If you took Everson Royce Bar and sent it to settle down in South Pasadena with a sensible 401k plan and a double stroller, you’d get Cannonball. The mellower, more mature sibling of one of our favorite Arts District bars is tailor-made for the bedroom suburb that surrounds it: a dreamy spot for anyone whose ideal night out involves great bar food, a few well-made drinks, and being back home at a reasonable hour to watch your programs. Cannonball and ERB don’t just share owners, they also both serve the same excellent burger and buttermilk biscuits—but that’s about where their similarities end. Cannonball’s airy, split-level brick dining room on Mission Street (a two-block stretch that could act as a Mayberry dupe in an Andy Griffith reboot) feels like an evening mixer for people who remember ringback tones. Expect to see parents who recognize each other from the park plan playdates over bourbon cocktails and fried calamari. On one of our visits, the back patio was full booked out for a “block party,” which appeared to be an excuse for neighbors to drink wine together while their kids were at sleepaway camp. The come-as-you-are energy here demands food that's satisfying but doesn't try too hard, and Cannonball delivers that to a tee, with shareable bar snacks that are sophiscated but deliciously uncomplicated, like fork-tender fideos stewed with clams and chorizo, a crisp salad of shaved celery and dates, and golden-seared pork potstickers that crackle as you bite into them. A hundred-bottle-plus wine list and very good cocktails will likely lure you in for another round, too. Don’t fight it. After all, you’re in a room that has successfully made 5:30pm the new 7:30pm. It's no secret South Pasadena loves an early dinner, but Cannonball proves getting home before the streetlights come on can be a whole lot of fun, too.