Part two of the Mother’s Day celebration with Ernie’s parents. We had dinner at the highly acclaimed Parkway Grill in Pasadena. The place was very classy…it’s valet parking only in the lot and upon walking in we were greeted with piano music. They grow herbs on site as well but it was too late to ask for a tour of the herb garden. The decor wasn’t too fancy but there was a sense elegance in the simple but well placed pieces of artwork and such. Our waiter brought us a bread basket while we were reading our menus. The bread was room temperature and I usually prefer warm bread but this bread was quite yummy. It was an assortment of corn cakes, crunchy herb bread sticks and white herb and rye bread. We had decided to order the Ahi Tuna Tartar but we were informed that Chef didn’t feel like the tuna was up to par to be served. So we then decided to get different appetizers so we could sample each other’s. I got the Warm Tiger Shrimp corndogs, Ernie got the Lobster bisque(one of the soups of the day), while both of his parents ordered the Dungeness Crab Cakes. My appetizer turned out to be quite a show stopper in appearance and taste. Four skewered breaded jumbo tiger shrimp were arranged in a tepee arrangement and held together with shredded carrots and onions and a sweet garlic cocktail sauce was drizzled around it. Ernie’s Lobster Bisque was quite yummy as well….it had good flavor was so velvety smooth. For some reason I thought that Ernie’s parents would each get more than one crab cake but they only got one each. Nevertheless, their crab cakes proved to be scrumptious as well. For the main course, I ordered the Campfire Grilled Salmon, Ernie and his mom the Grilled Atlantic Sea bass and his father the Grilled Whitefish. All of our fish dishes were excellent but what I remember most about it is the steamed veggies that came with them. The french beans were so delicious. I normally don’t like eating beans but if I could eat french beans everyday I eat them. We still had room for dessert so we ordered a Crème Brûlée Napoleon, a Fresh Fruit Crisp and some coffee to wash it down. The dessert was a little on the disappointing side….the phyllo used for the napoleon had a slight burnt taste and the fruit for the crisp was a little sour. While we were waiting for our bill, our waiter brought both Ernie’s mom and I single purple Dedrobium orchid stems in honor of Mother’s Day. All in all dinner was nice, I’d definitely come back again but maybe not for dessert.
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Average meal price: $$$$$
Ambience: 4(it was classy and there were people dressed up yet other not so much nevertheless not a place that you should just walk into disheveled)
Cleanliness:5(everything was sparkly clean)
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510 South Arroyo Parkway
Pasadena, Ca 91105
626-795-1001
Filed under: American, Casual Elegance, Los Angeles, Splurges!
