2016 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Float Road Test #6, breakfast at Sandwiches by Connal

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. There are always reasons about how we (Kirk, Ed (from Yuma) and Cathy) get around to the food.  Today, Cathy is writing about one of her monthly road trips to Pasadena.

Late October and yet floats are being constructed and necessarily being tested for safety and maneuverability prior to their participation in the 127th Tournament of Roses Rose Parade, which will occur on January 1, 2016.  The Theme of the parade this year is "Find Your Adventure" and will be held in conjunction with the National Park Service, which will be celebrating its 100th year since being entrusted with the care of over 400 locations of the National Parks of the United States. 

The day starts early for road tests.  We have to be on the road by 5 a.m., to be at the Phoenix Decorating Company barn by 7 a.m..  There is another company which constructs floats along with six floats which are self made and all have different road testing days.  Since The Mister and I have decorated floats with the Petal Pushers, who assist with many of the floats made by Phoenix Decorating since before I began writing on this blog, we usually only drive up to see the Phoenix floats being road tested.  The American Armenian Rose Float Association will have its second float, "Discover Armenia" in the parade in January, and it is again very detailed, showing 17 different Armenian architectural symbols.Back in August, this very long float was road tested.  (You can see the Driver to the right in a red shirt and the Spotter of the float to the left, with the yellow chair).Knowing that base showed nothing of the float design, I waited for more details of this steampunk design titled "Fearless Flyer".  Once the colors are marked for the live and dry materials, this Trader Joe's float will really take shape.  It collapses down on that accordion pleated central area...and yes, there will be steam coming from various parts of the float as it drives down Colorado Boulevard.  This will be one of the more magnificent floats in the parade.The Destination Irvine float, "Innovation Rocks" has been outlined and colored and now looks like the artist rendition.  It is ready for decoration, which will begin on December 5.  

You can see the artist renditions of all the floats I've shown you so far this year at this link.Peeking into the barn before leaving, we saw this small boat with an outboard motor...and I know Honda (the parade sponsor) makes outboard motors...so I'm thinking this is part of the first float you'll see as the parade starts.  {I was wrong: the above outboard motor is part of the Farmers Insurance "Along for the Ride" float.  Additional artist renditions of the floats were added to the above link after this post was published.}

We were off to breakfast and decided to stop at Sandwiches by Connal, which has been in Pasadena since 1958 (and which I wrote about last year, after another road test).Not much has changed since September 2014.  The prices are for 'to go' items and it costs a bit less because we eat in.  We've been here more than once, so here's a compendium of breakfast items.  The bacon breakfast burrito ($4.99) is made with three eggs and hash browns and bacon. The sausage croissant ($3.99) is similarly prepared.  As always: hearty, fresh and excellent. The bacon breakfast sandwich (on wheat) ($4.59) is made with folded (not shredded) lettuce leaves, tomato, egg and bacon. Always a favorite. The chorizo burrito ($5.29) weighs more than a pound (because, again, three eggs and hash browns as well as a lot of chorizo) and comes with red or green sauce added for you.The Ribeye steak and eggs ($7.99). Three eggs, hash browns, toast and a good size piece of tender meat...a nice way to begin the rest of the day.

I hope your week is going well!

Sandwiches by Connal 1505 East Washington Pasadena, CA 91104 (626)794-5018 Website (the menu website links have old prices, the wall prices in the photo above are 'to go' prices, it's about 50¢ less per item when you eat in).

Comments

[nhbilly]

Would be perfect if I had some of that grab right now.

[Cathy]

Breakfasts are my favorite of all meals, too, Bill.

[jack]

Breakfast is my favorite meal and now I'm wanting some of that!

[Soo @ hungryones]

Wow! The floats are coming along nicely. Thanks for the continuing documentary.

You 2 are wise bacon and steak are a great way to start the day. :-)

[caninecologne]

Another great Road Float post Cathy! I really like seeing how the floats have evolved over the past few months. Pretty soon, they'll all be painted over, ready to have the flowers/nuts/barks/seeds glued on.

Holy hell, those are hefty burritos.Connal's has great deals, especially that last one with the steak.

[Cathy]

Connal's is great, Jack....there were several law enforcement types having breakfast when we were here; to me, that means it's really good.
Thanks, Soo. Its exciting to see the progression and all of the buildup each year.
Dry Decorating begins December 5, and will be on each Saturday before Christmas. the 26th of December is when vials are filled with water and some of the fresh flowers are delivered...more show up closer to the 30th..and judging is on the 31st. We really like Connals as well as Lucky Boy...longstanding institutions with good food at a low price point.