CELEBRATE DAD

FATHER’S DAY SPECIALS APLENTY IN PASADENA BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI

Father’s Day will take on a different feel this year, as we’re all trying to protect ourselves from COVID-19. Many of Pasadena’s restaurants, however, are still trying to make the day special. Check out our list of treats to help honor dad on Sunday, June 21.

Celestino Ristorante 141 S. Lake Avenue, Pasadena 626-795-4006, celestinopasadena.com

Celestino Ristorante’s executive chef, Calogero Drago, is celebrating Father’s Day by introducing a new summer takeout menu; Father’s Day family packages; a special chef menu; delectable Italian wines; and an open bar to go featuring aperitifs, digestives, cocktails, spirits, grappa and limoncello.

The summer takeout menu at the recently reopened restaurant features a signature selection of favorite Italian soups, salads, appetizers, traditional Italian pastas and risottos, meats and desserts.

The Father’s Day family package for four ($90) includes a family-style salad, choice of pasta or fish, a special side, and dessert.

For dads who want something special this Father’s Day, the chef menu for two or more guests ($38 per person) features a specially curated salad, pasta or risotto, special fish dish, special meat dish, and dessert.

To ensure dad has a proper Italian experience when ordering from Celestino Ristorante this Father’s Day, Drago is offering a sublime selection of daily special Italian wines, including a red, white and sparkling wine. And, for fathers who prefer something a little stronger, Celestino Ristorante steps it up a notch by offering its open bar to go, which features daily aperitifs, digestives, spirits, grappa, limoncello and Celestino cocktails to go to complement a fabulous Father’s Day celebration at home.

Celestino Ristorante will be open on Father’s Day and Celestino Ristorante is open for takeout and curbside pickup from 5 to 8 p.m. every Monday to Sunday. For more information or to order directly, call Celestino Ristorante at 626-795-4006, and to view the new Celestino Ristorante takeout menu, visit celestinopasadena.com.

Gus’ Barbecue 808 Fair Oaks Avenue, South Pasadena 626-799-3251, gussbbq.com

This Father’s Day there is no better way to celebrate than with Gus’ Barbecue in South Pasadena.

Gus’ Barbecue will offer its barbecue takeout menu all weekend for dad and the entire family—featuring appetizers; Gus’ combos; Southern fried chicken; burgers; sandwiches; and Gus’ Real Pit barbecue offerings, which include Memphis baby back ribs, barbecue brick chicken, Texas beef brisket, St. Louis spare ribs, peppercorncrusted tri-tip, smoked sausage and the Carolina-style pulled pork.

Each is seasoned overnight and then smoked low and slow for up to 14 hours over whole pecan logs to create Gus’ signature smoke flavor, along with signature sides, greens, kids menu (10 and younger) and drinks, shakes and malts. Don’t forget Gus’ cast iron cornbread served with jalapeño jelly and honey butter, Gus’ deviled eggs with crispy smoked ham and sweet chipotle seasoning, barbecue baked beans or its braised Southern greens.

Gus’ Barbecue South Pasadena will be open on Father’s Day, and it offers takeout, delivery and curbside pickup from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Sunday.

Krafted Spirits

Krafted Spirits kicks off Father’s Day weekend with two celebratory DIY Krafted Spirits “Father’s Day” LA Staycation Cocktail Boxes that can be preordered and delivered.

It features a full bottle of Krafted Spirits premium rum which has been triple distilled from raw sugarcane from the island of St. Croix, then developed and aged in American charred oak bourbon barrels.

The DIY Krafted “Father’s Day” LA Staycation Small Batch White Rum

Box (makes up to 16 cocktails for $55) includes a full 750 ml bottle of Krafted white rum, two mixers featuring its Krafted LA rum punch and Krafted DTLA daiquiri mixes, along with one mini can of Coke and one lime for garnish.

The DIY Krafted “Father’s Day” LA Staycation Premium Dark Rum Box or Krafted Pineapple-Infused Rum Box (makes up to 16 cocktails for $55) offers a choice of a full 750 ml bottle of Krafted Premium Dark Rum or Krafted Pineapple-Infused Rum, two mixers featuring its Krafted Hollywood hurricane and Krafted Venice Beach painkiller mixes, along with one mini can of Coke and one lime for garnish.

To preorder, visit kraftedrum.com or email, before Friday, June 19, to cheers@kraftedspirits.com.

Mi Piace 25 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena 626-795-3131 mipiace.com

Old Town Pasadena’s Mi Piace is offering its signature menu featuring calamari fritti, caprese burrata and bruschetta.

The insalate section offers the insalata mi piace, a Caesar, and baby kale salad, while the pasta section offers 12 options, including Mi Piace’s pappardelle bolognese, ravioli della casa, linguine pesto and fettuccine alfredo tartufo. The carne e pollo section surprises dad with selections such as the pollo al sesamo, piccata di pollo, and bistecca, while seafood-loving fathers will enjoy scampi, the fra diavolo and the filetto di salmone in the pesce section. Fathers and families can also enjoy their favorite pizza—including the margherita, classica and Old Town Speciale—or marinated chicken, New York pastrami or handmade meatball panino. Finally, for dads craving decadent comfort, the Mi Piace black label burger prepared with a special prime rib eye and brisket “exclusive” mix will also be available.

Mi Piace will offer wine, beer, spirits and cocktails for takeout, delivery and curbside pickup for Father’s Day. Mi Piace offers wines by the bottle, which include specials that rotate “daily” and include a red wine, white wine and a rosé.

