Georgia McClay Friendship Center

While on my way to meet friends at Zona Rosa the other night, I passed this window at the Pasadena Playhouse. I stopped to gawk at the costumes, the masks hanging from the ceiling and the posters on the wall. The golden light made it all so attractive. I pulled out my camera.

A woman with a beautiful smile spoke as she passed. (I wonder if she's in the show.) "I think the Friendship Center's open," she said. I told her I had a meeting in a few minutes and thanked her for telling me what I was looking at.

I found a bit of info online. The Georgia McClay Friendship Center is a room next to the box office, adjacent to the patio. It's available for rent (lending itself to business events, workshops or parties, says the website).

Who is Georgia McClay? Somebody generous, most likely. If not that, at least she has good taste.

Zona Rosa Caffe (#8 in a Quest)

Zona Rosa is a charmer of a coffee shop on El Molino just south of Colorado Blvd. The sidewalk tables with an eclectic selection of patrons attract you to stop. From there you might think it looks European, but step inside and you'll know: Zona Rosa has a Mexican flair.

I've enjoyed Zona Rosa before and even posted about it. The other day for the first time I took my laptop there to work. On the ground floor there's a small bar and just the one table in this photo. But head up a little flight of stairs and you'll find couches, more tables and always some interesting artwork on the walls (right now some pieces are more interesting than others). The upstairs room is intimate but bright, with two large windows overlooking El Molino Blvd.

I'd love to find a coffee shop with a library hush, but such a shop would likely be patronless besides me. No, no, a shop with an unhurried atmosphere is the best one can expect, and that's Zona Rosa. It even says so on their website. The Latin music is pleasant background. The patrons all seem to get it: we're not loud here, we're respectful. We're here to chill.

I set up my laptop at one of the window tables, which turned out to be too high for typing comfortably for very long. Upstairs at Zona Rosa the other choices are coffee tables, which have the opposite problem. The outside tables are the right height but it was too cold to sit outside that day.

I'm starting to sound like Goldilocks.

Don't expect to order a meal; it's strictly coffees, teas and baked thingies, with a decent variety. My cookie and juice were fine fuel, and I can recommend the coffee from past experience.

There are great coffee places for flirting, meeting a friend or even having a cup of coffee. Zona Rosa is all three. My quest is to discover the perfect coffee shop in which to write. If you click on my previous Zona Rosa post you'll see others obviously find it a good place to work. I'll stop back and try a sidewalk table there on a warmer day.

Update: In today's comments Cafe Observer reminds us there's no wifi at Zona Rosa. Altadenahiker reminds us that can be a good thing.

Zona Rosa Caffe

The website of Zona Rosa Caffe boasts "a relaxing, unhurried and intimate experience." They mean it.

Have you ever sat at a coffee shop with your book or laptop, and soon felt like the staff (ahem) needed the table? At Zona Rosa you're welcome to linger over your coffee (imported from Mexico or Latin America, most likely). If you sit upstairs you can listen to music and examine the artwork. Outside, enjoy your conversation or the breeze.

The other day we drank iced lattes and watched a limousine wait outside the Pasadena Playhouse next door. If we'd lingered a while longer we might have seen someone get in it. It didn't matter. The weather was lovely and the lattes were perfect.