260 S Raymond Ave
Pasadena
626-356-4444
Is there a restaurant that has been on your "to try" list that you drive by often, but never actually stop in for meal? La Grande Orange Café is one of the restaurants for me. It's been on my list of restaurants to try, and I'm in or drive by Pasadena quite often.
Recently a friend and I were talking, and she raved about La Grande Orange Café. So, we decided to have dinner there recently. She goes to La Grande Orange Café often and has tried many items on their menu.
She told me La Grande Orange Café, is housed in the old Pasadena train station. In keeping with the a back to the future them, LGO is next to the Del Mar Gold Line Station. If you're like other people in Los Angeles, there is a parking garage that offers two hours free parking with validation.
I got the grilled ahi tuna tacos, $20, with pico de gallo, gaucamole, and shredded kale slaw.
WOW, was the awesome. Everything was so fresh and tasty!! The ahi was grilled rare, and was among the best ahi tuna I've ever had. I've paid more for ahi at sushi restaurants that wasn't even close to this ahi. The ingredients for pico de gallo and gaucamole must have been on the farm that morning, because I've haven't had such fresh pico de gallo and gaucamole, ever!! The tortillas were freshly made. Everything combined made great tacos.
But, what blew me away was the kale slaw. Now, understand, I hate kale. But, it was on the menu and I figured, I would try a little bit of it, and if I didn't like it, no big deal. Well, I took a small bite and I was blown away by the flavor and freshness of this kale slaw. I find the texture and bitterness of kale to be off putting. But, that wasn't an issue here. The kale was tender, mixed with some garlic, red peppers, and some black beans. I think they offer this as a side, but next time I go, I'm going to order a couple of them to make an entree salad.
Service was ok. Our server was nice, but didn't came around that often. I felt as though he was just going through the motions. I don't want a robot as a server!
I'm not sure why I haven't gone to La Grande Orange Café earlier. But, I'm coming back soon.
