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Mountain View News Saturday, November 7, 2026 FOOD & DRINK & SURVIVING 88 
Mountain View News Saturday, November 7, 2026 FOOD & DRINK & SURVIVING 
CHRISTOPHER Nyerges

SOMETIMES 

YOU JUST 
GOTTA LOOK A 
LITTLE HARDER 

I’ve been reviewing restaurants aroundPasadena and the San Gabriel Valley formore than 20 years, and every once in awhile, I surprise myself. 

Sometimes the best places to eat aren’treally restaurants at all. At least not thekind where you can walk in off the street,
grab a menu and order lunch. 

Recently, I discovered three places worthtalking about. A terrific pastrami sandwich at the VFW (Thanks Logan O’Brien) in Pasadena,
a very good hamburger at the Elks Lodge and a martini at Annandale Golf Club. 

I know, I know. Before you start looking for your car keys, there’s a catch. These are privateclubs, and you generally need to be a member or the guest of one to get inside. 

But I’ll bet you know somebody. 

In my case, I was fortunate enough to be invited to all three. And here’s something that reallycaught my attention. Not only was the food and drink good, but the prices were roughlytwo-third of what I’ve come to expect at many restaurants and bars. 

Now you’ve got my attention! 

Let’s start with the pastrami sandwich at the VFW. When someone asks me where to findgood pastrami in Pasadena, a veterans’ organization isn’t usually the first place that comes tomind. But that’s the fun of doing what I do. You never know where your next good sandwichis going to turn up. 

Then there’s the Elks Lodge. I’ve eaten enough hamburgers over the years to know a goodone when I find it. And sometimes a burger served in a lodge can be just as satisfying as oneserved in a restaurant with a fancy sign out front. 

And finally, Annandale Golf Club. I’m not going to pretend that I discovered some littleneighborhood watering hole. Annandale is a private country club with a long history inPasadena. But a good martini is a good martini, whether it’s served at a neighborhood baror overlooking a golf course. 

Here’s what I find interesting about these three places. They’re not necessarily trying tocompete with the restaurants along Colorado Boulevard. They’re serving their members andguests, and apparently doing a pretty good job of it. 

Organizations like the VFW and Elks also have something else going for them. They’re placeswhere people gather, socialize, support charitable causes and enjoy a sense of community. 

In fact, I’m seriously considering joining one or two of these organizations myself. Sure,
there are membership fees and requirements, but when you find good food, good companyand prices that make you look twice at the bill, it’s worth investigating. 

My father used to say, “Feed the masses and you’ll eat with the classes.” 

Well, Dad, sometimes you have to join the club first! 

I’m not suggesting you rush out and join three organizations just to get a sandwich, ahamburger and a cocktail. But perhaps you have a friend who’s a veteran, a neighbor whobelongs to the Elks or somebody fortunateenough to belong to Annandale. 

Ask them about the food. Better yet, see ifthey’ll invite you along. 

After all these years of writing aboutrestaurants, I’ve learned that good fooddoesn’t always come with a reservation, acelebrity chef or a fancy menu. 

Sometimes you just gotta look a little harder. 

And sometimes you just gotta know 
somebody. 

If I missed your favorite, send me an email.
I’m always looking for my next good meal. 


[Nyerges is author of “How to Survive Anywhere” and other books. He teaches classes onsurvival skills at Pasadena City College and on-line. He can be reached at www.SchoolofSelfReliance.
com.] 

MEET ENRIQUE VILLASENOR: 

Ambassador of the Super Food, Survival Food: Prickly Pear Cactus 

Enrique Villaseñor is at the head of the classroom, extolling the many unsungvirtues of the prickly pear cactus. “It’s often referred to as poor people’s food,” he explains, “butdid you know that it contains all the essential amino acids, and some non-essential amino acids 
as well?” 

Villaseñor is the defacto ambassador of the humble prickly pear cactus, a plant that has beenused for food and medicine for millenia. 


