2015 is here and one of my resolutions is to discover new restaurants. It’s actually my resolution every year, but I have no problem with recycling it. To keep up with the goal, I decided to explore a city I don’t frequent too often: Montrose.
On New Year’s Day, a couple of friends and I went to The Black Cow Cafe for brunch as both the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game made Pasadena a death trap for cars. The cool part of the restaurant, aside from being open on a major holiday, is you can call in advance to put your name on the waiting list! Even when we did this, the holiday made the wait an almost unbearable 45 minutes. Once we finally sat down, we ordered. I got the strawberry lemonade ($3.50, free refills!), apple croissant French toast ($12.95), and a side of bacon ($2.95). I made a massive change to the French toast and asked to have the apples on the side, fearing the apple would be too overwhelming. I was wrong. The apples were sweet, juicy, and added flavor to the French toast that I slightly regretted not ordering the dish as made. You live and you learn. Then, there was the fact that the French toast was made with a croissant instead of the obvious, bread. It was a great twist on old faithful. My lemonade needed no alterations. It was full of strawberry pieces and maintained both the sweet and tangy zest that you want out of a perfect lemonade.
One of my friends ordered the steamed white chocolate ($3.25), which she mistakenly ordered instead of the hot chocolate—enter her disappointment. In spite of ordering the wrong thing, the steamed white chocolate carried its own weight in deliciousness. Smooth, semi-sweet, and not scalding hot. The last order was a bit unnecessary as my croissant French toast filled me up. But my eyes are bigger than my stomach. I got a junior cup of pumpkin ice cream ($1.50) which is the equivalent to a scoop and a half of ice cream. The ice cream was light and had chewy pieces of pumpkin pie with just enough pumpkin spice. I may not have finished it, but I sure loved the few spoons I had.
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Address: 2219 Honolulu Avenue, Montrose, CA 91020
Phone: (818) 957-5282
Hours: Monday – 6:00am to Noon, Tuesday to Friday – 9:00am to 9:30pm, Saturday – 9:00am to 9:30pm, Sunday – 9:00am to 9:00pm
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