Crisp

Something about that balsamic vinaigrette in the House Salad makes me keep ordering it. Nice n’ light, especially with the cuts of chicken thrown in.
Grilled Portobello is quite tasty, but I love me my bacon and chicken chipotle press. You will never see me wander FAR from that.
Tried the El Club sandwich, also a delight. The Asian Chop salad and Border salads don’t disappoint.
Sheesh, you know what? EVERYTHING here is good!
The employees here are awesome and I swear to Bob, I feel like I’m in «Cheers» where everyone knows my name.
I come here THAT often. Haha.

I was on a lunch break and wanted something healthy. I walked by this place and saw their sign that said «help a small business out.» Why not?
They didn’t have a daily soup selection yet so that was a bummer. I think their chili wasn’t ready yet either. Anyways I ordered the Borders Salad which was huge! I like how they give the option of having the salad dressing on the side or tossed with the salad. I wish the creamy cilantro dressing had more flavor, because I couldn’t taste anything.
I will definitely come back to try other menu options though!
Great and friendly staff though!!!

I’ve only been here once, but I already really, really like this place! I recently started working in Pasadena and Crisp is close by. I’m so glad it is!
The place is clean, open (you can sit outside as well), simple w/​friendly and attentive staff and delicious food w/​big portions! I ordered a salad (which I rarely do or even eat), but Crisp’s Border sounded delicious! When I got my salad I was so surprised w/​how big it was. I couldn’t finish in one sitting. The ingredients were fresh and went well w/​each other. The salad dressing was okay; I was looking for a bit of a kick to it, but it was decent.
I waited a little bit when ordering and for my food because during lunchtime, but I didn’t mind. While ordering, I’m guessing the exec chef/​owner, noticed that there was a line forming, her quickly grabbed a pen and paper to take some order to relieve the line. I thought that was considerate especially because most people looked like they were on their lunch break. Also, the workers check on you even if you’re sitting outside in the main dining area.
I look forward to my future encounters w/​Crisp!

Located on the 2^nd floor in Paseo, next to cold stone and yard house.
The owners, Donna and Andrew, are the sweetest! We cater from them for work and they’re nothing short or amazing. They are so flexible and informative, I barely had to do any work. They will work around your schedule and budget to make sure it’s win-​win for everyone.
So freshhhhhhhh
Great quality
Very reasonable price
Oh, turkey chili. Done!

Quick Tips:
1. Located on the second floor of Paseo Colorado near the Yard House.
2. 90 Minutes Free parking in Paseo Colorado.
For more read on!
I don’t see the hype surrounding this place. I ordered the El Club, it didn’t taste like anything. It’s supposed to have avocado aioli and fire roasted green chilis, but it didn’t taste like… anything. The baguette was hard as a rock too. The only good thing was the generous amount of turkey and bacon.
2 Stars for the bright and happy service though. It must be hard serving all those poor bar takers who look like they havent slept for weeks.

Crisp keeps it fresh and simple with a short menu of sandwiches, meal sized salads, soup, chili, sweets and drinks. Salad dressings and croutons are housemade. You can make any salad or sandwich into a wrap. I was in the mood for a meal sized salad.
* Asian chop salad ($ 9): Tossed to order, the salad featured romaine, bean sprouts, shredded carrots, toasted almonds, scallions, napa cabbage, water chestnuts, marinated tofu and a sesame ginger dressing. I had them omit the won ton noodles. It was a good size salad with lots of add ins. I liked the tangy dressing and the lightly marinated tofu but something seemed to be missing (cilantro or fresh herbs would help) and the salad was soggy (too much water left on the lettuce?). The carrots were too finely shredded to add much crunch.
It took me awhile to find Crisp. It’s upstairs by the movie theater (and not visible from the street level of Colorado Blvd.). The décor is simple/​no frills. There’s a soda machine in the dining room so you can get free refills. They have a frequent buyer card.

