If you're a Real Foodie, and especially if you've been one for a while, you've probably scoped out some restaurants near you that serve healthy, REAL foods for those times when you want a night out, or you're away from home and need to eat out. If so, PLEASE TELL US ABOUT IT – I need your help because establishments like these deserve to be well-known! I'll update this list as I get more information from all of you, even if you come upon this post long after it was put up, please keep commenting so more info can be added all the time…
No matter where you are, please tell us what you know:
- The name of your city.
- The name of the establishment serving Real Food (or drink). Note: this doesn't mean everything they serve is all sparkly (kind of like at home!), but just that they are making a pretty good effort.
- What do you know about them that made you want to let others know?
- Their website if possible.
(By the way, do you need help eating healthy in a restaurant? This resource will help!)
BY CITY OR STATE (alphabetized):
- Boise, Idaho
- Bittercreek Alehouse (From Raine: They serve local, sustainable food as much as possible. The owner, Dave Krick, makes a concerted effort to offer local cheeses, grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, pasture-raised poultry and eggs. He is also on the board of a new non-profit organization working to bring local to the forefront of our valley’s consciousness – Think Boise First.)
- Boston, MA
- Grezzo (From Michelle: High-end raw food restaurant in Boston’s North End)
- Other Side Cafe (Also from Michelle: They serve relatively inexpensive vegetarian/vegan/raw vegan food to hipsters.) Note/FYI from Kelly – I believe raw food is very nutritious, and although we don't eat meat at every meal, I'm not a fan of vegetarian/vegan diets.
- Find more places that serve Real Food in Boston in the post from Alex Lewin.
- CALIFORNIA
- Los Angeles
- San Diego
- The Linkery (From Michele: This place is AMAZING. Everything on their menu is local, pastured, organic. As a result of their commitment to local, the menu changes daily. Anything that is prepared is made in-house, from the fermented sauerkraut to the fermented soy sauce. They use every part of the animal and you can get things like chicken liver po'boys (delicious, I had one!) and chili made from grassfed beef heart. They make their own sausages (hence the name The Linkery) and offer different ones every week or so. They cure their own meats too and one time I had a Reuben where EVERYTHING was made in house, from the grass fed, house made corned beef, house made sauerkraut, house made rye bread, you get the idea. The veggies are out of this world too, lots of heirloom varieties. And for dessert you have to try their Lardo ice cream sandwich, the “Lardo” ice cream is made with, yes, lard from pastured pigs and is ridiculously delicious. Oh, and they also offer craft beers and wines, including cask offerings they make in house that are “raw” and unpasteurized.)
- The Market in Del Mar (From Sheri)
- Ki's (Also from Sheri)
- Rimel's Rotisserie (Also from Sheri)
- San Francisco/Bay Area
- Chez Panisse (Cheeseslave: owned by Alice Waters – this is probably my all-time favorite in CA)
- Bread Workshop (From Erica: A lesser known restaurant/small cafe that serves local, pasture-raised, organic and sustainable food. For $7.50, a great price by Berkeley standards, you can get a grass-fed burger with delicious potatoes, veggies, a homemade pickle and homemade ketchup. They also have a grass-fed bison burger, grass-fed steak sandwich, and numerous other tempting and healthful options, though I have to confess that I haven’t explored many — I usually order the burger because it’s so good!)
- Saul's Deli (From Caroline: It's about a block from Chez Panisse – a kosher-style deli with local, pastured beef for everything but their pastrami and corned beef. The local ranch doesn't have enough supply. They get it from Niman, which sources from family farms, and while cows live part of their lives on pasture, they're grain finished. They are antibiotic and hormone free. At least seasonally they have real unpasteurized lacto-fermented pickles and pickled green tomatoes, and I believe their saurkraut is also unpasteurized, though it is often heated up for many sandwiches. I don't know about when cukes aren't in season. They also get much of their produce from local small farms, often heirlooms, often organic or unsprayed.)
- Santa Monica
- Josie (Cheeseslave: Chef Josie Le Balch – we go here a lot)
- Venice
- Joe's Restaurant (Cheeseslave: my fave brunch in the city)
- Library Ale House (Cheeseslave: can’t vouch for all their food but they did just announce on Twitter that they are serving grass-fed beef from J&J Ranch, a local sustainable farm.)
- West Hollywood
- O!Burger (Cheeseslave: haven’t been to this place yet – grass-fed beef, all organic fast food in West Hollywood)
- Charleston, SC
- Mustard Seed (Hugging the Coast says: One of the few vegetarian friendly restaurants in this BBQ mecca.) My disclaimer: Although we don't eat meat at every meal, I'm not a fan of vegetarian/vegan diets.
