Dr. Greene’s Organic Journey

Organic Find(s) Part 3

Not all great organic restaurants are “high end”.  In fact another of my Bay Area favorites is very reasonably priced.  Hidden City Café serves breakfast and lunch for around $8.50 per person.  They have a wide variety of organic dishes on the menu, which changes seasonally.

It’s a little hard to find (truly hidden), small (so you may have to wait on a busy weekend morning), and can be chilly (so wear layers), but certainly a great organic find. 

We live in the East and this little find is perfect for breakfast or lunch meetings (for business or pleasure) with people from the Marin side of the Bay.  In fact, my extended family is from the North Bay so we met at Hidden City Café this year for Father’s Day Brunch.

Their address is 109 Park Place, Point Richmond, CA and their phone number is (510) 232-9738.  You’ll want reservations on the weekend and tell them “Dr. Greene sent you!”.

Organic Find(s) Part 2

Since I live in the San Francisco area I’m very familiar with Bay Area restaurants. I apologize in advance if this list is San Francisco-centric, but since it’s a great place to visit (and do business) you may have an opportunity to check out several of these hot spots, even if you don’t live in the area.

Three of my favorite eateries are owned by the amazing Jesse Cool. Cool Café, located on the Stanford University campus inside the Cantor Center for the Arts, JZCool in downtown Menlo Park, and Flea Street Café also in Menlo Park.

The setting for the Cool Café is one-of-a kind. You can dine on an outdoor patio (weather permitting) over looking original Rodin sculptures. Great food with many organic dishes available and the settling will blow you away. It’s a little tough to find, but well worth the hunt -- 328 Lomita Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94305, They have limited hours of operation so call for hours and directions -- 650-725-4758.

JZCool was recently re-invented as a Jazz and small plates foodery. We attended the jammed-packed opening and hope to go back often for the great food and music. It’s located at 827 Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Call for hours -- 650-325-3665.

Jessie’s fine dinning establishment is Flea Street Café, located at 3607 Alameda de las Pulgas Menlo Park, CA 94025. In case you don’t know "las pulgas" means "the fleas". Fortunately we’ve never seen fleas anywhere near The Flea Street Café", but we have had some amazing organic meals there. It’s and hour from our home, but my family took me there for my birthday last year – it’s that special! Call ahead for reservations -- 650 854-1226 and be sure to tell them Dr. Greene sent you.

Organic Find(s)

There are a lot of lists of great restaurants available online.  My favorite is The Chef’s Collaborative.  They specialize in fresh, local, sustainable restaurants.  Many of the chefs listed on this site use organic ingredients whenever possible.  Before I go to any of these restaurants (really before I go to any restaurant) I call ahead to see if they have organic options on the menu for the date I want to visit.  Some do.  Some do not.

Over the last two years (yep, I will have been exclusively eating organic, wild, and home grown foods for two years on Oct. 17!) I’ve discovered a host of amazing places.  To celebrate my two year anniversary I’m going to spend the month highlighting some of my favorites.  These are in no particular order – except when I find them in my notes as I go back in time, so come back often to get the whole list!

Let’s start with one of the highlights from the last two years – Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur, California.  Last year Cheryl and I attended the Organic Farming Research Foundation fund raising dinner that was held at Lark Creek Inn.  The evening was lovely, the food was great, but this story doesn’t stop there.  That night we bid on and won “An Organic Evening at Lark Creek Inn” in the silent auction.  Just a few weeks ago we used the “Organic Evening” to celebrate my new book coming out. 

WOW! Chef Erica Holland-Toll and the entire staff absolutely amazed us.  The atmosphere was elegant, the service was top notch, and the food was fabulous.  This was one of the finest dinning experiences I’ve had in my entire life – organic or otherwise!

Call ahead to make reservations (415 924-7766), ask about organic foods for the evening you want to visit, and tell them Dr. Greene sent you!