Sometimes I go to South Pasadena (which is very close to where I live) just to go for a walk along shady streets and stop for coffee and watch the world walk by. Other times I go through South Pasadena on the Gold Line Metro on my way to somewhere else and see the famous Walking Man statue striding outside the Metro Station.
But last weekend I went with a mission. Several years ago a French friend gave me some French sea salt. It was a little coarser than ordinary table salt, and had a nice taste. I used it sparingly but finally it ran out.
So I went off to Nicole’s French grocery and cafe on Central street, adjacent to the Gold Line Metro station, in South Pasadena to see if I could find some more.
Happily, I found several brands of French sea salt, plus one from Wales. Welsh sea salt was totally unknown to me until now and was much more expensive than the French brands. (Why? I do not know.) I may go back and buy it one day, but I selected a French brand.
Nicole’s is an interesting place. It’s started primarily as a small French grocery, but over the years more space has been given over to tables for dining inside and outside under big yellow umbrellas. The owner has planted a compact but dense herb garden in narrow strips between the sidewalk paving and the curb and the plants tumble over onto the sidewalk. Passers-by brush against the herbs releasing their fragrances so it always smells good at Nicole’s.
South Pasadena, for those of you who are not familiar with it, is a totally separate city from Pasadena. Back in the late 1800s Pasadena’s city fathers planned to annex the land that now makes up South Pasadena and turn it into a ‘dry’ neighborhood. No liquor in Pasadena back in those days.
Well, the good folks who lived in South Pasadena quickly incorporated as a separate city, full of booze and other fun things. Including, these days, French wine and French sea salt.
Originally published in Feb. 2014
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