With an upset stomach (still from the Pastrami the day before) and elevated stress levels from a bad day at work, I decided I needed comfort food. (Bland comfort food)
Before embarking on my next food trial adventure, I stopped off at home to change out of my “teacher” attire and into more weather appropriate (and comfortable) clothing (90 degrees in October is insane). I didn’t feel like driving so I hopped on the 264 bus in Altadena. The 264 bus line will take the passenger from Altadena east to the Sierra Madre Villa Gold Line station. This was my first trip to this particular Gold Line station. (Sierra Madre Villa is the last stop on the eastbound Gold Line).
I do have to say, it is still weird for me, this whole traveling by Metro train bit. When I lived in North Hollywood and worked down at USC, it was super simple to take the Metro Red Line down to 7th street then hop on the Dash, taking you right to USC. The train is more reliable than the buses. But when you are traveling in downtown LA, the buses arrive every 15 minutes. In Altadena (and parts of Pasadena), if you miss a bus, you have to wait a half hour to an hour for the next one to arrive.
Also, the Gold Line is so different from the Red Line. The Red Line was underground like a real subway system. The Gold Line is above ground and in some parts, travels down the middle of the freeway (perhaps to remind you of the horrible traffic jams that you are missing by taking the train). I usually take the Allen or Lake station to start my journey into Old Town Pasadena and beyond but this is my first time going to the Sierra Madre Villa station. For me, I found it strange that you arrive at what looks like a typical parking structure. You climb four flights of stairs to reach a walkway that goes across the freeway. You then descend two to three flights of stairs to reach the train platform, located in the middle of the 210 freeway. I still get this surreal feeling while waiting on the train platform. It isn’t normal to be standing in the middle of a freeway. Maybe someday I will get used to it.
Anyways, I took the Gold Line to the Memorial Park station in Old Town Pasadena. I made my way down to Colorado and used the Yelp app on my phone to find a restaurant that I haven’t tried yet. I also made sure it was a place that was reasonably priced and would have food that wouldn’t upset my stomach. That is when I decided I wanted Chicken Noodle soup. There are a lot of Noodle places in Pasadena but I decided to try The Noodle House in Colorado, just west of Fair Oaks.
The Noodle House is a quant little Asian noodle house with so many choices ranging from Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese noodle soups to noodle and rice dishes to the traditional Asian appetizers. It was actually a tough decision to make. If my stomach wasn’t in distress, I would have a field day trying all of the different items on the menu. But I settled with the Chinese Chicken noodle soup, a side of edamame and a Sprite.
Everything was amazing and the portions are huge. I wound up taking enough home for another meal (I don’t mind spending $14 on a meal that turns into 2 meals). You could definitely turn this into a family style meal if dining with friends. For me, the soup is exactly what I needed. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to friends and I plan on returning when my stomach is in better shape.
Define Normal 