Sunday, August 16, 2009

La Grande Orange

For the latest occurrence of Coffee'n'Cobb, Mike and I went west to Santa Monica!

La Grande Orange sign
We were looking to shake things up and wanted to try somewhere new (to us). La Grande Orange was our destination and here's what we ate:

LGO gazpacho
I did the classic last-minute-panic order and got the gazpacho: strong presence of cucumber, but I wanted a more concentrated tomato flavor.

LGO evil princess salad
I also got the Evil Thai Princess Salad: yeah, the name is strange, but it was tasty enough. Lemongrass chicken, although the minced chicken's marinade made it a bit wet.

LGO turkey salad
Mike's Turkey Chopped Salad Circa 1971: got the stamp of approval from Mike and I tasted the blue cheese, which was pungent and packed a good punch.

The food was fine and good, but some small details made for a less-than-perfect brunch. Table service is only provided at dinner, so daytime diners have to get their silverware and water at a station near the kitchen/walkway into the dining area, which is awkward when more than two people are up there. Also, Mike ordered coffee, but wasn't given a cup when we ordered nor when the runner delivered our food. Not huge errors in service, but it did affect our experience.

La Grande Orange seems to be a well-intentioned eatery, but I hope it makes adjustments to their confusing set up. I didn't get to try their English muffins, so I do want to return at some point. I just hope it will be a smoother meal!

La Grande Orange
2000 Main St
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 396-9152

5 comments:

weezermonkey said...

That gazpacho looks so orange to taste like cucumber!

yutjangsah said...

I love the crazy names. circa 1971? i love the 70s! and i love blue cheese.

Marie said...

Weezermonkey: It WAS rather orange, eh? Wasn't the best, but I was strangely in the mood for gazpacho!

Yutjangsah: Circa 1971 should be the name of a restaurant. Well, maybe not. I don't know how much mayo-based everything can compete against LA's best. But cute thought? :P And yes, blue cheese is tres glorious.

SinoSoul said...

After trying LGO:SanMo, I concluded A) I can never afford to live in SanMo B) I never want to afford to live in SanMo.

The blogger's prom bagels are some kind of wonderous tho.

Marie said...

Tony: Santa Monica is a kooky place, especially since there is a healthy homeless population in addition to the extravagantly priced property. The air is nice, though. Don't know which bagels you're referring to, but I will keep an eye out next time.