To completed our fun food day we had dinner reservations at Racion in Old Town Pasadena. Racion is a small tapas place. It’s not a traditional tapas place, rather it more exotic mashups on small plates. It was really adventurous. We tried 5 small plates and dessert. I had a glass of red wine.

salt cod fritters, lemon cream

lamb meatballs, basque cider, picon, licorice greens

beer-braised octopus, local squid and chorizo, asturian white beans

pan-seared scallops, oyster chowder, potato, paddlefish roe

duck sausage-stuffed squid, salsa tinta, duck jamon

crema catlina

In the order that they arrived at the table…

1. Salt cod fritters. Fried and puffy. Cod was in the mix, not a piece with a coating. melted in your mouth.
2. Lamb meatballs, basque cider, picon, licorice greens. Yummy. meaty. Sauce was almost like mushroomy.
3. Beer-braised octopus, local squid and chorizo, asturian white beans.. This one took some explanation. I didn’t want chewy. Server convinced me that the beer braised made the octopus meat soft and delicious, then, the seared skin gives a bit of crunch to the skin. This was the stand-out, off the charts, you-won’t-get-this-anywhere else. My wife is always creeped out by tentacles, but they don’t bother me. Chomp Chomp.
4. Pan-seared scallops, oyster chowder, potato, paddlefish roe. Soft, big, savory. wow. yum.
5. Duck sausage-stuffed squid, salsa tinta, duck jamon. This was wild. Yummy. The squid was basically the casing for a duck sausage. This one was one of kind too. Texture and flavor were unique and terrific.

Finca San Martin Crianza 2011 RIOJA, Tempranillo (wild cherry, cedar)

For dessert, we shared the Crema Catalina. Soft and creamy. Crispy meringues melted in your mouth.