Penny Time

Here's another photo from the archives. These vines grow (or grew) up the backsides of what used to be Madre's restaurant on Granite Park Place. I like the backsides of things. Don't take that the wrong way.

I don't know what it the building houses now. I haven't been getting out much lately. I could blame the economy (and I wouldn't be lying), but really it's because I've been obsessed with getting THE BOOK published. It's almost a full-time job.

However, I'll be getting out on January 12th and I hope you'll join me. We all talked about going to Penny For Your Thoughts together, a sort of PDP coffee outing. The owner, Millie, and I picked January 12th at 10:30 am. Come join us!

Penny For Your Thoughts is at 1365 N. Hill Avenue in Pasadena. There's plenty of parking in the rear. Bring extra money because besides coffee and pastries to enjoy while we're there, the store is full of treasures to take home.

Madre's

Madre's restaurant might not be a mystery to you, but it was to me. I found it in my wanderings a couple of months ago. This entryway might be gone by now. Such things are ephemeral.

Jennifer Lopez opened this "elegant Cuban restaurant" at 897 Granite Drive in April of 2002. It started out with a bang--such luminaries as Kobe Bryant, Nicole Kidman and even Maria Shriver were there for the opening.

I don't know why it closed (too expensive? not good enough? the economy?), but for some reason it didn't make the cut. Professional reviewers called it pricey, but liked the feminine decor. I tried peeking in the windows but couldn't see much. A sticker on the door said it was Zagat rated. Did you eat there? What are your memories of the place?

I haven't been linking to Yelp reviews due to the class action extortion lawsuit, but in this case Yelp can neither hurt nor help the business and the reviews are kind of funny. Many people went to Madre's to catch a glimpse of J-Lo. It gives you an idea of the grasp they have of the restaurant business, and what kind of reviewers you get on a website like Yelp.