There are a lot of sandwich shops out there in LA, but not a lot of good ones.
This sandwich shop, however, is definitely different. It’s hard to make a really good sandwich, but the owner here – Andrew – has done an incredible job at making incredibly delicious sandwiches that had all the right stuff:
1) Ingredients — the ingredients here were fresh, high-​quality ingredients only
2) bread — they bake their own breads to keep it super fresh and keep the quality high
3) great overall package — all the ingredients blended so well together to form the perfect taste/​flavor in your mouth
I’ve tried several sandwiches here, and my favorite is the Cuban sandwich. The Cuban was sold as a Special, so I don’t know if they still have it, but it’s basically pulled pork with ham, some special home-​made spices that blended so well with the cheese. This is an example of a sandwich that had an awesome overall package. It had kick! Very good sandwich, I would recommend it. (see photo)
My 2^nd favorite sandwich here is the Roast Beef Sandwich. Move over Arby’s…this is how Roast Beef sandwiches are done! Again, high-​quality sliced roast beef meats, topped with FRESH lettuce and tomatoes, with melted cheddar cheese, and of course fresh bread baked right out of the oven… another sandwich with the overall package that had oommph to it. Simply delicious! (see photo)
I’ve also had The Melt, Banh-​Mi, and the BLTA, which were all great sandwiches, but my top 2 picks are The Cuban and the Roast Beef Sandwich. Delicious stuff… I’ll be back here again!

Located on the 2^nd floor of the Paseo Colorado, Crisp seemed like a useful lunch eatery for the area. They sell «sandwiches, salads & such.» On my visit, I ordered the Border salad, with grilled chicken breast, applewood smoked bacon, romaine, tomato, grilled corn, black beans, pepper jack, avocado, creamy cilantro dressing and hold the green onions.
This particular salad tasted like water. I don’t mean that the salad was water-​logged, I don’t think that was the problem. It was just that the lettuce and dressing both were rather flavorless. The most pronounced flavor was the smokey bacon, of which I got an inadvertent double dose. (It had to do with them forgetting I wanted my salad to-​go so they had to re-​sprinkle bacon once my salad was transferred from a plate to a to-​go container.) Thank god for that because it was the only flavor that stood out to me. The sweetness of the tomato and corn? Eh. I ate my salad in two sittings and both times, it tasted like water. Though I might not come back for their salads, I think sandwiches are a possibility.

Great salads! Good agua fresca too. Fresh and delicious. Ordered Border salad with dressing on side and a drink. About $ 11.
Service is friendly. Gluten-​free options available. Most of the dressings are gluten-​free (maybe all of them) and the cashier told me that the chef eats gluten-​free. On my second visit, I saw the chef eating a lettuce wrap which somewhat confirms this statement (though I did not ask chef directly). This could be a nice place for people with food sensitivities as the staff and chef are willing to modify items to suit any restrictions you might have and are well informed.
Hit it up if you need some nice fresh food with friendly service.

Crisp is a nice and authentic alternative to the large chain restaurants that dominate Paseo Colorado.
I had a roast beef sandwich, that, while not being the best roast beef sandwich I ever had, came pretty close. While I think the beef on the sandwich could’ve been slightly more tender, the right amount of horseradish sauce and a delicious piece of real pure orange cheddar, complimented by a cool coleslaw side, made for a tasty lunch. Crisp is a small place, but plenty of outdoor seating alleviates the lack of seating inside.
The staff is always informative, friendly, and enthusiastic. On an additional note, the sandwiches cost about 9 – 10 bucks. Give this place a shot if you’re in the area and are in a mood to sit down and enjoy some great service and nice sandwiches.

Came here with two others for an early lunch at around 11 on a Saturday. The décor is super cute, and we were greeted at the door. Since it was our first time, we spent a few minutes reading the big chalkboard wall menu. We were the only ones in the restaurant the entire time we were there.
I ended up sharing the El Club with my boyfriend. It was a turkey+bacon+greens+avocado aioli sandwich on a baguette. The ingredients all tasted fresh, but for $ 9 I really think it could’ve had a bit more meat/​stuff in it. I was disappointed by the bread, which was toasted but not warm, so it was a bit too chewy and hard.
The service was super friendly (possibly because we were the only customers) and maybe a tiny bit too attentive…
As I was eating, the guy who made our sandwich (the owner, presumably) asked what we thought about our meal. I was still kind of iffy so I didn’t say anything. Later, he came back to tell us that he could make us anything else if we didn’t like it. So then I felt awkwardly pressured :(I understand that it’s much preferred to have a problem fixed before it gets out, but I kind of felt nagged for my input. Probably because it’s a new-​ish restaurant that’s small and doing it’s best to improve, but maybe comment cards are a better approach to getting honest feedback.

