Smitty’s Grill

Pasadena restaurateurs Bob and Gregg Smith, who opened Parkway Grill in 1984, turned this Lake Avenue space into a comfort-food grill in 2002, a year after their Asian fusion restaurant Ducz opened here and didn't catch on. Cornbread comes to the table in an iron skillet, and the menu covers chicken pot pie, baby back ribs, daily seafood and desserts made by an in-house pastry chef. The long granite bar fills up with people ordering classic cocktails. Wood-framed banquettes line the dining room, and there's a garden patio too.