An Eclectic Menu Powers Roxxi in Pasadena

Here it is, 9:30 p.m. and there are people waiting for tables at Roxxi, 1065 E. Green St., Pasadena, (818) 449-4519. The former site of Lyon is jumping.

And no wonder. Owned by a team of people that includes a manager from the Parkway Grill and a chef from the Sonora Cafe, Caioti and Shane on the Glen, this is a hip new restaurant in Pasadena’s Parkway Grill/Crocodile tradition.

It has a similarly eclectic menu that includes such appetizers as chicken potsticker salad, potato pancakes with smoked salmon and caviar, ceviche of scallops and salmon. It has designer pizzas and

designer pasta (including black linguine with seafood). It has entrees that range from roast duck with zinfandel-plum sauce and fried yam chips to cowboy steak with onion rings. It has a nice list of wines by the glass, a wide variety of beers, and prices that are moderate (appetizers start at $3.75, entrees are $9-$17.50).

What it doesn’t have, however, is a high-tech atmosphere. Roxxi has such a neighborhood feeling that when the person at the next table catches you staring at her plate, she just might offer you a bite.