Dinner plans thwarted

Those of you who read yesterday's post on the recently-opened Eastern Pasadena restaurant Plate 38 probably gleaned that I was excited to get out there and try the place. In fact, my wife stopped in there this morning for coffee and I poked my head in yesterday just to take a look. Tonight we planned to go there for dinner.

That's not happening. Unbelievably enough, the place caught fire this morning and, according to the Fire Department, is at a minimum a "major loss," and quite possibly, a "total loss."

The whole thing is just a terrible shame for the neighborhood, and of course, for the owners and employees of the eatery, which just opened last week.