Pasadena's restaurant scene is one of the best in the San Gabriel Valley — which is saying something, because the SGV has some of the most serious Chinese, Japanese, and Southeast Asian cooking in North America. Old Town Pasadena has a dense concentration of restaurants for a suburban city, including some independent spots that have been around long enough to have real regulars. Lake Avenue and South Fair Oaks are both worth exploring for neighborhood places that don't appear on tourist maps.