Steve Chagollan

Oct 25, 2024 | pasadenamag.com | Steve Chagollan

If chef Sergio Herman opened a restaurant in the United States, he’d be as well-known as Thomas Keller or Daniel Boulud. However, you need to venture to Antwerp, Belgium, to his flagship restaurant, Le Pristine, to see what all the fuss is about. And if you want to see him in action, you’ll have to make the trek to PrivéPrivée, also in Antwerp, and described on Instagram as “Sergio Herman’s private kitchen.” Good luck with that. The place is fully booked nine months in advance.

Jun 21, 2024 | pasadenamag.com | Steve Chagollan

The best road tunes suggest movement. Alone in your car, the emotions of a song can grip you, fuel your wanderlust and set your mind free. They can evoke ecstasy and reflection in equal measures. Here's my Top 5, but I suggest downloading the LPs they were plucked from and placing them on shuffle.

Jun 13, 2024 | pasadenamag.com | Steve Chagollan

Last spring, I flew from Los Angeles to Arizona to drive a van packed with vacation paraphernalia from Tucson to Wausau, Wisconsin. The in-laws would annually spend a chunk of time in the dry Southwestern desert heat to escape the bitter Wisconsin cold during the year’s early months. But they needed help with the grueling drive back.

Apr 30, 2024 | pasadenamag.com | Steve Chagollan

Plenty have claimed to have invented the cheeseburger, but the earliest citation dates back 100 years. According to local lore, in 1924 a 16-year-old named Lionel Clark Sternberger introduced it. Lionel was working at his father’s Pasadena roadside stand, The Rite Spot, on Route 66 (which would eventually become Colorado Boulevard), when he either fulfilled a customer’s request or covered up one side of a burnt patty with cheese to conceal his mistake.

Mar 22, 2024 | pasadenamag.com | Steve Chagollan

The sign for Roma Market, a Pasadena institution since 1945 situated on the corner of North Lake Avenue and West Mountain Street, informs passersby that it’s the “Home of ‘The Sandwich.’” Not just any sandwich, mind you. The Sandwich. The L.A. Times called it “the best Italian sandwich in Pasadena.” Rosario Mazzeo, who inherited the establishment from his uncle, says customers come from as far away as San Pedro and Anaheim, while lines form outside the store on weekends.