Unilocal is an interesting place to read certain reviews because there is a bit of a bias associated with them. For someone to sit down and write about a restaurant, attraction, or service they must either have hated the place or fallen in love with it. If someone didn’t care either way, it’s that much harder to sit down on your computer, let alone your tiny keyboard on a phone, to say so. This is why it’s a bit rarer to find grey area reviews.
So after not writing something for a while, i felt inclined to do so after visiting Crisp. I really liked the place. It was a perfect brunch joint, and the perfect end to my weekend geeking out after my Power Rangers convention (you heard me right).
I had the portobello mushroom sandwich and it was amazing. I got into a wonderful conversation with the person who made my sandwich about how he cooks the same sandwich for his wife. I ordered some agua fresca, and it was like drinking a watermelon whole, so good.
What really got me however, was the owner. This guy was bustling about, making sure everything was perfect and asking each customer if he could do anything about anything. He was making a salad so delicately with a smile on his face: this is what he had achieved. This place has finally come into fruition after a few months of startup (opened in April), and he was enjoying every second of it. He came up to us and we found him so amicable that we had about a 20 minute conversation just at the table.
Local businesses make me smile. Some people think they can just run a place and it will take care of itself, while this guy was going out of his way to make it good. And good it was. The details are important.
I wish I could go again, but San Francisco calls.
Try the chili, and don’t forget the Popsicles, they’re naturally made.

I wanted to reaffirm my 5-​star review for Crisp (
). This place is still serving filling salads with great customer service through their first months of business. Outside is a sign that says «Support Small Businesses.» Yes, this is a small business and I was able to meet the 2 friendly co-​owners. They care about their customers and both were making rounds to all the customers to make sure that the food was good. This is still my go-​to place for salads.

The food was ok, but the prices were high at $ 9-​$ 10 per dish.
Two of the sandwiches I tried, the Ban Mih and the Our Sub, were drenched in dressing. The bread was good though.
Next time I’ll try them without dressing.
The Club was a good.

Great place for salads in the paseo area. Although there are a lot of good salad places in Pasadena (tender greens, saladish, lemonade) they are definitely pulling their own weight here. It is comparable to those and I would not mind going here again. The food is good.
I loved the border salad. It was refreshing and loaded with chunks of chicken and avocado! Portions are big and the workers are super nice and helpful. The sandwiches looked good, but I haven’t had the time to try it but maybe next time.

Crisp is a quaint salad/​sandwich shop located on the second level of Pacific Paseo. My bf and I strolled into Crisp on a Saturday afternoon before watching Batman at the ArcLight. We ordered the Banh Mi sandwich and the Asian chopped salad. The salad had a copious amount of veggies, and had just enough dressing. It was delicious.
The owner is very hands on. He was involved in everything from preparation to bringing out the food to our table. He was very observant and responsive. He saw us sharing our food and immediately brought an extra plate. The manager walked around and greeted the guests. Although Crisp is casual dining, the experience was nothing short of 5 star.

Relatively new (opened in April 2012), it was a pleasant surprise that i didn’t expect. Looks pretty healthy with sandwich, salad, and soup choices.
I ordered the roast beef hot sandwich with cheddar and while the meat was a bit on the rare side, the toasted ciabatta bread with aioli spread made it really good. I didn’t care much for the cole slaw, but then again, I’m not a fan of cilantro and I know others love the stuff. Prices were in the $ 9 – 12 range, portions were large, servers were great, and food served up quickly.

