When dining out in California, the words “sustainably-farmed,” “locally-grown” and “organic” are as common on the menu as salt and pepper on the table. Bountiful farmland and abundant seas are hallmarks of the state, but it requires committed farmers, chefs, restaurant owners and diners for food to be produced and prepared in an ecologically sound way.
While many restaurants have only recently joined the green movement, others have been striving to source and cook sustainably for decades. In the 1970s, California’s godmother of green Alice Waters was instrumental in the rise of the slow food evolution. Waters continues her pioneering ways as the chef and owner at Oakland’s acclaimed Chez Panisse , where the food on the menu is organically grown and harvested. Just across the Bay, another leader holds court in Fort Mason on San Francisco’s waterfront. Founded by the Zen Center in 1979 as one of the nation’s first high profile vegetarian restaurants, Greens was created with the goal of supporting small local farms within the ethos of Buddhist beliefs. From composting food scraps to constructing with reclaimed wood to keeping a biodynamic and organic wine list, Greens remains a groundbreaker in the world of sustainable eating.
In Mendocino County, 22 years of community outreach by MacCallum House Restaurant executive chef Alan Kantor has led to a tremendous local networkof farms, fisheries, apple orchards and artisan cheesemakers. This is beautifully documented on the hand-painted “Foodshed Map” on the MacCallum House website. The country’s first organic brewery, the Ukiah Brewing Company also uses the area’s bounty on its all-organic menu.
Local sourcing is an essential factor in the greening of the restaurant industry. One of Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa’s favorite restaurants sources most of its ingredients within 400 miles of the city. Besides supporting local growers, Grace Restaurant’s method reduces the carbon footprint of food transport and lives up to meaning of its name: “a sense of what is right and proper.” Hog Island Oyster Company takes the concept to the extreme by hosting a picnic area complete with grills and essential extras on the lawn of its Tomales Bay harvesting operation. Oyster lovers can indulge in the shellfish straight from the sea, right at its source.
Up the coast, Mendocino’s vegetarian haven Ravens’ Restaurant gets the majority of its food from an onsite organic garden, while the area’s Heritage House features a kitchen garden with fresh produce served in the restaurant’s oceanfront dining room. The Napa Valley’s premier vegetarian restaurant Ubuntu (which means “humanity towards others”) harvests its innovative menu items daily from an onsite biodynamic garden, sharing a tranquil space with a world-class yoga studio.
Vegetarian cuisine isn’t the only fare that lends itself to going green. San Diego’s The Linkery is proof that meat can be raised, served, and eaten responsibly as well. One of Gourmet’s 100 best farm-to-table restaurants in 2007, the restaurant serves only grass-fed beef and pastured pork, with sausages, bacon and other cured meats handmade in-house. Meanwhile, Santa Barbara’s Spiritland Bistro serves only Audubon-approved fish and was the first restaurant recipient of the city’s prestigious Green Award.
Lest you think only gourmet restaurants with three and four-star ratings are going green, pay a visit to one of the state’s popular homegrown food stands, mom-n-pop cafes or local coffee shops and you’re likely to find lots of organic options. From Let’s Be Frank’s grass-fed, hormone-free beef to Duarte’s Tavern’s local sourcing operation in Pescadero to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s green-oriented espresso shops, California’s restaurants big and small continue to revolutionize the food world. Modern California cuisine respects the earth one latte, one slice of homemade peach pie and one hot dog at a time.
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