Mountain View News Saturday, April 25, 2026 
77FOOD -DRINK - FUN Mountain View News Saturday, April 25, 2026 
77FOOD -DRINK - FUN 
Peter A. Dills 

L.A.’s King of Cuisine

https://
podlink/1116885432 


GAUCHO GRILL – PASADENA 

Some locations have history. Others have 
potential. A few—if they’re lucky—get both.
The Pasadena home of Gaucho Grill, formerly 
Paul Martin’s, falls into that last category. 
Good bones, strong visibility—but 
it needed direction. Sitting down with Kirk 
Cartozian, you realize quickly this isn’t a guy 
guessing his way through it. 

This is a restaurant man. And more than 
that—an entrepreneur who understands 
timing. 


As part of my “So What’s Next?” podcast, I asked Kirk what I’ve been 
asking a lot of people lately—bartenders, owners, even a guy teachingguitar on his day off: 

“What’s next?” Kirk didn’t give me a rehearsed answer. He talked 
about evolution. About staying relevant. About building something that brings people in today—not 
ten years ago. And then he pointed to the bar. That’s where this story really starts. That's because 
Gaucho Grill Pasadena isn’t just rolling out a Happy Hour—they’re making a statement. 

Now you know me—I don’t chase cheap. My father used to say, “If it’s not good, I don’t care what it 
costs.” I’ve stuck with that. But when Kirk said, “Peter, try this—we’re doing it right,” I listened.
So we went to work. Everything we ordered—food AND drinks—was under $10.
That’s not a promotion—that’s a strategy. 

We started with the cocktails. 

The Margarita—balanced, not syrupy, built like someone behind the bar respects the drink. 
The Paloma—clean, refreshing, and easy to keep ordering without realizing it. 

Then the food hit the table. 

Chicken sliders—juicy, well put together, no shortcuts. 
Filet sliders—this is where Gaucho earns its reputation. Tender, flavorful, and exactly what you want 
from a place built on beef.
And the empanada of the day—hot, flaky, and just enough personality to make you pay attention. 

At one point I said to Kirk, “This feels like more than a Happy Hour.” He didn’t hesitate. Because it 
is.This is about getting people back in the room. Letting them sample, experience, and—if they’re like 
me—start planning the next visit before they leave. And that’s the bigger picture. 

Kirk isn’t just running a restaurant—he’s balancing multiple lanes. Gaucho Grill, the tequila business, 
the realities of today’s hospitality world. It’s not easy. The margins are tight, the expectations are high, 
and the customer? Smarter than ever. That’s where experience shows. 

The room feels better now. More relaxed. Less like it’s trying to prove something, more like it knows 
what it is, and in Pasadena—that matters. 

Pro tip (and don’t spread this around):

Skip the front parking situation. Head behind the restaurant and park upstairs at Macy’s. Easy in, easy 
out. Shhh. 

IN SUMMARY: 
Gaucho Grill Pasadena is finding its groove—and Kirk Cartozian is playing the long game. The new 
Happy Hour delivers where it counts: quality sliders, legit cocktails, and everything under $10.
Not a gimmick. Not a shortcut. A smart move. And if you’re asking what’s next? 

