Pasadena Farmers Market and lunch at The Slaw Dogs (Duarte)

You are reading mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy blog here, with the primary subject 'food'.  Today, Cathy is blogging, because Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are just plain busy. 

This is a continuation of our Saturday road trip to watch a road test of the 2013 Rose Parade floats. When we got to Euro Pane, The Mister grabbed a few of those free newspapers stacked at the door and was reading while we were eating while I was checking my phone for spam on the blog. He saw that The Pasadena Farmers Market was held on Tuesday and Saturday and we knew the exact location- in the parking lot of Pasadena High, on Sierra Madre Boulevard, where the Rose Parade floats line up end to end, after the Parade. 

So we drove until we saw vehicles parked on the street, parked, walked across the median and into the vendor area.

and enjoyed the vast selection of fruits and vegetables in the two long aisles of booths.

I must say, the selection and prices were overwhelming- we walked through, noting prices, taking a few samples, 
enjoyed the three musicians (two with guitars and one playing a zither) spread out in separate areas,

 

as well as checking out the fresh seafood vendor- 

There was one 'taco stand', several vendors selling baked goods, one egg rancher, one olive oil stand and a honey vendor. 

 

Then I saw these, and learned what fresh picked jicama looks like! We made some purchases and started driving East, knowing we were heading home.

At some point, we were on the Original Route 66 and in Duarte.  I spotted this building

drove two blocks and turned around.  The name alone...

We walked in and looked at the menu...and it was overwhelming.  Because the possibilities of combinations of available ingredients and preparations is overwhelming.

-There are five dog types(1/4 lb Vienna, natural casing Vienna, 1/4 lb turkey, Kosher beef or veggie)

-Six choices of links (Vienna Jumbo 12" all beef, 7" spicy Polish, 1/4 lb spicy chicken or chicken apple, 1/4 lb Bavarian bratwurst or 1/4 lb ghost pepper pork hot link) types, three preparation choices(steamed, charbroiled or 'ripped' (deep fried and the casing bursts).

-Then there is a choice of 11 Sauces: ketchup, mustard, BBQ, curry ketchup, spicy sesame aioli, chipotle mayo, roast garlic aioli, horseradish mustard, dijon and buttermilk ranch

-Three from a list of 15 (or 39¢ for more than three) toppings: diced onions,  grilled onions, relish, pickle chips, dill pickle spear, jalapeños, sport peppers, pepperocini, sauerkraut, cole slaw, diced tomato, celery salt, chopped Romaine, garlic salsa verde or habañero pickled onion...

-And you can choose from 23 custom toppings for 99¢ each: Beer chili, veggie chili, bacon, pastrami, ground beef, jalapeño bacon, fried egg, Cheddar, Pepper Jack, Parmesan, Nacho cheese, Goat cheese, Feta, Blue, Kimchi, avocado, guacamole, mushrooms, sauteed bell peppers and onion, olive mix, truffle oil or roast garlic pieces.

Fortunately the menu is not only "Build Your Own", but does have a choice of ten 'Slaw Dogs'. Of course, we decided to share "The Traditional"

1/4 lb Vienna beef dog, beer chili, cheddar, mustard, onions and slaw ($4.99) (the only choice was between Cole Slaw or Thai Slaw, and we decided on Cole Slaw).

A cross section view- the chili was really good and the slaw was excellent- crispy and lightly dressed with mayonnaise and a bit of spice (The flavor could have been Lawry's Seasoned Salt...very pleasant and mild)

Then there were Sides available.  Not only fries and sweet potato fries, but onion rings, tots, potato salad, slaws, chili cheese bowl, small tossed salad...but 1/2 skin on fries 1/2 sweet potato fries as well as chili cheese fries, truffle fries, parmesan fries, garlic fries or, our choice...Kimchi sweet potato fries ($5.99) (yes, more than the Slaw Dog).  Sweet potato fries, perfectly nicely fried and topped with spicy sesame aioli (the 'spice' may have been Sriracha)bacon pieces (large, real bacon pieces), fresh made kimchi (not too spicy; a great version) and an over easy fried egg.

There were burgers and salads on the menu also- the salads all came with a choice of butterflied, chargrilled link.  The kimchi fries was a perfect melding of flavors and textures and was a meal in itself.  So glad we stopped.

When leaving, I asked about breakfast , since the sign out front advertised it Friday, Saturday and Sunday only...not only French Toast, pancakes (buttermilk or seven grain), oatmeal, and egg dishes (all served with fruit and either rosemary potatoes or potato tots), but some of the omelet selections contain available links (a Ghost Buster omelet using a ghost pepper sausage, with bell peppers, onions and fresh jalapeño and cheddar cheese is $7.99) and the bottom of the list- a Belly Buster scramble (diced pork belly, cilantro and green onions ($8.99)) has the only mention of pork belly on the menu. 

The Slaw Dogs 1355 Huntington Drive (the original Route 66) Duarte, CA 91010 (626)358-8898  website

Comments

[Liz]

Next time try the KimChi burger, it is my favorite item from Slaw Dog.

[Cathy]

There will be a next time, Liz. Thanks for the recommendation and welcome to our blog.

[caninecologne]

i think bert and tc would love this place! so many choices! gorgeous pics of the peppers by the way! :)

[Cathy]

Ha! Thought of all of you as soon as I saw the menu choices. The Farmers Market was so nice-I want to go back.