Racion

Pasadena, California

Racion delivered an experience that was unexpectedly on point!

This restaurant was established in 2012 with a focus on providing cuisine using local California ingredients with unique takes on dishes that are traditional to the Basque region in Spain. The unique twist comes from incorporating Asian influences into their flavors. In other words, creatively thinking outside the box with the details of each plate, which I appreciate! After eating here, I want to visit again so I can taste the entire menu!

I was looking forward to trying a few of the tapas that I had noticed on the menu that I viewed prior to deciding on this as a dining destination. However, I was not anticipating how multifaceted the flavors would be for each dish that was presented. Here is what I tried:

Smoked White Fish, Cucumber, fennel, lemon aioli, seeded cracker ($12).
This was presented on a single large cracker, approximately three inches by six inches. The cracker was firm, but easily broken in order to take a portion to eat. The cracker was covered in a creamy like white fish mixture that was primarily fish with a subtle, but unmistakeable smokey flavor. I am always relieved when a plate like this is focused on the fish rather than being overwhelmed by a filler ingredient such as mayonnaise or bread. It was complemented by the light freshness of the lemon, cucumber, and fennel, a more unusual combination than the typical pairing of lemon with fish. It really was a refreshing and balanced bite without one flavor unbalancing any other!


Beef tongue banuelos, horseradish creme, pickles ($11). Armed with my knowledge of traditional banuelos, these were nothing like I expected. It was delivered as a small and soft biscuit with a generous tower of tender beef tongue that was draped in thin slices and then topped off with a dollop of horseradish creme and accompanied by pickled onion and peppers on the side. The horseradish was much too mild. I did not experience any of the anticipated zing that one imagines from horseradish, which was disappointing considering that the biscuit was also bland. However, the acidity of the pickles was what was needed. The bite transformed to being lovely as the acidity counteracted the less flavorful intensity of the other components. Clearly it was meant to be consumed with the pickles! I added cracked black pepper to this dish to make up for the lack of spice in the horseradish. It is worth mentioning that the beef was perfectly tender and reminded me of an upscale Italian Beef sandwich reminiscent of street food in Chicago.

Salt cod fritters, lemon cream ($7). This came highly recommended from the waitress. It was a very light and fluffy fried ball that flattened immediately with any attempt to stab or cut it. There was not a trace of the typical crispness of a fried food. The first one I ate was warm and, although it was good, the delicate flavors were masked and I did not understand why the waitress had spoken so highly of it. As the fritters cooled to being warm, the flavors came across as limited to salt and lemon, a point from which it continued to improve as it cooled. When it arrived at cooling to room temperature, I much preferred how well I could taste the lemon cream contrasting with the fishy flavor and it allowed for the potato flavor to be detected as well. I even ate one cold and then it reminded me of a lemon cream pie or lemon cookie. I would recommend inviting diners to eat it only when it has cooled.



Lamb meatballs, basque cider, picon, licorice greens ($12). This was one of my favorites. The white sauce was creamy with salty cheese notes, reminding me of a manchego fondue. This gave way to a rich, but subtle, flavor from the slight caramelization of the picon and cider followed finally by the release of the distinct flavor from the lamb, which was rich and fatty, all balanced by the contrasting mild anise flavor. I requested more licorice greens to add to the meatballs since the heavy flavors of the meat and sauce did well with greens to lighten the bite. I cut the meatballs into tiny pieces since I did not want this dish to end and it was rich enough to savor in tiny tastes.









Gambas al ajillo, nora chile, garlic, horseradish broth ($16). I literally wanted to drink this broth! I never would have known that horseradish was one of the flavors in the broth, as it was so subtle in a wonderful manner. I have a strong association with the word horseradish implying intense, but with this broth, it added a distinct and gentle flavor. Perhaps it could be analogous to a broth with ginger notes. It was a thicker viscosity that must have been reduced, in the same way that a glaze thickening as it simmers. The broth was paired to contrast with a smokey chile streaked on the plate. Additionally, there was a creamy cheese and thin slices of very mild garlic. This created another dish that was so perfectly balanced and subtle that I did not wanted it to end. The flavors combined to create a comforting bite. This item was characterized by lighter flavors than many of the other dishes, making me not want to interrupt the flavor by tasting anything else that would mar my palate until I was completely finished and ready to move on to something else.

Duck sausage stuffed squid

Duck sausage stuffed squid, salsa tinta, duck jamon ($18). This is known to be a remarkable dish at this restaurant and obviously took much time and effort to create. The salty sausage was tasty without being as heavy in fat content as I anticipated, making for a lighter bite that I was prepared for (based on my experiences with eating duck). The sausage was carefully filling tiny rolls of squid and was accompanied by duck prosciutto laid carefully on top and adding a touch of salt to the dish. This was contrasted by what was labeled as "salsa tinta". It adorned the dish with a graceful swish on the plate and reminded me of the richness of a black bean sauce. I chewed each bite so slowly, as it felt like eating a work of art!






Crema Catalina was the dessert I tasted. It had candied pistachios with tiny meringues, a caramel sauce made of dates and nuts to accompany a light citrus mouse with a delicate pistachio crusted cookie. Although there were many components to it, the dessert was fairly straight forward making it a nice ending to a long meal. It was light with the clean flavors of citrus, but with richness brought in through the creaminess. Furthermore, the date caramel intensified the sweetness without being overwhelming. It was refreshing while still being rich, but I did not appreciate the addition of the meringues, as they were not flavored and simply added to the presentation of the dish, as well as adding another texture, but the crunchiness of the nuts and cookie would have been adequate for the purpose. I thought it surprising that the meringues did not appear to be contribuing to the dish considering each of the other dishes we tasted had an unmistakable purpose for each ingredient. Perhaps the meringues could have been pistachio flavored?


This was a very nice meal. As I mentioned at the beginning, it was characterized by unexpected detail in each dish.