54 Holly Cafe in Pasadena

As I've been mentioning, I'm trying to see as many of the Pacific Standard Time exhibitions as possible. So I went to go see the Wallace Berman and Robert Heinecken show at the Pasadena Armory for the Arts. This is a great show, as all of the PST's so far. After checking out the pieces, I was walking down Raymond and found 54 Holly Cafe (the name is the address). It's been there for 25 years but I have never been in there. I recall it being closed most of the times I was in the area but it was open that day and I walked in. There's American food and Chinese food. I looked through the menu and was torn between the Chili Size Burger and the Kung Pao Chicken. So I told this to the waiter and he looked at me sideways and said the Chili Size of course. The server seemed to be Chinese as well so this was a puzzling response but I appreciated the inside scoop. i was not disappointed. This 1/3 lb. burger, three slices of bun (three? reminds me of Monty Python) and homemade chili was fantastic. It's not super cuisine but it's pure diner.