[photo credit: Melting Pot Food Tours]
The Old Pasadena Food Tasting Walking Tour, operated by Melting Pot Food Tours, runs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday starting at 10:30 a.m., according to the Old Pasadena Management District’s event listing and the company’s own site. The Old Pasadena listing and the operator list a 2 p.m. end time; Visit Pasadena’s official event page lists 1:30 p.m. The 1.25-mile route takes roughly three and a half hours and stops at about 10 independently owned restaurants and specialty shops tucked behind Old Pasadena’s main commercial streets.
Pricing also varies by listing. The Old Pasadena Management District and the tour operator advertise tickets at $119 for adults and $65 for children 13 and under. Visit Pasadena’s official event page lists $125 for adults and $70 for children 12 and under. The group meets near Amara Café; the Old Pasadena event page gives the address as 155 S. Raymond Ave., while other booking platforms list Amara Café’s street address as 55 S. Raymond Ave. The exact meeting spot is provided to ticket holders after purchase, according to the operator.
The route has long included stops for artisan chocolate, olive oil and international cuisine along the alleys and paseos behind Colorado Boulevard, according to the company’s tour description. This year’s addition marks the centennial of Route 66, which opened in 1926 and passed through Pasadena on its way to the Pacific.
Melting Pot Food Tours was founded in 2008 by sisters Lisa and Diane Scalia, who started with a tour of the Original Farmers Market at Third Street and Fairfax Avenue, according to the company. Jody Flowers, who holds degrees in restaurant and hotel management from Purdue University and culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University, acquired the company in 2021, the company says. Besides the Old Pasadena route, the company runs food tours in East Los Angeles, Boyle Heights and Long Beach’s East Village.
The Old Pasadena district was farmland — orange groves planted starting in 1874 by Indiana Colony settlers — before its commercial core took shape. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Reservations are available through meltingpottours.com or by calling (323) 664-4472. Nearby parking allows 90 minutes free, then $2 for each additional hour, up to a $6 daily maximum, according to the operator.
