon! Bistro 45 – Pasadena, CA New American/French-Style Cuisine – Last Visit: August 2020 Situated in a charming, retro Art Deco building in Pasadena, Bistro 45 has provided us with many a memorable meal over the past 25 – 30 years and has consistently served delicious […]
October 4, 2020
Beignets & Breakfast By The Beach The Beachcomber at Crystal Cove – Newport Coast, CA Last Visited: September 2020 When we get together with intrepid travel companions and friends Kim and Mary, we try to pick some place half way between our homes. Unbeknownst to us, the Beachcomber at Crystal […]
August 25, 2020
Mamma Mia … It’s Time For Fia! Fia – Santa Monica, CA California Cuisine (with an Italian Influence) – Last Visit: August 2020 Looking online for L.A. County dining establishments where we could enjoy a meal outdoors, we came upon Fia, a Santa Monica restaurant that seemed to check all […]
July 25, 2020
Forming A More Perfect Union Union – Pasadena, CA Italian – Last Visit: July 2020 In 2015, Union in Pasadena garnered the coveted Mai Tai Tom Restaurant Of The Year Award. Union’s menu, which features a number of homemade pasta dishes, had been the creation of Chef Bruce Kalman, who […]
July 15, 2020
A Patio Oasis Alcove Café & Bakery – Los Feliz (Los Angeles) Last Visit: June 2020 Breakfast When outdoor dining was finally allowed again here in California (seems to change by the hour), we decided to meet our friends (and traveling partners) Kim and Mary, along with their daughter Macaire, […]
June 22, 2020
Historic West Hollywood Hangout Formosa Cafe – West Hollywood, CA Last Visited: June 2020 Asian Fusion I’m confident there’s not another restaurant in the world where John Wayne cooked eggs one morning in its kitchen after passing out the night before, Ava Gardner danced in the aisles, Elvis sipped a […]
March 10, 2020
It Had To Be You! When Mai Tai Tom Met Tracy: A Night at L’Opera – Long Beach, CA Visited: May 1990 & February 2020 As I recall, it was a beautiful spring evening in May 1990. I had been researching police documents and perusing personal interviews for an article […]
January 31, 2020
Great Dining … Plus A Rooftop Bar! Granville – Pasadena, CA Modern Casual Last visited: January 2020 When Granville opened in the spring of 2019, boasting the only rooftop bar in Pasadena, we knew this was a place we had to visit! Granville is a small Southern California chain of […]
December 19, 2019
Mai Tai Tom’s 2019 Restaurant Of The Year! Hippo – Highland Park, CA Cuisine: Cal-Med Visited: February, March & October 2019 The votes have been tabulated, and Mai Tai Tom’s 2019 Restaurant of the Year is now ready to be unveiled. In the closest vote in history, Highland Park’s Hippo […]
October 8, 2019
Neighborhood Gem Bacchus’ Kitchen – Pasadena, CA Last Visited: August 2019 Although we walk the corgis past this restaurant nearly every weekend and always stop to check the menu, in late 2018 it had been several months … maybe even a year … since we had dined at Bacchus’ Kitchen. […]
September 30, 2019
Middle East Feast! Bavel – Los Angeles, CA Visited: September 2019 One great feature of living in Los Angeles these days is the influx of restaurants offering innovative cuisine from all parts of the world. Tracy and I had heard great reports from friends about Bavel, which features food highlighting […]
September 28, 2019
Dining Old School in Montréal L’Express – Montréal, Canada French – Visited (twice): September 2019 While planning the Montréal portion of our trip, there was one restaurant I desperately wanted to try. I am not usually one to follow food critics, but in my research I did find it interesting […]