Cafe 140 South

Located at 140 South Lake Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101, Cafe 140 is the place I have walked past for almost a year on my way to the Facets Jewellery Store and never had a moment to check it out.  Not so this week -- I just walked right in and asked for a table. I was seated immediately by a very friendly hostess (is "hostess" what what they call them these days? I've no idea, I'm 40 years old, and no longer care about the "in" phrases.)

Cafe 140 South is located on a hustling and bustling area of Lake Avenue, and if you like people-watching, you can sit outside on the patio -- I opted for inside (it was a very hot day - my apologies to East Coasters reading this who are currently enduring over a foot of snow, but yeah, it was in the 70s here).  Cafe 140 South has a nice "upscale" feel about it and has a very well stocked bar.  The interior also has a very classy feel about it, including nicely appointed spot lighting for evening dining.

I perused the menu, while sipping on a passion fruit iced tea. The prices seemed a little more than I would normally pay, but the waitress told me about the "specials of the day" and I just went for it.

To start I had an absolutely exquisite roasted tomato soup, with a deep fried mozarella cheese ball plopped merrily into the middle of the bowl, topped with basil.  It was, in my own words, a "mouth-gasm".

 The soup was accompanied by freshly baked bread with lots of butter.  You can't have freshly baked bread without lots of butter, so don't even think about leaving comments to the contrary :-)

Then, the main course.  It was HUGE, and of course after soup and bread, it looked overwhelming.

 I finished the entire plate.  Perfectly cooked chicken breast, stuffed with Jack cheese and spinach.  The chicken breast was accompanied by a wonderful whole grain mustard sauce, the perfect accompaniment for the chicken.  The vegetables, zucchini, carrot and broccoli were also perfect cooked, not too soggy, not too under-done. I believe the phrase is al-dente...it was utter bliss.  The waitress stopped by my table and I gave my compliments to the chef - she replied "Oh I certainly will, he just made up this recipe this morning". 

Okay, so here's the deal.   My bill came to $28!  Yes, this is WAY more than I would normally pay for a work day lunch (and I didn't even order dessert!!), but to be fair, I wanted to give an overall impression of the restaurant.  So, I asked myself the following questions:

1.  Would I come here everyday for lunch based on the prices? - NO.
2.  Would I come here to impress a potential business client? - YES.
3.  Would I be impressed at being taken here on a first date? - YES

So, there you have it. Classy, elegant, excellent food, helpful and friendly staff. I give Cafe 140 South:
a NICEY-BUT-PRICEY TWO THUMBS UP!!!!