[photo credit: Melting Pot Food Tours]
That is the premise of the Old Pasadena Food Tasting Walking Tour, a guided walk of about 1.25 miles with about 10 tasting and merchant stops over roughly three and a half hours, according to Melting Pot Food Tours, the company that operates it. For 2026 the company has added material marking the centennial of U.S. Route 66, whose Pasadena alignment is Colorado Boulevard — the same street that, by Visit Pasadena’s account, marks 150 years this year since its origins at Fair Oaks Avenue in 1876. The tour runs Friday through Sunday, including Sunday, August 9, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The route is built around what is behind the boulevard rather than on it. The walk moves through the district’s alleys and through-ways to independently owned restaurants, bakeries, chocolate shops and specialty shops, and it ends where it began. Guides cover the history of Old Pasadena alongside Route 66. Samples are generally sufficient for lunch, according to the company.
Route 66 was established in 1926 as one of the original U.S. highways, according to Visit Pasadena, which is promoting the centennial alongside Colorado Boulevard’s 150th. Melting Pot Food Tours puts the highway’s 100th birthday on November 11, 2026.
Admission is $119 for adults and $65 for children 13 and under. The tour meets at 155 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105, and Melting Pot Food Tours sends ticket holders the exact meeting spot when they buy.
Getting there without a car is straightforward. Metro’s A Line stops at Memorial Park Station on Holly Street, and guests who ride Metro to the tour receive a $5 discount, according to Visit Pasadena. Drivers have more than 7,500 spaces in Old Pasadena, according to the Old Pasadena Management District, whose Park & Walk garages — including the Marriott facility at 171 North Raymond Avenue — charge $1 for the first two hours, $2 an hour after that and $12 at most for a day. On-street meters in the core of the district run Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at $1.25 an hour.
The tour is wheelchair accessible and stroller friendly, with no inclines or stairs along the route, and pets are not permitted although assistance dogs are, according to GetYourGuide, which resells the tour.
Melting Pot Food Tours was started in summer 2008 by sisters Lisa and Diane Scalia, according to LAist. Jody Flowers became the owner in early 2021, according to the company.
Tickets are sold at meltingpottours.com/melting-pot-tours/old-pasadena-tour. Groups larger than six must call (323) 664-4472. The company says it offers translator services in Japanese, Italian, German, French, Spanish and Chinese.
A century ago the road out front got a number. The alleys behind it are still where the food is.
NEED TO KNOW
The Old Pasadena Food Tasting Walking Tour runs Sunday, August 9, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., one of the tour’s Friday-through-Sunday occurrences. Admission is $119 for adults and $65 for children 13 and under. The tour meets at 155 South Raymond Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105, and the exact meeting spot is sent to ticket holders when they buy. Parking is available in the Old Pasadena Management District’s Park & Walk garages, including the Marriott facility at 171 North Raymond Avenue, at $1 for the first two hours, $2 an hour after that and $12 at most for a day; on-street meters in the core of the district run Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at $1.25 an hour. For more, call (323) 664-4472 or visit meltingpottours.com/melting-pot-tours/old-pasadena-tour.
