By Charly SHELTON

It is a scientific fact that Tuesday is the best day of the week. While some may claim that Saturdays are best or maybe Mondays, they are wrong. It’s not called Taco Saturday or Taco Monday. Tuesday is the only day of the week that tacos have chosen to represent and therefore makes Tuesday the best day of the week. But there are six agonizing days between Taco Tuesdays. What can one do during those lesser days?

There is a new restaurant in Pasadena that makes every day feel like Taco Tuesday.

TLT Food opened its new Pasadena location in August and has seen success from day one. TLT stands for The Lime Truck, the restaurant’s first offering for food service. Starting out as a food truck that roamed the streets of L.A. back in 2010, Executive Chef Daniel Shemtob brought his passion for locally sustainable ingredients, a playful menu and a deep love for his customers off the truck and into the TLT Food brick-and-mortar restaurants. With locations in Westwood Village, Irvine Spectrum, Newport Beach and now Pasadena, TLT Food offers new takes on old favorites with tacos, sandwiches, salads and more.

While running the food truck, The Lime Truck won Best New Restaurant of the Year and Best of 2011, Food Trucks from the OC Register, and won season two of The Great Food Truck Race on Food Network. One bite of the food at TLT and guests can see that the award winning food and standards have made the transition to rooted life quite well.

I was invited to a menu tasting to sample all they had to offer and boy, was there a lot. Chimichuri noodles, crispy fried Brussels sprouts, short rib quesadilla, short rib sliders, ahi poke … the list goes on and on. The most interesting dish that they offer, in my opinion, is the blue crab grilled cheese with scallions, jalapenos and spicy sambal sauce on grilled sourdough. This is just so unique that it probably can’t be found anywhere else around Pasadena. The crab is rich and the cheese is gooey, offset by the light, sweet, chili based sambal sauce that gives it a real kick in the pants and cuts through the decadence so you don’t get overwhelmed.

By far the best thing on the menu is the taco selection. L.A. overall, and particularly Altadena, is home to some of the best taco places in the country. So to open a taco shop in this market is brave and requires that the tacos stand out from the myriad of other taco shops. While not as traditional as some of the authentic Mexican food places nearby, TLT gives a new take on tacos with interesting combinations of super fresh ingredients that work perfectly together. Try the sweet and spicy steak taco with sweet and spicy steak, Asian slaw, wontons, chimichurri and sesame seeds. Or the seared ahi tuna taco with sushi-grade ahi, chipotle-honey slaw, spicy lime-sambal sauce, chipotle-honey aioli, cilantro and lime. Or my favorite, the pork belly adobo taco with braised pork belly, pico de gallo, sambal and cilantro. Whether you’re into braised carnitas, pork belly, ahi tuna, potatoes, veggies, tofu, chicken, steak or short rib, there are tacos to fit every taste and sensibility. And they’re huge! Two tacos is a good-sized meal for me, and I eat like a Hobbit – largely and frequently. They are a good value for the money, about $4 per taco, and they are amazing.

To make every day Taco Tuesday, stop by TLT Food, 36 S. El Molino Ave. in Pasadena, right across the street from the Pasadena Playhouse. You’ll be glad you did. I will return to TLT Food again soon, hungry for more.

  Charly Shelton