A True Experience
Dinner last night at True Food Kitchen, adjacent to Macy’s in the newly renovated Broadway Plaza. I’ve lived here since Macy’s was Capwells and the paseo between stores was a street. Progress never stops–who knows what the place will be like in another 50 years. Right now it looks pretty darned good, all fresh and well lit.
The experience begins with parking–and the new garage is simply the nicest garage I’ve ever been in. Each stall has a light hanging above it, red for an occupied space and green for a vacant one. Arrows on each aisle tell the number of available spaces.The whole place is well lit, clean, airy and free for the first 3 hours.
True Food Kitchen is a large establishment, with a very loud interior and a much quieter, more pleasant, very well heated outdoor dining area. We ate outdoors and completely enjoyed it, with the overhead heaters making a chilly evening delightful.
The restaurant is part of a burgeoning national chain, co-founded by Dr. Andrew Weil, one of those guys you see on PBS talking about eating healthy and living the good life. True Food Kitchen goes right along with the program–the food they serve is all organic, fresh and healthy. Except for the booze, but that’s how you pay the bills.
Sierra Nevada IPA, the real money maker.
We started with the edamame dumplings–like ravioli stuffed with smooshed up soy beans, in a flavorful broth.
We were there to have dinner with our friend Daphne, and the two grown-up people who carry her around everywhere, Becky and John.
Miss Daphne with her trusty attendant, Becky.
Daphne decided to have a pizza from the kids menu. It’s not quite what you get at Fat Slice, but it was definitely a good dinner for the little one.
Lucky for me, Daphne shares.
I had the fish tacos. These are some darn good tacos, although a bit on the bland side–and when a sissy like me says they’re bland, you know they need some zip. Fortunately, the tacos come with a side of beans, which are muy picante, so a tiny dab of beans in the taco brought about the perfect spiciness.
There are some big pieces of nameless white fish here.
Gail and Becky both had the lasagna. This is not a dish that lends itself to lovely presentations, although they both spoke highly about the quality of their meal.
I wish lasagna looked better.
The dessert menu left me cold. There is such a thing as too hip, too cool, too California touchy-feely woo woo. I don’t want squash pie. I can’t even imagine what chia seed pudding is like. Can anyone tell me what an Apple Goji crisp is? I eat out very often, am open to lots of different things, have a pretty good knowledge of food and menus. If these offerings baffle me, what do they do to ordinary mortals?
Prices are moderate/high. Service was first rate, with servers well trained to explain the quirky and exotic menu items. The high volume of the interior dining area would preclude me from eating there, but the outdoor area was quite pleasant. Give True Food Kitchen a try, maybe you’ll end up healthier. Let me know if you find out what chia pudding tastes like.
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