In a back alley of Pasadena known as One Colorado sits a place called a/k/a.What it stands for the world may never know, but it does bill itself as “An American Bistro.” Now I should mention that this back alley does not correlate to hole in the wall types of food. After all, this is Pasadena, so a/k/a definitely has one foot in the upscale level.
I was caught between two delicious-looking items – the Angus Burger and the a/k/a Reuben. I opted for the reuben because you can’t just find those anywhere, especially with house-made corned beef. It was also topped with gruyere, Russian dressing and something called ourkraut (which literally just means homemade sourkraut). I tried ordering without the kraut and was told the sandwiches were pre-made in the morning and they could literally pick out the kraut but the waiter thought I would like it. I figured what the hell, which is almost always a mistake.
And once again, it was. After my first bite I immediately went to work removing the purple cabbage, which was hard because it basically matched the color of the meat. I also had to remove the pickle slices that came with the sandwich for no good reason. After all this, I was able to get to work on what turned out to be a very good sandwich. The corned beef was juicy and flavorful, while the bread and cheese were just as they should be. Even the fries were great.
I’d definitely go back. But somehow I would like to call in the day before to let them know to keep one sandwich free of kraut.
