Ted Peters Famous Smoked Fish • 1947

The smoke rises in plain sight at this South Pasadena institution, where Ted Peters set up his smoker in 1947 after noticing other fishermen hid their operations behind buildings. Mullet and mackerel emerge golden from native Florida Red Oak coals, served on picnic tables under tin roofs with sides of tangy German potato salad. Cash only, family-owned, and still smoking fish the old-fashioned way—visible, unhurried, and worth the wait.