potatomato.blog: Julienne (San Marino)

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Aug 26

Julienne (San Marino)

Food 02: Pasadena

Back to work today, but yesterday I lunched alone at Julienne, a French cafe in San Marino (a rather upscale suburb nearby my house). It has a gourmet boutique right next door selling lots of yummy stuffs. I bought this thing called "terrain" (pate-ish thing layered like a terrain for flatbread or biscuits) there for parties before.

The cafe interior is very tiny, most tables are outside at the patio. I didn't dare to snap picture of the side of wall full of huge mirrors, rococo draperies and oil paintings :( The interior is decorated with lots of huge deer heads and lights made from prongs, a bit much for the small space...

Sandwich: Roasted Lamb with Caramelized Onions, Avocado and Basil Aioli (yum! I tried to eat other things from their limited menu but I always go back to this one)
Pastries: they have no regular menu for dessert, so they have a sample tray to show you what're the pastries of the day. Though I've tried the rice pudding (the far rightest) before, errr...didn't like it. I got the chocolate one, yum!

OK this is one of the "what the hell?!" thing I've ever encountered. This freaky antique mannequin is RIGHT inside the bathroom of the cafe. It always give me a jump when I go in there. More absurdly, the mannequin face right across you when you're peeing at the toilet seat...gazing at you with her blank stare. The entire bathroom is decorated with an old antique French look, which in this case only added on the creepiness...^^;;

Freda | August 26, 2004 09:12 PM

Comments:

What's wrong with you monster???? eating poor little bunny??? T_T

Strong Garlic cooking? haha now I understand the name... Where is it in LA?

Freda | August 30, 2004 07:08 PM

Stinking Rose is an italian restaurant that specializes in strong garlicky flavor. Try their garlic cooked in olive oil as a bread dip for starter.. I tried the rabbit once.. EW... just stick to pasta i think. There's another stinking rose in san francisco too.. in 'little italy'.

veronica | August 30, 2004 03:34 PM

Stinking Rose? Where it is?
Yeah by "near' I mean 15 mins driving ^^llll nothing in walking distance at all. Though recently there's a new coffee house opened 15 minutes walking from our office, and their food is surprisingly yummy (but quite expensive for...salad, sandwich and wraps those kind of food you know...)

Freda | August 29, 2004 11:55 AM

hey finally julieene is posted :)
speaking about creepy toilte. "Stinking Rose" used to have a big mannequin besides the toilet door. It's a dark red hall, so yeah I know how that feels. Luckily, I went to the toilet with friends, otherwise I would jump ... I don't understand the artistic value of putting mannequin near toilet.. do you? any reason? historical maybe? hm...

veronica | August 27, 2004 03:57 PM

Nice cafe....but yeah the decoration looks a bit creepy...mannequin in the toilet? Gosh! ^^;

The cakes all look nice though! I would have chosen the rice pudding(it looks like cheese mousse) first too.

Hey, you do have nice eating places near your house and your office! But when you say near, it is like 15 mins of driving, right? ^^;