Well. I never thought the day would come that I’d write the definition of FOOD on my blog.
But there’s a first for everything.
- a place of nourishment
- a neighborhood market for the new essentials
- an eclectic cafe serving seasonal, healthy and delicious food
- caterers from all your S-M-L-XL needs
Kyle and I ended up here on our way back from a golf date at Rancho Park. As far as golf courses go, this is one of the more ghetto places to play in LA. And by ghetto, I mean not a country club.
The loud red wall lured us in. And a quick menu check on my phone sealed the deal. Does anyone ever go to restaurants anymore without checking the menus first?
When you enter you’re met with a cute interior decor, complete with odd trinkets and hard to find grocery items.
That’s the owner, Judy Orstein, in the middle. Kyle and I chatted with her while waiting for our to-go order to be ready.
She opened FOOD as a retirement project (modeled after one of her favorite place in NYC) and now it’s going on five years. She’s not a newbie to the scene though, having worked in the food business over 30 years, owning and operating three very successful restaurants. She was also the Executive Chef for Someone’s in the Kitchen Catering. I only spoke with her a few minutes, but I truly felt how passionate she was in that short amount of time.
The menu, by the way, is pretty great. I went back and forth between breakfast fare (hello tofu scramble!) and lunch fare (the daily salad selections were awesomely overwhelming), but finally decided on the cilantro tofu sandwich with a side of the raw kale salad.
The raw kale salad was a daily special so I’m not sure of all the ingredients. It had lemon hints, but it wasn’t sour at all. The savory cashew dressing made it almost homey, despite the fact that it was cold, crunchy, and raw.
The cilantro tofu sandwich had avocado, tomato, grilled corn relish, organic greens, and soy mayonnaise on a five grain bread. They had gluten free breads available, but I figured I’d go with what they recommend. It was more seedy than anything else, but very very soft.
I didn’t expect to finish the entire sandwich AND the salad, but I did. Domination.
I didn’t detect much cilantro flavor on the tofu, but the grilled corn relish more than made up for it. Such a unique sammie component! I really loved it. And I’m sure you know how much I loved the presence of both avocado AND soy mayo. Healthy fats are the essence of a good sandwich.
By comparison, Kyle’s thai salad was kinda sad. 🙁
It actually only looks pathetic because the dressing is still in the container in this photo.
His salad was supposed to have thai grilled steak, but he swapped it for plain tofu. The rest of the ingredients included spicy organic greens, shredded carrots, roasted peanuts, asian peas, green onions, daikon sprouts, cucumbers and cilantro with a thai basil vinaigrette.
After a few extra peanuts and a quick shake ‘n bake session, he happily devoured it.
Hooray for FOOD.
Hahaha I ALWAYS look at the menu online first! Although it’s good to know what I’m getting into since I can’t have soy or gluten, but even before I found that out, I’d check ahead of time!
That looks like an awesome restaurant, I’m jealous that you have so many great choices near you. I have to say that when I read “corn relish” I was sold, that sounds AMAZING.
Yeah, maybe staying out of the ghetto parts is a good idea. Hahaha.
That sandwich looks amazing! I’ve been eating tofu for a few months now and it’s grown on me. Now for “corn relish”… haven’t had that. But I’ll have to try it!
Uhm this place sounds like my kind of FOOD!
That sandwhich look DEEELISHUSS! YUM!
Just had breakfast but I think my stomach is growling a little….
This looks amazing amazing amazing! The branding and food look so incredible! Must go!
This looks amazing! One of the first places I will have to check out when I move to LA in August 🙂
Ugh that sandwich looks AMAZINGGGG!
One thing I miss about being gluten free is the super soft seedy bread :(. No more gigantic veggie sandwiches slathered with hummus and avocado 🙁
I’ve noticed you are eating wheat quite frequently now. Is it okay for your stomach? I hope it is! Life without bread is real sad 😛
Looks like an awesome restaurant!
that is a HECK of a sandwich. I would jump right into it if it was sitting right in front of me. Tell the owner to come open up a restaurant in Denver!
i have been eating wheat in bread and pasta form a bit more lately. im still committed to eating wheat without other fodmaps groups so i have some days that are just okay as opposed to the elimination days that feel awesome. but i love bread so much. its the more processed forms of fructans that i really cant do anymore. my bar stash has basically gone to kyle…
how fun! where in la are you moving??
This place looks like my kind of place. The sandwich alone would make it worth the drive.