While some restaurants leave a good impression by inventing new recipes, others blend into the background as cliché cafés.
Many restaurants, like Rendezvous Café, stick to the stereotypical, overdone café image but leave customers wanting something more unique. Rendezvous is like every other café in the San Gabriel Valley. Although Rendezvous did attempt to create a modern, chic atmosphere, there was nothing memorable about the random, over the top decorations and colorful chairs.
Rendezvous’ menu offered nothing unique and was rather disappointing since their food proportions were unsatisfying for their value. For prices ranging from $5 to $12 and small servings, there was nothing memorable about Rendezvous or their menu. Although their service was satisfactory and notable, the overall experience was bland and simply unimpressive.
However, every so often, a revolutionary restaurant breaks through and creates an entirely different experience. Afters Ice Cream, located in Pasadena, converted a vintage gas station into an ice cream store which gave it an old timey, classical feel. In all their locations, Afters has a black and white theme that gives it a simple yet sophisticated touch but keeps its modern aesthetic.
Afters offers a brand new product that is both innovative and delicious. Known for their six dollar Milky Buns, which are warm donuts served with ice cream inside, Afters also offers a large variety of flavors such as Big Stix, Vietnamese Coffee and even flavors as bizarre as Cookie Monster. They add their own personal touch by combining two desserts and they made an ingenious invention that is definitely worth all the hype it is getting.
Afters offered a more unique experience. They took a risk by trying to create something new and it clearly worked in their favor. Unlike Rendezvous, Afters did not recycle old ideas or serve stereotypical, overpriced food but rather tried their hand at a new recipe.
While Rendezvous stuck to ordinary looking food, Afters choose to step up their game by making their menu items bizarre colors.
TCHS School Newspaper