Mountain Views News          Saturday, May 21, 2011

8

GOOD FOOD & DRINK

 Mountain Views News Saturday, May 21, 2011 

Tomorrow’s Business Leaders Doing It Now

USC’s Pro-Bono Student Consultants

Back to Basics at Robin’s BBQ

With Memorial Day and Father’s Day fast approaching our fearless editor, Susan, asked me to get 
into the spirit of the times. My friend Robin Salzer of Robin’s Woodfire BBQ is doing everything he 
can to guarantee a family can still enjoy dining out. He may be a “Maverick” or maybe he is “Hope” 
and “Change.” He may be the one person that promises the moon though and delivers it in this political 
season. 

Do you have kids? I do, anyone need one until the economy picks up again, and she is well mannered? 
Just kidding honey, but I will need that iPhone back, with the receipt. 

A certifiable winner on every Wednesday and Sunday Night is Robin’s where the Kids eat for free!! 
I have a feeling we can all afford and that one. With each adult entrée your child can eat for free from 
the kids menu. No kids, you say, well they also offer all you can eat Rib Tips for ($12.95). Wow!!! 

Now let’s review an American favorite!!! It is also one of my personal favorites, BBQ, not the oven 
roasted version which Tony Roma’s panders. No, Barbeque is made low and slow. Low heat and 
slowly cooked. There is only one authentic BBQ in The San Gabriel Valley; you guessed it, Robin’s 
Woodfire BBQ and Grill in Hastings Ranch.

Owner and head politician Robin Salzer has perfected the BBQ at his name sake. Robin, will readily 
admit it took a few months to perfect the BBQ at Robin’s. Robin hails from Milwaukee and opened 
Robin’s 25 years ago this month. The original menu had everything from breakfast, to pizza, nachos 
and little bit of the BBQ. About five years ago Robin made the decision to go strictly BBQ. “Everyone 
in the neighborhood, thought I was crazy,” Robin 
recalled. But, “I decided to stay the course”. The 
result is some of the best BBQ in all of Southern 
California. The awards in the past five years include: 
Best of City Search, numerous Best of Awards by local newspapers, write ups in the LA Times 
and a feature in Westways Magazine. 

Depending on the meat, each entrée is cooked between 4 to 6 
hours on wood. The sauce is then put on the meat about twenty 
seconds before meat is done. This is done to avoid burning the 
outside skin of the meat. 

Prices range from ($8.95) for salads to ($30.95) for the ultimate 
Garbage Can Combo. The combo includes chicken, beef 
ribs, tri tip, baby back, spare ribs and a beef link. The garbage 
combo is big enough for two people

What to order: The Beef Ribs are a must!! Four rib dinner 
($17.95) and the seven Rib dinner is ($21.95). Robin tells me the 
ribs are notched, thus insuring extra meat. For dessert order the 
peach cobbler, its house made.

What to avoid: Mondays, the restaurant is closed. They don’t 
take reservations on the weekends, so I suggest making the visit 
on a Thursday Night. No separate checks. 

Worth the drive from anywhere in Los Angeles. Check out the 
website. Robinsmenu.com for updated prices and hours.

395 N. Rosemead Pasadena. (626) 351-8885

Listen and call in to Dining with Dills this Sunday Night at 
4PM. KABC 790 800-222-5222. Email me directly at thechefknows@
yahoo.com

When USC informed Robin McCarthy that 
Women At Work hadn’t been accepted in to the 
LACI* program (pronounced “lacy”), she was a bit 
disappointed. As the executive director of a small 
nonprofit, McCarthy is always on the look out for 
resources to help the agency become stronger. In 
mid-2010, the Pasadena-based nonprofit agency 
had submitted an application to receive pro-bono 
consulting services through USC’s *Los Angeles 
Community Impact program.

Founded in 2006, LACI provides an opportunity 
for undergraduate students enrolled in the 
Marshall School of Business to gain hands on experience. 
Mentored by a faculty advisor, students 
form LACI consulting teams that are assigned to 
work on specific projects with a nonprofit or small 
business. They gain hands-on experience as take 
their textbook knowledge of business research, 
theory and practices from the campus, into the 
community.

Robin was excited when she received a phone 
call in late 2010 informing her that a slot had 
opened. One of the nonprofits that had been selected 
for the LACI program was not able to participate. 
The timing was perfect, as the Women 
At Work board of directors were completing the 
final phase of the agency’s new, three-year strategic 
plan. After a visit to USC for an initial orientation, 
with a seasoned LACI student, to get details 
about the process, roles and responsibilities, she 
returned to prepare the staff, volunteers and the 
board for the next steps.

