Buenos Aires? 14th arrondissement Paris? The San Lorenzo district of Rome? It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the view from this bistro’s picture window calls to mind, but the panorama of trees, century-old buildings and whooshing Gold Line trains is unlike any other in the Los Angeles area at the moment, a gleaming utopian vision that would bring a smile to any urban planner’s face. 750ml, presumably named for the capacity of a wine bottle, is the newest venture from the owner of Malo and Cobras & Matadors, a tiny, expensive small-plates café that probably works better as a full-on restaurant, a place to nosh on foie gras with huckleberries, cassoulet, steak-frites, or mache salad with pears and stinky Époisses cheese while you contemplate the nuances in a glass of Châteauneuf du Pape. It’s probably best not to come too hungry: hazelnut-dusted chanterelle ravioli are delicious, but there are only two of them in a $15 order, and a $14 portion of the mustardy hand-chopped steak tartare is small enough to qualify as an hors d’oeuvre. But the wine list, strong on choices from Spain and Southern France, is swell. And the clientele seems to average at least 20 years younger than the usual South Pasadena crowd, whose money tends to flow more toward bungalow restoration than to plates of beef shoulder with taleggio fondue. 966 Mission St., South Pasadena, (626) 799-0711. 

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