Even an affluent and vibrant city like Pasadena cannot avoid the occasional stretch of a somewhat shabby and ineffably lonesome thoroughfare. On one such insipid road hides a dining gem—if that gem was a zircon with a fracture and a couple of air bubbles within the stone. Situated as it is in an area where one wouldn’t expect to find a diner, this restaurant’s entrance can be easily missed unless one were actively looking for it. Once you do spot the rather muted signage and venture within, however, the interior is spacious and tasteful in a simple, unpretentious, way. There are outdoor and indoor dining areas, but I made straight for the bar, around which were counter chairs that customers could sit on (or, in my case, not). At 12 p.m., the bar area, and indeed, most of the interior tables were unoccupied, although many of the outdoor tables were already taken. There was another couple at the bar as I approached, but they were leaving just as I claimed a spot at one corner of the bar, and then, I became the only customer standing at the bar. I could hear the voices of a few other guests who, like me, opted to eat indoors, but there is enough space between the groups or pairs seated in this diner that one doesn’t feel encroached upon by other customers. It’s not an especially large diner, yet, I’d say that the feeling of roominess is what I liked best about Foothill.

The service, on the other hand, was just okay; it’s not something I’d list among the restaurant’s most favorable features. The bartender took my drink order efficiently, if rather tersely. By the time my drink arrived, I was still waiting for Charlie, and I probably looked kinda weird standing at the bar alone with a cocktail in front of me at lunchtime, because a second bartender came by to ask if I was okay. I said, yes, I was just waiting for my friend, and the bartender nodded and left me alone after that. I was also able to check out the facilities before Charlie got there. There were two all-gender bathrooms. One had a baby station while the other had a urinal, but I guess they were marked “all-gender” to help move things along in case a line forms.