After 35 years as a school teacher, Villaseñor recently retired and now actively works as anassistant to pharmacologist Dr. James Adams, who shares traditional Chumash healing 
methods. 

Besides assisting Dr. Adams in teaching how to practice traditional healing with herbs andlifestyle, he has become a walking encyclopedia on what he called the “superfood” of the prickly 
pear cactus. He doesn’t want people to think of this food as simply as food of poor people whocan’t afford “real food.” Rather, he points to all the current products (food, medicine, fabric, etc.)
that are currently on the market which as manufactured from the prickly pear cactus. 

PRICKLY PEAR USE GOES BACK 10,000 YEARS 

In his two hour dynamic presentation, Villaseñor takes his audience through the fascinatinghistory, and the vast healthful benefits, of the prickly pear cactus, beginning with the factthat cacti remnants were found in jars in Mexico dating back 10,000 years. He explains thatarchaeologists have found old jars that contained not only cactus, but teosinte (the forerunnerto corn), chili, amaranth, sapote, and mesquite, some of the earliest foods from this continent. 

As part of his presentation, Villaseñor shares details from the historical book, “Relacion deCabeza deVaca,” the account of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca’s journey in the unknown interiorof America. He was one of four survivors of the 1527 Narvaez expedition. From 1527 to 1536,
he wandered across the U.S. Southwest, learning from the natives about the local foods. Thoughhe was a slave for the first two years, he became both a trader and a healer to the various tribes.
He learned of the value of the nopal (aka the prickly pear cactus) from the natives and used itfor scurvy, treating arrow wounds, and for stomach issues. 

GOOD FOR THE IMMUNE SYSTEM 

“The prickly pear cactus is one of the best immune system boosters,” says Villaseñor, quotingHippocrates, who said “Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food.” 

Historically, the prickly pear cactus pads have been used for lowering cholesterol levels, digestiveissues, edema, wounds, bronchitis, fevers, vitiligo, inflammation, type II diabetes, muscle pain,
urinary problems, burns, and liver problems. Students of Villaseñor listen in awe, wonderingwhy they have always considered the prickly pear just a food to eat when you’re next to starving,
rather than the superfood it is. 

Villaseñor explains that because prickly pear was always available in good times and bad, intimes of drought and plenty, it was always something that poor people could and did use, butthen it came to be regarded as simply a food of last resort. 

Today, however, that view is changing. Villaseñor pulls up a screen image from Amazon,
showing literally hundreds of products made from the prickly pear on Amazon. 

The highlight of Villaseñor’s presentation is when he turns on a food processor and makes aprickly pear drink for everyone to try. 

First, he carefully scrapes the young pads to remove all the spines and the tiny hair-like glochids.
He puts one large pad into the blender, and adds one apple and one peeled orange, and blendsit all. The resultant drink is thick, and so it can be thinned further with water if one prefers.
Everyone enjoyed the tartness and sweetness of the drink. No sugar is ever added. 

THE RECIPE:

 “Agua de Nopales” -- Prickly Pear Cactus Water, by Enrique Villaseñor: 

Ingredients1 - Prickly Pear Cactus pad (cleaned and rinsed)
1 - Peeled Orange1 - Green Apple2 - Cups of chilled water1 - Ice 
1 - Lime 

Dice 1 Prickly Pear pad. Place in blender with 2 cups of water. Blend. Dice 1 green apple. Blend.
Dice 1 peeled orange. Blend. Add additional water to taste if the smoothie is too thick for you.
Serve chilled with ice. Use lime to taste. Do not add sugar. Suggested serving is 1.5 cups 2X aday. Enjoy! 

He does not advocate cooking the cactus if you want it for its medicinal benefits. 

Villaseñor adds that complete health is really about complete balance, and by “balance” heexplains that each of us need to find balance physically, spiritually, socially, and financiallywithin our community and family. “You should work at each of these every day,” he explains. 

Enrique Villaseñor can be contacted at Senornopales@gmail.com. 


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