Gaucho Grill Argentine SteakHouse 455 S. Lake Pasadena 


THE ANN AND HANNA SHOW @ann.and.hanna.show 
Two friends, one town, a community built one interview at a time. 
By Elizabeth Converse 
Ann McKenzie and Hanna Jungbauer host The Ann and Hanna Show, an Instagram-based video 
series that has become one of Sierra Madre's most recognizable platforms for community storytell-
ing. Born out of their work on the Sierra Madre Rose Float, the show grew into a lifeline for local 
businesses during the Eaton Fire and has since expanded into a weekly celebration of the foothill 
communities. They were named the Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce's Spirit of Sierra Madre 
for 2025. 
Ann, you grew up in Sierra Madre. What do you love most about this town? 
Ann: Community. Sierra Madre has a wonderful, welcoming community, and there are so many 
ways to be involved here. Growing up here, you see things evolve. And I'm very fortunate that mybest friends now are the same people I was best friends with as a little kid. There's nothing like 
hometown community. It really does feel like Mayberry — but we're close enough to the big city. 
There's something very special about Sierra Madre. I even have a Sierra Madre tattoo. The wistaria. 
How did the two of you find each other, and how did The Ann and Hanna Show get started? 
Ann: We met at the Rose Float. Hanna is the volunteer coordinator there, and I'm the lead florist. 
We had to work in close proximity anyway, and then we started discovering all these things we had 
in common. It was like, oh my god, we've got lightning in a bottle here. Let's make a power team. 
Let's take this float that people didn't know much about and set it on fire. 
Hanna: The float needed social media — badly. And Ann already had some ideas. So we started 
doing these little campy, fun interviews with the volunteers, putting personalities to faces people 
had never seen before. All of a sudden people were saying, oh, I recognize Luis — she likes coffee. 
That's Kurt, he's good at welding. It just took off. 
And then the fires happened. 
Ann: When the fires happened, we knew we had to do something. We didn't know exactly what,
but something. So we started using our platform to focus attention on what was happening and how 
people could help. We'd go around interviewing businesses, saying, hey, come support them — buy 
a gift card, show up. Just because a building is still standing doesn't mean it didn't lose anything. 
Some of these businesses had 70 percent of their clientele burned out. They had nothing coming in. 
Hanna: And that's really where The Ann and Hanna Show got birthed. We saw the real problems 
after the fire, and we realized we could use what we'd built to actually help. 
One of our favorite stories: 
There was a gastropub on Foothill, right across from Hastings Ranch. They had no clientele, they 
were in serious debt, and the landlord was making things very difficult. 
We went in, said come on Sierra Madre, and Sierra Madre showed up. They raised over $20,000 
that month — enough to stay afloat for a few more months while they figured out their next move. 
That was really cool. 
Once the immediate fire coverage wound down, where did you go from there? 
Hanna: You can't talk about a crisis forever. So we just kept going — oh, you have an event? Cool, 
we'll come. You have a racehorse? Let's talk about it. There are so many interesting stories, not onlyin this town but across the whole foothill community. A lot of those people tie right back into the 
Art Walk — musicians, painters from Altadena. By interviewing them it became almost hand-to-
hand: oh, you do this? Do you want to come to Sierra Madre and be part of the Art Walk? It just 
worked out that way. 
Ann: One of Hanna's many gifts is that she can bring people together. You have a band? Great, we 
know someone who needs a band. You're an artist? We have something coming up. Because she's 
so open with it, things snowball. And being able to get bands for the Art Walk, to have people 
performing here who've never performed here before — just seeing everyone's happiness. That's 
everything. 
How did the show get its name? 
Hanna: People were being mean to us. Someone said, it's not The Ann and Hanna Show, you know. 
And we looked at each other and went — you are absolutely correct. It is not The Ann and Hanna 
Show. Whoever wants to be on camera, please line up. And more people did start participating. But 
we took that, and sometimes great things are born out of spite. So we went to the Doo Dah Parade 
as The Ann and Hanna Show, and that's when we knew we really had something. 
Ann: We made the Queen's Court. We didn't win, but next year — we're going for the crown. 
Hanna, you're a transplant. What surprised you about Sierra Madre when you first came here? 
Hanna: I'm from Minnesota, and I came up here on my own early on — no GPS, just wanted to get 
lost and find my way back. I drove up into the canyon and burst into tears. I thought, oh my god,
I'm in Duluth. This is literally Duluth with palm trees. The mountains, the canyon, the air. It felt so 
much like home. And then you walk down the street and everyone says hi. I love sitting at the coffee 
shops just watching people. 
Ann: It's cultivated a kind of personal freedom. People find themselves here. It's sacred ground in 
a way. And I think that's why artists have always been drawn to it. It's been an art place for so long 
— the pottery on Montecito, the artists and musicians up in the canyon. It's always been a unique 
place. 
What is your mission with the show? 
Hanna: To highlight the beauty of the foothill communities and the San Gabriel Valley. And when 
people need to be seen, we want to show them. A lot of people don't know how to say, I need help, 
or I have an interesting story. We love interesting wildcards. Tell us about it. Showcase the fun — 
especially in the climate we're in right now. We're so fortunate to have this community. Why aren't 
we lifting each other up? 
Ann: And there's no gatekeeping. That's the whole point. It's all attainable. We work with other 
platforms — Mr. Pasadena, Everything Pasadena, Next Door. If we know something's opening, we 
say go there. It's about sharing, not taking the spotlight. Community is the goal. 
What do you want people to know about you that they might not? 
Hanna: How curious we are. We are tourists in our own town. Get us on a double-decker bus, take 
us to a museum, show us something we've never seen — we're in. We want to know the backstory, 
the side story, the weird facts. Because here's the thing: if you go talk to a Michelin Star chef, they'll 
probably talk about recipes. That's been done. We want to know about the cat at home that's giving 
them emotional problems. The weird color they painted the bathroom that they can't stand. That's 
what makes them who they are. That's the recipe. 
Ann: We're humanizing the story. When you put a human angle on something that's been told a 
thousand times, people go — oh, wait. I see it differently now. 
Where do you see the show going? 
Hanna: COVID taught us you can't make plans, but you can make very hard wishes. I wish for 
more lights, more cameras, more eyes. And I think we're also showing people that anybody can do 
this. I didn't know how to edit anything before the float. I'm learning every single day. We'd love to 
contribute to local TV, to stream, to do more. The 4th of July parade commentary last year — that 
was one of our favorite things we've ever done. We showed up rogue, dug up facts on everyone in 
the parade, and just went for it. 
Ann: And we're building an archive. All these people we've talked to — Jan's Towing, Chantry, ev-
eryone — they're in there. One of the things we plan to do this year is go back and check in: where 
are they now? 
How can people find you? 
Ann: Instagram. Our handle is @annandhannashow. That's where we live. Instagram is the fastest,
freest form of advertising — it's in everyone's pocket. We're also starting a TikTok. We'll get there. 
Hanna: And if anyone wants to be interviewed, we don't discriminate. Reach out. We have mics 
and we'll travel. 
Any last words? 
Ann: The Sierra Madre Chamber has awarded Hanna and me the Spirit of Sierra Madre for 2025. 
We're so honored. That's coming up soon. 
Hanna: And to everyone in Sierra Madre with a deck that faces the mountains — it is a cardinal sin 
not to use it. I live in Monrovia and my front porch faces the mountains, and I am out there in my 
rocking chair every evening. You have the canyon, the valley, the golden hour. Go outside. Please. I 
would take the deck. I'd let them keep the house — I just want the deck. 
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