After nearly two excruciatingly long years, I made it back to see my son and his family out west. What I have discovered recently alarmed me. Maybe it’s the time that has elapsed, or California has in fact become disgusting, but I don’t really want to be out and about much. My CA home, and maybe my favorite hotel anywhere (and I have experienced some sweet ones) is The Langham in Pasadena, deep in a neighborhood of $10M homes.
The hotel itself is actually not really all that expensive, and it has some worn edges, but I have been staying here for ten years and it is home. I briefly pondered staying in another favorite, the Beverly Hilton, so iconic Golden Days-Hollywood that the Golden Globes remain there, but the Beverly Hilton is on a main drag. Even in Beverly Hills, it’s all too much. I deferred to my Pasadena hideaway.
Besides the gorgeous property, and the moonlight view of twinkling lights on the mountains which awaits me on night time bathroom breaks, I love the food. One of my great pleasures is poolside breakfast in the morning, beside the outdoor furnaces required for classic chilly California mornings.
The menu, service, and food at the Terrace are elegant, and sometimes simple. I order a basic breakfast of two sunny eggs with hash browns and a choice of breakfast meat, with another choice of toast. That one is easy. If I am in California it is sourdough. The state, and its famous bread, stole my heart on my first trip there 50 years ago.
It took me a while to settle into the regular order I just described. The menu has undergone changes that annoyed me. Here was the best corned beef hash I’ve experienced, and one day it was gone. The Huevos Rancheros used to be as pretty as it was delicious, and they fixed another thing not broken.
But a few years ago, the most alarming change to the breakfast menu arrived. I was stunned. The Langham is a Chinese-owned hotel, and it is technically located in San Marino, which has a very large Chinese community. Also, there is a lot of transpacific commerce conducted here. But it is still on American soil, so I was shocked to see a mostly Chinese breakfast menu one day.
There are many culinary customs around the world and our eggs and bacon thing is unique to us. The Brits do it too but there will be mushrooms and tomatoes added. The Asia breakfast is a lot of fish and salad, so unusual I once had to stop and stare at that section of an incredible international breakfast buffet at Hotel Cavalieri in Rome.
At breakfast time, Americans are still stumbling around looking for their coffee as they wipe the sleep from their eyes. Fish at 7am is a shocker. I inquired about this new menu change with one of the waiters, many of whom I consider friends.
“Yes, I know. You are not the first person to mention it.”
He then directed me to the exact person I needed to voice my concern.
I don’t know exactly when all those concerns registered, but among the several changes at the hotel since my last visit (on the first day of 2020), a new breakfast menu was the pleasant surprise. The closure of the fabulous Royce Steakhouse on the property was not so welcome.
As so many others did during COVID, the hotel seized the opportunity to do away with things that annoyed them. I guess my favorite delicious chocolate scones were on that list. Muffins, Danish, croissants all made it, but not my scones.
The menu now is very Californian: avocado toast, vegan scramble, a Greek Yogurt bowl, a lot of berries, etc., but there is always a basic American breakfast to be had, and I go there every morning and savor every bite.
On this visit, my eggs were perfect every time, leaving yolk for that sourdough to mop up. The hash browns are absolutely not as good as mine, but they are a very good version of the typical frozen pile of hashbrowns. I love the bacon here. It is thick and smoky and done my favorite way - stiff enough to eat as jerky. My sourdough is toasted just so and it all comes together in a simple and elegant breakfast. I even eat the garnish, a tiny pile of frisee with a tarragon vinaigrette.
The first day back was spent just enjoying the hotel, something I never do. I had the chance on this visit to simply relax all by myself at the pool. It was glorious! And I had a chance to sample some of the food from the poolside bar, the Hideaway, appropriately named. It is under an arch, and has a surprisingly extensive and eclectic menu. My only regret is that I was always too full to sample the trio of cookies for $10. A peanut butter cookie, chocolate chip, and oatmeal raisin kept calling to me. I almost got one to go for the trip home.
The hamburger was also calling to me, as it has for a number of years. I was just never there to try it. The Hideaway Burger comes with their homemade kettle chips, and a lot of them. It was thick, juicy, blanketed in melted cheddar, and properly dressed with lettuce, a red tomato that tasted like a tomato, and extra pickles. It normally comes with grilled onions but I much prefer the slice of raw onion on a burger like this. With what seemed like a gallon of iced tea, this poolside burger and chips really hit the spot.
I wanted the family to come over for the lavish breakfast buffet on Sunday, but it was another COVID casualty. We settled for more lunch fare from the Hideaway. The grilled salmon had an odd flavor, another burger provided more customer satisfaction, and the kiddie turkey sliders were okay but nothing special.
The Royce Steakhouse closure was a disappointment. I have often said that the Royce was the most pretentious restaurant I have ever encountered, and that was definitely not a diss. I was mesmerized by the level of service here. It was friendly but almost choreographed. Dazzling.
Then it became the Royce Steakhouse and was still dazzling, but not at the previous level. I am glad I could experience that one time. Having a place like the Royce on property is perfect for when you just don’t want to go out. It’s first class, so there is no need to go out. This is one of those incredible bread basket places, and we go through way more than our share of gougeres. The steaks are great too. I will sometimes run down there and have a salad, and steak as an excuse to hit the breadbasket hard.
I also like the bar at the Langham, and have had many a cozy evening by the fireplace. The toasted nuts served as bar snacks are some of the best I’ve had anywhere. I actually go have a drink to have them. There is food here too, which has been expanded due to the Royce’s temporary closure, but it’s not interesting enough to eat. Sadly, the roasted nuts were another COVID casualty.
Another thing missing from the hotel this time was the tea, coffee and hot chocolate dispensers out front by the valets. I do hope they bring it back.
One thing remains as it always has. My daughter-in-law walked into the lobby and took a deep breath, “Ah, the Langham smell,” she said, practically swooning. “I’d recognize it anywhere.”
