Church of Scientology

I accidentally walked into the new Church of Scientology building in Old Town Pasadena. This is easy to do because, for all intents and purposes, the building and its lobby looks like a swank hotel.  I felt really tricked.  Now I'm started to get flyers from them with "I.Q" tests.  Looking at all the questions, it's clear to me that the test is really for their benefit, a way of identifying to most vulnerable and lonely people to indoctrinate.  Scary.

Kogi Truck at Altadena

In LA, the Kogi Truck is the mother of all Korean taco trucks. Originally it was just one truck, but the trucks grew in number and they now even have a small restaurant. One of the Kogi trucks makes it out to Altadena once a week on Tuesdays so we finally decided to try them out. What an experience. We got in line at 10:33.  The line was a block long.  And it didn't move for forty minutes. I mean, what the hell are they doing in that truck!  And the whole system was crazy. Like the line goes the wrong way around because you have to snake to the front of the truck to give your order and than snake back down to get your food. Oh, and you wait another half hour to get the bloody food after you order. Like I said, what the hell are they doing in the truck.  So we got in line at 10:33 and got our food at 11: 55. Gee, just in time for the truck to close. Of course, it was a cold, damp summer night and I caught a chill waiting.

I learned two lessons here:  1. food trucks with long lines aren't really worth it & 2. if they want your name with your order, make up a crazy name or give a number so that there's no confusion (like if you're named Mike, say your name is Mickey Mouse because there's going to be a dozen Mike's all waiting for their order).

So how was the food? Pretty good. We got two tacos, the spicy pork and the BBQ short ribs, and the kimchee quesadilla.

Oh!  Parked along with the Kogi truck is the Get Shaved shaved ice truck, and they make mighty fine shaved ice. We're talking real shaved ice and not chunks. Flavorings could be a wee bit better, but oh well.

The Kogi Truck is in Altadena on Tuesday from 10:30pm - midnight on 2029 N. Lake Ave. Their full schedule is on their website.

Intelligentsia Pasadena :)

Yeah! Intelligentsia finally opened in Old Pasadena this morning! Went exactly at 10 to find there was already a good hustle and bustle inside.  Pretty impressive as they'd only announced the opening yesterday afternoon.

The place looks great.  The decor is reminiscent of their Venice Beach branch, but with more seating; the staff was very friendly, and for Intelligentsia, strangely chatty.  The guy at the cash register went on and on about their strained opening and how they had the wrong cables for their cash register and blah, blah, blah. The Pasadena branch offers the usual coffee and tea selection.  In addition, they're offering individual siphon coffee makers.  AND they're going to start making real food, like grilled cheese sandwiches and lasagna.  Probably why they have all that lovely seating.  Just what Old Pasadena needed.

I also noted that Intelligentsia was right opposite Baskin-Robbins, which means that you can order an espresso from Intelligentsia and then fly over to Baskin-Robbins for a scoop of vanilla so you can make an affogato!

More excitement as we drove home:  just as we drove out of the parking garage, we got stopped at the intersection by a cop on a motorcycle.  WTF, we asked?  Turned out there was a police escort for two large parade floats.  Can this town get anymore exciting?