Beers will be offered individually ($4 each) or by the six pack ($15), including Heineken, Modelo, Amstel Light or a rotating IPA. Mi Piace is also featuring Father’s Day cocktails ($10 each), including Mi Piace’s signature Old Forester barrel-aged Manhattan, Tito’s Handmade Vodka & Q Soda, and Hendrick’s Gin & Q Tonic.

Mi Piace will offer spirits by the bottle featuring Hendrick’s gin ($45), Tito’s Handmade Vodka ($32), and Old Forester bourbon ($22).

Mi Piace will be open on Father’s Day and offers takeout and delivery from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every Monday to Sunday.

The Original Tops 3838 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena 626-449-4412, TheOriginalTops.com

A true Pasadena institution, The Original Tops is celebrating Father’s Day with takeout and drive-thru pickup for dad.

The Original Tops will offer breakfast takeout until noon for dad and the entire family, including signature steak and egg burrito made with carne asada, scrambled eggs, homestyle potatoes, and jack and cheddar cheese.

For lunch takeout, dad can enjoy the pastrami with a slowly marinated special au jus, piled high on a French roll, mustard and pickles. For something festive, fathers, family and friends can indulge in the chili bowl made with The Original Tops’ signature chili and diced onions, zucchini sticks or French fries. And, for something sweet, save room for a classic vanilla, chocolate or strawberry old-fashioned shake topped with a cherry.

The Original Tops will be open on Father’s Day, and it offers takeout and drive-thru from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Sunday.

The Raymond 1886 1250 S. Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena 626-441-3136, theraymond.com

Celebrate this Father’s Day and let The Raymond 1886 prepare and pack the perfect meal to eat and enjoy at home.

The Raymond 1886 takes care of all the prep with its Father’s Day Grill Boxes for Four ($120), available for preorder only. It offers two T-bone steaks; four spiced fennel sausages; potato salad prepared with scallions, sesame oil, Old Bay and Kewpie Japanese-style mayo; and arugula salad for four with cherry tomatoes, red onion, sunflower seeds and lemon vinaigrette.

To celebrate dad properly, The Raymond 1886 is also serving four special 1886 Father’s Day cocktails to go (8-ounce serves two, $25; 16-ounce serves four, $45) served in Mason jars, including the old fashioned made of bourbon, sugar, Angostura bitters and orange oil; Brown Derby, prepared with bourbon, fresh grapefruit juice and honey syrup; the Medicina Latina made with tequila, lime juice, ginger syrup and spritz of mezcal; and the Don Lockwood, a spiritforward old fashioned-style cocktail made with scotch, bourbon and maple syrup.

The Raymond 1886 also offers three signature 1886 cocktails to go (four services, $45) created by the 1886 Bar Team and served in Mason jars. Featuring the 1886 Negroni prepared with gin, Carpano Antica Vermouth, Campari and orange oil; the Remember the Maine comprised of rye whiskey, Dolin sweet vermouth, Cherry Heering and absinthe; and the Fair and Warmer, a blend of rums, Dolin sweet vermouth, house curacao and lemon oil, cocktails are aplenty.

Wine and beer will also be offered for Father’s Day takeout, delivery and curbside pickup. Wines by the bottle ($30 each) feature one white wine—including The White Queen, chardonnay, Sonoma, 2017—and red wines by the bottle, including the Chateau Tournefeuille, Bordeaux, 2015. Beer is offered by the six pack ($12.50), including Day Beer Lager—brewed with Czech Sass, Hallertauer Mittlefruch Hops, 4.5% ABV—or the Stone Delicious IPA with Lemondrop and El Dorado Hops, 7.7% ABV.

The Raymond 1886 will be open on Father’s Day and is offering its signature takeout menu for takeout, delivery and curbside pickup from 4 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday to Sunday. The deadline to preorder is 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 18.

When we have an idea for how we want to design our yards, the first and most obvious question we ask is, “What is the function?”

Do we want a place to play catch or basketball with the kids? Do we want space to lounge beside a sprawling swimming pool? Do we need a place for outdoor dining or for entertainment, or are we looking for a place to relax and connect with nature? Usually, some combination of these types of desires is what get our creative minds working. Applying these functions as though they are part of your blank canvas is the best place to start your design concept.

The saying “form follows function” is a concept that is generally credited to Louis Sullivan, America’s first truly modern architect, and was adapted and made famous by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Personally, I think of it in landscape as the layout needs to reflect the purpose of the yard, where elements have intended functions that are effective and aesthetically pleasing. Similar to a kitchen design where efficiency dictates placing the stove, refrigerator and sink in a triangle,

we should think about how we lay out our spaces for maximum effectiveness first, and then prioritize how to do this in a way that adds the most aesthetic value. Once you devise the basic function and its necessities, weaving beauty into the design can have just as much emphasis as the practical elements.

Often there is more than one right way to achieve our goals. Usually, it takes compromise and clever prioritizing. Is aesthetics the most important part or is it the function or the cost? In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together in a logical way. When a designer is configuring a design, they need to balance all the elements with the ABCs of design (aesthetics, budget, constraints and function). Sometimes the functions and constraints limit how the puzzle is put together, but there are infinite ways to use aesthetics to make the project unique and fit individual tastes. That is where the creative minds of the designer, owner, and craftsmanship of the builder have the opportunity to make a project really special.

Do you still have more questions on how to design your outdoor space? Visit garden-view.com