You want a craft cocktail and a salad with ingredients other than shelf-stable lettuces, and maybe a taco platter to share with the table. Your small dining companions want grilled cheese sandwiches, mac and cheese, and hopefully a little fruit. They may be loud, and prone to sudden mood swings. How best to meet all these needs? La Grande Orange in Pasadena has parents' (and caregivers') backs. The regular menu hits the right notes of American comfort food mixed with other miscellaneous food trends to satisfy both the Pasadena ladies-who-lunch crowd and burger-craving dudes. The kids' meals are ridiculously fairly priced — and even served on sectioned plates. The interior is a stylishly refashioned historic Santa Fe depot with nods to the neighborhood's Arts and Crafts heritage, and the Gold Line stops right outside at the Del Mar station. Sea salt–dusted chocolate chip cookies are waiting for you when you leave. Need we say more? 260 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. (626) 356-4444, lgostationcafe.com. —Jessica Ritz

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