New in Old Town: Ix Tapa Cantina and Choza Mama open in Pasadena

By Betty HallockDeputy Food Editor

Dec. 2, 2009 8:01 AM PT

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Two newcomers to the same stretch of Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena’s Old Town are Mexican restaurant Ix Tapa Cantina and Peruvian spot Choza Mama.

The 7,500-square-foot Ix Tapa has a full bar, DJs, dancing, live entertainment and -- need it be said? -- flat-screen TVs. To facilitate what owner Jack Huang calls the “fun factor,” the restaurant is celebrating its opening with giveaways, such as a drawing for a vacation to Ixtapa, Mexico.

Just down the street is the new Pasadena outpost of Peruvian restaurant Choza Mama (also in Burbank), located in the former Hooter’s space.

Ix Tapa, 119 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 304-1000; www.ixtapapasadena.blogspot.com. Choza Mama, 96 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena; (626) 432-4692; www.chozamama.com.

-- Betty Hallock

Daily Dish

Betty Hallock

Betty Hallock is deputy Food editor at the Los Angeles Times. She has co-written four cookbooks, including “Bäco: Vivid Recipes from the Heart of Los Angeles,” “Amá: A Modern Tex-Mex Kitchen” and “Baking at République.” She started her journalism career at the Wall Street Journal and Scientific American in New York, worked on the L.A. Times’ Business desk, and was interim food editor at Los Angeles Magazine. Hallock also helped launch a food and nutrition vertical for wellness app RoundGlass. She’s a graduate of UCLA and New York University.