Soccer Plus

I dropped by this little soccer equipment shop on the north side of Pasadena because I needed a goalkeeper's jersey. I found a small but impressive display of football-related wares. The owner, Joseph, was very helpful and friendly. I don't like shopping while a salesperson hovers over me, so I appreciated that he was available but discreet, waiting behind the counter in his Perugia shirt.
The shop had a wide range of team jerseys, including heavyweight clubs like Manchester United and AC Milan, but also including unlikely shirts like the Scottish National Team. The store also has a strong selection of shoes for outdoor and indoor soccer and a respectable assortment of "generic" (that is, not affiliated with a team or branded with a club logo) shirts and shorts.
I got my goalkeeper jersey, a green Adidas shirt, and I'll be back to buy a new pair of cleats soon.

Find Soccer Plus at 1640 E. Washington Blvd. (N. Oxford and N. Sierra Bonita) in Pasadena. 626-798-5405. Call for store hours.

Fortune Bakery

This little gem at the San Gabriel / Alhambra border has been Marlene's bakery of choice for years. Its simple, small storefront features a case with birthday cakes and other baked goods like sweet loaves and cupcakes. It also has several cases filled with figurines that serve as cake decorations.
Marlene got my chocolate birthday cake here (above), and it was delicious. Another standout is their strawberry sponge cake with a light whipped-cream frosting. They have delicious cookies as well, including their lemon cookies and their sugar-free rosebud cookies. Marlene's elementary-school teacher would buy Fortune Bakery's cookies as a treat for outstanding students. Finally, Marlene's friend Carmen loves their brownies, though we can't vouch for them ourselves.
You can call ahead to pre-order if you want to be sure that they'll have what you're looking for.

Find Fortune Bakery at 700 W. Las Tunas Dr (N. Franklin and Sycamore) in west San Gabriel. 626-576-0514.

Bahooka Ribs and Grog

Bahooka Ribs and Grog has been serving up Polynesian fare and strong tropical drinks in Rosemead since 1967. It's one of the few exponents of the Tiki craze that has survived through the years.
There seems to be some disagreement about the quality of the food. I like it, especially the appetizers and the fish and chips; Marlene really likes it, but admits that the quality is inconsistent and can depend on who's in the kitchen; a colleague once said one should eat before going to Bahooka's. That's okay, though, because you don't really go to Bahooka for the food--you go there for the strong drinks and tiki-fied atmosphere, both of which are at the same time authentic and very kitschy.
The back of the menu is devoted to the tropical drinks. While the bar serves "non-exotic" beverages like beer and Seven-and-Seven, the real draw is the selection of island tonics, such as the Deep Purple, the Mai Tai, the Singapore Sling, and Marlene's favorite, Planter's Punch. I am quite fond of their Zombie. The menu includes a short description for each of the drinks, and for the Zombie it warns, "Two of these will put you among the living dead." I tried once and found that they're not kidding!
If you have to man the vehicle and want to do the right thing while still enjoying some of the liquid island flavor, opt for a Captain Cook Goat. It's a concoction of coconut and pineapple juice that's delicious, and can be served "flaming," with a lit crouton on the top beside the tiny pink umbrella.
Another Bahooka specialty is the Flaming Bowl for Two, a tropical cocktail served flaming in a salad-bowl-sized container. Choose a designated driver! While the menu lists four specific Flaming Bowl varieties, it also notes that any drink can be served as a flaming bowl.

Bahooka's over-the-top decor is the restaurant's other main draw. The restaurant is a maze of booths, each of which has a view of at least one fish tank. In fact, there are over a hundred fish tanks in the place! My favorite fish tank is at the bar--or perhaps I should say my favorite fish tank is the bar. On crowded nights, you can sip your drink, catch a bit of a baseball game, and watch the fish while you wait for your table.
The fish tanks are the most obvious element in the decor, but there are plenty of other kitschy touches as well, such as the plastic birds that hang from the ceiling throughout the restaurant, and, of course, tiki gods. The entrance features a wall of mailboxes and vintage post office signs. Authentic naval memorabilia abounds, including buoys and an old-fashioned scuba set; according to the Bahooka website, lamps are "hand crafted from castoffs, port holes, parts of ships, etc." A large banquet room sits in the back, and Bahooka also does catering at homes and offices.
Bahooka recently celebrated its 40th anniversary with a three-day rib special. The celebration has come and gone, but I recommend you join Bahooka as it gets its fifth decade of tiki kitsch
underway.

Find Bahooka Ribs and Grog at 4501 N. Rosemead Boulevard (Lower Azusa) in Rosemead. 626-285-1241. Mon.-Thurs. 11:30 am to 9 pm; Fri. 11:30 am to 10:30 pm; Sat. noon to 10:30 pm; Sun. noon to 9 pm.

Transit options include Metro Bus 266 and Metro Bus 489 (as the latter is a commuter express route, it operates Monday through Friday only; only the northbound route runs in the afternoon, and only between 4 and 6 pm).