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).

California Cactus Center

Blink and you'll miss it as you drive down Rosemead Boulevard. It's inauspiciously tucked into a nondescript pocket of East Pasadena (some might say the word "nondescript," and even the word "pocket," is redundant), near a handful of fast food joints and furniture shops, across the street from a fortune teller, and next to an air conditioning supply and repair shop. Nonetheless, however unpromising its neighborhood may look, California Cactus Center is worth the trip.
I first popped in because I needed a small bag of cactus mix to repot a plant that had been knocked over (the cat is a prime suspect). I parked on a side street and had to pass CCC's aforementioned neighbor, Air-Tech. It appears that CCC has furnished Air-Tech with some plants. As a result, Air-Tech has a beautiful little cactus garden in its small entryway. I was especially taken with a lovely succulent with a rosette of pink-tinted leaves, the echeveria.
Inside, the relatively small space teems with drought-tolerant life. Quite a few aloes and agaves live in the entryway space, which is uncovered. Marlene especially admired the "Black Beauty" (also called "Schwartzkopf") plants we found in this space. A few steps further inside the property and you enter a covered nursery space that has row after row of plants and a greenhouse.
Highlights of the space include the strangely beautiful lithops or "living stones" in the nursery and greenhouse the Giant Saguaro in the front. The shop also has a selection of handsome pottery and a small space with books (more than a bookshelf, not quite a bookstore). I found my cactus mix--the shop has bags of 3 different sizes (the workers will help you load the largest bag). My bag, the middle size, was a reasonable $3.
I'll be back, I expect, to buy some more cactuses or succulents--an echeveria or two for me and a Black Beauty for Marlene.

Find the California Cactus Center at 216 S. Rosemead Boulevard (near Del Mar), and on the web at http://www.cactuscenter.com. Open 7 days a week, 10 am - 4:30 pm. 626-795-2788.

Transit options include Metro Bus 266 (Rosemead and Del Mar), and Foothill Transit 187 and Metro Bus 181 (both have stops at Rosemead and Colorado).

Pepe's Finest Mexican Food (Temple City)

Pepe's Finest Mexican Food has locations in Alhambra and Covina as well as in Temple City. This blog refers to the Temple City location.

Pepe's is a very, very good taco shop, in business since 1964. It serves what you might call "old-school" taco shop fare--hearty food that's more mildly seasoned than the "street tacos" you might buy in Tijuana.
The hard-shell tacos may be the best thing on the menu. These are the real deal, full of tender shredded beef and cheese, tomato, and lettuce.
Their burritos are good, too, and packed-to-bursting with (for example) chile verde pork or seasoned eggs and potatoes.
Bill Coburn's San Gabriel Valley Menus website has a number of photos of Pepe's offerings along with his review of the Temple City location.

Find Pepe's Finest Mexican Food at 5829 N. Rosemead Blvd., at the corner of Hermosa and near Las Tunas. 626-286-3055. Sun-Thurs 9 am - 9:30 pm; Fri. and Sat. 9 am - 10:30 pm. Closed major holidays.

Transit options include Metro Bus 78 and Metro Bus 487. Montebello Bus 20 stops at San Gabriel Boulevard and Hermosa, about a mile west.