La Grande Orange opens in Santa Monica.

Psst--have you heard? La Grande Orange is open in Santa Monica--the first of the LGO restaurants to bring its ultra-fresh café cuisine to the area (the next closest is in Pasadena). We snuck in yesterday to get the juice on what to order, from founder Bob Lynn:

"Surfer style" tuna tacos. "We named these because there were a ton of surfers here during our practice runs," Lynn reveals. We're talking sushi-grade tuna served rare with jasmine rice, black beans, guac and pico de gallo. Righteous.

Bircher muesli. This humble dish of milk- and yogurt-soaked oats, nuts and fruit--named for a Swiss doctor--is a mega-seller in LGO's Arizona locations. "We sell hundreds of bowls as takeout, even at dinner," says Lynn.

Huevos rancheros. "Most restaurants deep fry the tortilla, making this dish notoriously unhealthy," he says. "Instead, we get freshly-ground masa every morning, make our own tortillas to order, and griddle them. Ours has half the fat of almost any other restaurant's version."

White sangria. "This is the ultimate beach beverage," says Lynn, and reveals his sensational, surprise recipe HERE.

That's worth talking about.

La Grande Orange, 2000 Main St., Santa Monica, (310) 396-9152, MAP