One of Pasadena’s Realest Hangouts is Hiding in Plain Sight.
Walk East down Colorado Boulevard, and turn left on N Catalina Ave while resisting the urge to purchase a $9 croissant from CAR Artisan Chocolate. Bang a left again at the first opportunity, down a dimly lit alley way between a brick building and a parking lot. 100 steps later, the lights of friendly old T. Boyle’s Tavern will greet you. Off the beaten path, sure, but if you wanted pedestrian then go to fucking Cheesecake Factory.
You don’t walk into T. Boyle’s – you descend into it, down a short flight of stairs that gives you the feeling of entering a distinctly new environment. I always use these 4 or 5 purgatorial seconds to remind myself, “I’m gonna crush so many goddamn jalapeño poppers tonight.” But first, there’s the matter of getting a cold beer into your hand.
Something-For-Everyone Draught List.
Before I address the elephant in the photo above, let me first say that T. Boi’s cocktails are fine, whatever. Their dirty martini tastes like the ocean and their Manhattan is served without rocks, and if G&Ts are your thing then you’ll get drunk real quick. I was there on Sunday for football and they serve their mimosas in Wine Mom wine glasses and they are legitimately 90% sparkling wine/10% OJ.
Getting back to the beer, they have Coors Light in draught which absolutely rules. I haven’t seen that on tap since 2009. They’ve got plenty of pales and IPAs, and some fun and different sours and wheat ales. BUT THEY ALSO HAVE FUCKING HEADY TOPPER IN CANS*. Heady Topper was the OG hazy NEIPA, the pedestal beer that 10 years ago my comrades and I in New England would drive all over creation in search of. Besides maybe Jim Koch of Boston Beer Company, the Alchemist guys in Vermont have credibly done more for the IPA renaissance in the US than anyone. This beer is impossible to get, but * twice a year for 2-3 weeks you can ask the chaps and gals behind the bar if they’ve got any Heady hiding in the back and they just might come through for you.
Revolutionary Thinking: Hotdog Socialism.
The Bernie Bro that runs this place is really onto something, because subsidized hot dogs should be on every Americana restaurant menu in the country. $3 for a hot dog? You kidding me? Order 4 of them on principle alone. Beyond the hot dog, everything else I’ve had has been good – it’s pretty much all golden, brown and delicious. If I’m feeling particularly self-destructive, I’ll warm up with an order of jalapeño poppers but the mozzy sticks, wings (mango habanero), and pickled egg lmao are also solid.
That said, their smashburger is objectively one of the best, if not the best, in the city of Pasadena. The All-American Smash is an absolute must order; it’s smashed better than the Doghaus burger and they get all of the other little details right as well (bun type, condiments, seasoning). It also comes with a side of fries or onion rings, which undoubtedly came out of a bag but a goddamn good bag nonetheless. The best part about ascending up the stairs to leave T. Boyle’s is that you can holler into the kitchen to the chef that his smashburger game SLAPS.
Every time I walk out of this place, I’m happier than when I walked in while also embracing some varying combination of drunk and full. The bartenders are great. There is a jukebox and a bunch of nostalgic arcade games like Golden Tee. They have a million TVs for watching sports if that’s your thing. My pal Double N would also be remiss if I didn’t give some air time to the 8″ (hey now) churros for only $2 a pop.
Bottom Line
Just like parts of Greece, Japan, and Costa Rica, we have our own little Blue Zone here in Pasadena behind a 100-year old rug shop. If you want to increase your life expectancy by 300%, spend more time at T. Boyle’s Tavern.
