I don’t have the details, but Mrs. O just got word from a business friend that our favorite meeting place is closing: Seco, in the same Lake Avenue complex as its fraternal twin Smitty’s. Aside from removing a several-years favorite from our list, the sad fact is that it was the one Smith brothers’ restaurant that we frequented because it was neither overpriced nor in any way pretentious. The bar is always very good to excellent, the food straightforward and well prepared, and while the menu is somewhat limited in scope the Vegetarian and I could always find something very good and reasonably affordable to eat. I got a martini one night that was so exactly right that I nursed it clear through my Steak Frites, and enjoyed the hell out of every second.
This restaurant group has long been a reliable supporter of the Pasadena Humane Society, our favorite local cause, and a generally all-around good corporate citizen, but it is very disappointing that the only restaurant of theirs whose food and ambience were perfect fits with our tastes and budget is the one getting the axe.