In January, she received a phone call from Arjun 
Churushia, the project’s team leader. They 
scheduled a site visit for a five-member LACI 
team to visit Women At Work for a tour to learn 
more about the agency. During the site visit in 
February, they conducted an indepth interview 
with Robin, board vice president, Marsha Rood 
and board president, Pixie Boyden, who had recently 
started as the new MIS Director at the 
USC Rossier School of Education. This meeting 
laid the groundwork for the project’s focus as the 
group identified two key areas, marketing and job 
development.

The next phase was more extensive than anyone 
at Women At Work had expected. Team members 
Priscilla Lee, Karina Malad, Marjorie Roesser and 
Shiyulli Suriyakumar worked with Arjun to conduct 
a series of phone conference interviews with 
more than a dozen individuals, including clients, 
staff, boardmembers, volunteers and employers. 
Over several months, they conducted an assessment 
of programs, services, internal communication 
processes, organizational culture and other 
components. If it was likely to have a direct or 
indirect impact on the key focus areas, they had 
questions about it. All of the information was 
converging to address two questions: 1) What 
could the agency do better to market its core services 
of employment preparation and job search 
assistance to clients?, and 2) How could the agency 
strengthen its job development activities, thus 
attracting more employers with job openings to 
help clients find jobs faster?

On Saturday, April 30th, the LACI team made 
its final visit to Women At Work’s offices at Colorado 
and Michillinda for a 10 a.m. meeting to 
present the final report and recommendations. A 
small group of board members and the agency’s 
grantwriting consultant joined Robin to hear and 
see what these young consultants had to presents. 
“I was expecting perhaps a 10-page, double-
spaced term paper, but we got a 30-page, single-
spaced document packed with useful feedback 
and 15 specific recommendations,” said Robin. 
“Impressive!,” was the collective sentiment. The 
report provided a third-party perspective that is 
needed for an objective assessment. It includes 
general and more detailed recommendations 
for marketing materials, better processes for client 
intake, simple and effective methods for and 
gathering and responding to client feedback, new 
business techniques and more.

This report now serves as an important complement 
to the agency’s strategic plan. Clients and 
employers alike will benefit from the work of these 
talented young business minds. USC students 
volunteer for the LACI Program, strictly for their 
development as professionals and scholars. They 
don’t receive course credit or financial compensation. 
For a generation of volunteers not even born 
when Women At Work was established almost 32 
years ago, impressive indeed. Stay tuned to see the 
impact of the LACI Program at this local nonprofit 
at www.womenatwork.org.

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills


Carolyn Barber, WAW Board Treasurer, Shiyulli Suriyakumar, Team Leader Arjun Chaurushia, 

Priscilla Lee and Board member Debbie Heap.


Schedule of Events

11027 Daines Drive, Temple City Listed for $428,000 
VIRTUALLY A NEW HOUSE! EVERYTHING NEW OR UPDATED FROM THE HARDWOOD 
BAMBOO FLOORS TO THE ROOF; INSIDE AND OUTSIDE. LOCATED IN A NICE TEMPLE 
CITY NEIGHBORHOOD SITTING UP ON A LITTLE HILL AND FILLED WITH LIGHT. HOME 
HAS 2 BEDROOMS, 1 BATH AND PLENTY OF ROOM TO ADD ON TO. THIS HOME IS 
TRULY A SWEETHEART YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS. 
Patricia Dmytrow15 East 
Foothill Blvd.
ArcadiaCA 91006(626) 589-6519pdmytrow@hotmail.comwww.realestatebypatti.comDRE #01032385OPEN HOUSESUNDAY, MAY 15, 2011FROM 2:00 TO 4:00 PM
6:00AM

Pick Up Race 

Numbers in 

Kersting Court

 

7:20AM

Pre-Race Instruction

 

7:30AM

Race Start

 

7:45AM

Kids’ Mile Fun Run 
Race Start

 

8:30AM

First Runner 
Comes Down from 
Mountain

 

9:00AM

Beer Garden Opens

 

10:30AM

Awards Ceremony

12:30PM

Race officially over

1:00PM

Beer garden closes

Directions:

From either the east or west, take 
the 210 freeway to Baldwin Avenue 
(exit 31).

Parking:

There is free public parking along 
the streets, and also in public lots 
located along Baldwin Avenue 
and on Montecito Ct and Mariposa 
Ave.

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com