Pasadena and Claremont share a lot of qualities and similarities. Both are nestled snugly up against the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, and bisected by the 210 freeway, just 25 miles or so of auto dealers and malls and chain burger spots apart from each other.
Both share an impressive academic pedigree, but Claremont California, blends its academic prestige with a distinctive small-town charm, along with its Claremont Colleges, creating its own “SoCal Ivy League,” if you will. My recent visit to this picturesque city was a mix of cultural exploration, culinary indulgence, and leisurely relaxation.
Strolling through Claremont Village on a cool spring evening, I was charmed by its tree-lined streets and eclectic array of boutiques, cafes, and galleries.
The Village exudes a timeless yet hip appeal, with its historic architecture housing over 30 eateries and 45 specialty shops. One could easily spend an afternoon and evening there. There’s plenty of parking and ice cream. And pizza. And sushi. You get the idea.
If I wasn’t as hungry as I was, I’d have stopped into Laemmle’s Claremont 5, one of the last independent movie theater chains, with its hip selection of indie and foreign films. It was a Pink Floyd movie concert on tap that night. Not my thing. No matter. There still was a line out front of the same types of too-smart college kids, doing what their parents and grandparents likely did.
My accommodations at the DoubleTree by Hilton Claremont were both comfortable and convenient. Within walking distance of the Claremont Colleges, the deceptively large property features garden-style architecture, a well-maintained and busy pool area, and the signature warm chocolate chip cookies upon check-in that the chain is famous for.
My room was spacious and comfortable, and as usual, each evening, I slept like a boisterous child after a day at the beach and the zoo and the park and horseback riding and hiking. (That was a joke. I just always sleep really well in hotels.)
Actually, an afternoon spent lounging by the pool provided a perfect respite from the day’s activities, even though I was essentially just resting up for an evening of going to dinner.
With a wide choice of eateries offered to me by my hosts, I opted for Gus’s BBQ, (Yes, there is one in South Pasadena as well), in the historic Claremont Packing House, for a taste of that Southern cuisine thing.
I chose a combo plate of the Memphis baby back ribs and Southern Fried chicken which was a small mountain of food. Let’s call it a foothill, shall we? I’m a serious fried chicken fan and aficionado, and it didn’t disappoint. But there was so much food, along with the tasty ribs, and the sides, that half of the meal ended up at my modest Los Angeles home soon afterwards.
Eureka!, where I ate on my second evening, provided a contrasting yet equally satisfying dining option. It’s a gourmet burger spot with an extensive craft beer selection, although to me as a non-drinker, Craft beer is just …beer.
Though I dined alone, I watched the Dodgers on one of the many TVs, amidst the restaurant’s contemporary rustic and noisy ambiance. Eureka!’s Cowboy burger, topped with shoestring onions (which I scraped off) and bacon (which I didn’t) was the perfect meal after a day of perusal and discovery at the Claremont Colleges campus.
But the range of offerings both culinary and cool, is quite impressive, as in vinyl from Rhino Records, shopping at Heirloom and Amelie; snacking at Cheese Cave, I Like Pie, Some Crust Bakery and Bert and Rocky’s; and continental dining at Bardot, Espiau’s, Tutti Mangia, Viva Madrid and Walter’s.
Meanwhile, there’s something about visiting college campuses that makes us all wistful and maybe even regretful, that we didn’t opt for that advanced trigonometry class, or one more quarter of French literature. Okay, maybe not all of us, but the vibe is seriously there.
The Claremont Colleges (known as the 7Cs) are a group of seven private liberal arts colleges in Claremont, California. It’s five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)—Pomona College, Scripps College, Claremont McKenna College(CMC), Harvey Mudd College, and Pitzer College—along with two graduate schools: Claremont Graduate University (CGU) and Keck Graduate Institute. All of them share adjoining campuses.
The blend of historic and modern architecture and general cool on the campuses, offers an appealing afternoon of academia, or maybe just a cup of coffee with a book filled with a lot of stuff you never knew.
Claremont’s unique blend of intellectual vigor and quaint charm makes it a surprisingly appealing destination, whether you’re exploring the vibrant Village, savoring the impressive range of culinary offerings, or immersing yourself in its academic universe.
And you can take a convenient Metrolink train from Union Station seven days a week that lets you off smack in the middle of the village! Get on board.
