Every year around this time, seemingly every publication prints or posts a round-up of the previous year’s best new restaurants. Restaurant writers are always hunting for the latest and greatest, and I’m no exception, but sometimes, it’s more satisfying to eat at restaurants that people take for granted. These are the places that have been there for years, with lines out the door, loyal followings, and kitchens that turn out consistently good food. Marston’s is just such a restaurant.

Otis Marston and wife Sally opened their eponymous restaurant just north of Old Town Pasadena in 1988. The cottage with the killer patio, blue awning and art-filled walls quickly gained traction with locals for breakfast and lunch. In 2001, after working for two decades at high-end SoCal restaurants like Parkway Grill and Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, Jim McCardy bought Marston’s. Otis and Sally now run Marston Products, selling their cookbook, plus items for home cooks like candied pecans and salad dressing. Chef McCardy has pretty much kept the menu as the Marstons left it, but added dinner from Wednesday to Saturday nights, specializing in seasonal California cuisine like artichoke and ricotta ravioli, red snapper tacos and beef tenderloin stuffed with shitake mushrooms and blue cheese.

After writing my name on the waiting list, we were serenaded by the sounds of Sunday morning gospel emanating from a band shell across the street. It took 45 minutes for a table, but it was a holiday weekend, and the weather was sunny and crisp, so we took it in stride. If you hope to avoid a wait, arrive early.

After perusing the menu, it was clear that McCardy’s kitchen is cooking with confidence. The menu described Marston’s French toast as “fantastic” and the potatoes “special.” Could they back up the boasts?

Fantastic French Toast ($8.95) lived up to its name. Four delicious slabs of sourdough were dipped in egg batter, rolled in crushed cornflakes, grilled and dusted with powdered sugar. The grill man clearly had a deft hand, since the French toast wasn’t greasy or leaden. The plate featured a tiny pitcher of warm syrup and a purple leaf cradled a ball of soft butter. My friend John said that cornflake crusted French toast was popularized on railroad dining cars.

The side of Chicken Cilantro Sausage ($4.50) arrived in two plump links, with crisp casings and juicy meat within. The cilantro was clearly in evidence, flecking the skins. It was a mild sausage, but ideal when paired with the heavyweight French toast.

The Vegetarian Omelette ($9.95) contained mushrooms, spinach, onions, tomatoes, peppers and herbs. The blanket of yellow cheddar was a turn off, since cow udders sure don’t dispense milk that color, but the omelette was still fairly fluffy, and the vegetables were clearly fresh. The “special” potatoes came with the omelette, and they were indeed the highlight of the plate, crusty from the grill but supple, tossed with onion slivers and both red and green bell peppers.

The side order of bacon ($3.95) was potentially the top grilled pig belly I’ve tasted. The strips were thick, smoky and meaty, with an incredible chew and the right amount of saltiness.

To drink, the glass of fresh-squeezed O.J. was exemplary, though I could have bought two quarts of Tropicana for the same price.

The Marston’s experience certainly wasn’t enough to put me off new restaurants, but it was a welcome reminder that local classics are still viable options.

This entry is filed under American, Breakfast, California, Los Angeles, Southern California.