Never EVER in my whole Unilocal life have I wrote a review minutes after I tried a place.
Like seriously my bank hasn’t posted the payment, I still have turkey chunks in the back of my throat and my taste buds are still twerking in my mouth from excitement.
What I Had: El Club (highly recommend) came with turkey breast, applewood bacon (thicker than a snicker type thick), iceberg (not the HUGEST fan of iceberg but it worked on the sandwich), tomatoes (thick slices), fire roasted green chile (AMAZING !!!), avocado aioli (!!!), all on a toasted baguette. All together this was an amazing sandwich. Now granted it not hard to make a sandwich, but this place combined all my favorite ingredients into a uniquely tasty dish. I choose the pasta salad as my side, which when I looked at it seemed like a small portion but boy was I wrong. It was PLENTY of food. I’m filled and equally satisfied.
What I Enjoyed: While waiting for my order Donna, the co-​owner of the restaurant approached me and we had a great convo about the restaurant and Pasadena in general (since we are both new to the area, they recently opened 2 months ago). She was super friendly, which was a great feeling seeing as you wont get that kind of attention anywhere else in the Paseo. Also I got a loyalty card and if I go 10 different times I get a free sandwich or salad… I WILL RETURN!

Crisp uses fresh, local and seasonal ingredients in their food.
WEBSITE:
Day three of my vacation from Lean Cuisine and I thought I would check out another one of my bookmarked restaurants.
LOCATION:
Upstairs in the Paseo at:
330 East Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91 101
(626) 393‑9992
Second Floor close to Tokyo Wako and near the ArcLight Cinemas.
FOOD:
Lots of sandwiches, salads & such (soups, turkey chicken chili). They also have agua fresca to drink, as a nice freshly squeezed option, which I think is watermelon and honeydew. I ordered the House salad which was really fresh and tasty. It had mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, dried cherries, lightly candied walnuts, goat cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette. They will add grilled chicken breast or a scoop of tuna for $ 2.00 (photo). This salad was absolutely delicious and huge. I’d give this ⁵⁄₅ stars.
PRICES:
I’d say most prices were borderline inexpensive to moderate with sandwiches between $ 9.00 to $ 10.00 and salads from $ 7.00 to $ 9.00. I’d rate the prices as ⁴⁄₅ stars.
SERVICE:
You order at the counter, but you don’t feel like you are in a fast food restaurant. All the employees were very friendly and they made a point to check in with me to see how I liked the food and they also thanked me when I left. Definitely ⁵⁄₅ stars.
LOCATION:
Good if you have some shopping to do at the Paseo or you’re going to the ArcLight to see a movie.
ATMOSPHERE:
It’s nice. Quite a few tables inside and they share tables with other restaurants outside. The kitchen is open to the dining area, so you can watch the chefs work. They all look very well dressed in their white chef’s jackets. I like the menu written in brightly colored chalk on blackboard. It is very nice. See my photo.
PARKING:
You can get your parking validated at most stores, including Crisp for an hour and one half. If parking lot is busy head to the lower levels. It is easier to find a spot. If you go to the movies the ArcLight validates for four hours. (⁵⁄₅ stars)
FACEBOOK:

Perfect place for a summer day after a walk.
I knew what we were getting into just from looking at the place. It’s a cute and clean little place that’s just perfect for the Paseo. We were just looking at the menu outside and the owner came out to greet us with a friendly smile. She explained everything was grown locally which is a plus for us eco-​friendly folk/​environmentalists. I could also tell their plates were biodegradable.
She emphasized how much of a perfectionist she was, which just showed that she actually cares about the restaurant and makes sure everything runs HER way.
They had great customer service and wasn’t crowded like the other restaurants at the Paseo. Food’s much worth the price.
We shared their BLTA (A = Avocado Aioli) with a side of cole slaw. The sandwish was refreshing and it made up for the ice cream I had earlier. I don’t even like cole slaw, but theirs was delicious! We also had their agua fresca, thats a PLUS for me :) I could taste watermelon and honeydew. Unfortunately it was their only flavor. I’m hoping they’ll come up with more agua fresca options to see what they could come up with.
The place is new and there weren’t many people, so I’m hoping it stays there for a while. It’d be a perfect place for a lunch break if you’re working in the area.