- FLORIDA
- Food & Thought – Naples, FL (From Lauren: This is a market/restaurant and I personally have never eaten at the restaurant (I LOVE the market!), but the restaurant is constantly getting rave reviews PLUS they serve real food!!!)
- GEORGIA
- Atlanta, GA (& surrounding areas)
- 5 Seasons Brewing – (From Debbie: We've eaten there a couple of times and it was great – I had fried duck livers for my appetizer the last time. From their website: “5 Seasons celebrates the connection between each other, our food, and the Earth. We’re passionate about serving local produce, all -natural meats, and artisanal cheeses. We bake each of our breads and make everything else — all of our demi-glace, salad dressings, pommes frites, ice creams and sorbets. As part of a sustainable, natural cycle, we add our brewer’s spent grain to our home-baked bread and share the rest with a local organic farm, where it is composted to grow our vegetables.“)
- Cakes and Ale – Decatur, GA (From Stacey: serve local, seasonal, sustainably-raised REAL FOOD. I’ve only eaten there once, but it was awesome. At their website you can drool over the menu yourself.)
- Farmhouse at Serenbe – Palmetto, GA (Also from Stacey: A farm-to-table southwest of Atlanta rumored to be very good.)
- 61 Main – Jasper, GA (From Bill & Judy Harvey: 61 Main is across from the Pickens County courthouse, and Jasper is located about an hour’s drive north of Atlanta in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. You can read their story on the homepage of their web site. My wife and I along with friends eat there regularly…usually on Thursdays when all of their bottles of wine are half price!)
- Atlanta, GA (& surrounding areas)
- Grand Rapids, MI (& surrounding areas)
- Bistro Bellavita – Grand Rapids, MI (All dishes from scratch, buy from local organic farm. This has been one of our favorites for years, even before we cared about Real Food, and now we love it even more!) Read about our dreamy dinner there with friends, and later about my night out with the girls.
- Frenz Coffee House – Rockford, MI (No HFCS in their syrups, filtered water, fair trade/organic coffee, minimum preservatives in bakery products – he says people aren't willing to pay more for higher quality baked goods yet.) (Read a guest interview with the owner, Rich.)
- The Green Well – Grand Rapids, MI (There is a neat video at their site where you can watch how your food makes its way from the farm to the table.)
- Madcap Coffee Company – Grand Rapids, MI (From Sonia: Direct trade coffees, which are even better than fair trade, they use Mooville Milk-non homogenized, and sweeten drinks with raw honey or agave nectar, they sell locally made baked goods. I had a steamer with raw honey and a dash of cinnamon…the best warm drink I have ever had!)
- Marie Catribs – Grand Rapids, MI (All dishes from scratch, buy from local organic farm.) Read my post, “Everyone loves Marie Catribs!”
- Reds on the River – Rockford, MI (All dishes from scratch, buy from local organic farm.) Read about when I took Chef Glenn's class on making homemade stocks!
- INDIANA
- Third Coast Spice – Chesterton, IN (From Lola: The owner is a trained chef and has a spice company as well that caters to restaurants. This is a segment that was written about the restaurant online: The objective is to offer as many trans-fat-free, all-natural, no MSG (monosodium glutamate), locally produced, organic, minimally processed, fair trade products as possible, while appealing to the average consumer,” Woodrich said. The cafe also is family friendly, with step stools in the bathrooms for kids, coloring books and kid sized portions and healthy choices. The owners also hope to keep their restaurant’s carbon footprint to a minimum with a giant recycling trash bin, automatic light switches in the restrooms, hands-free faucets, low energy lightbulbs and environmentally friendly carry-out packages. I really want to check this out for myself.)
- KANSAS
- Blue Bird Bistro – Kansas City, KS (From Kara: serve a lot of organics and as much local food as possible.)
- Local Burger – Lawrence, KS (Also from Kara: All real food – lots of different burgers from elk to bison to beef. And mostly local food, too. I’m told they’re going to open a location in Kansas City soon, too.)
- Freestate Brewery – Lawrence, KS (From Natalie: They use local produce in their food whenever possible. The last time I was there, I had butternut ravioli – to die for and made with local butternut squash. Their dessert was also made with local sweet potato (sweet potato pie). They also brew their own beer.)
- MICHIGAN (see above for just the Grand Rapids area)
- Corner Brewery – Ypsilanti, MI (From Freeman: “They've expanded their menu, including burgers made from ‘100% free-range, grass-fed beef raised in Michigan without the use of antibiotics or hormones.' Much of their veggies are also sourced locally, through the local food co-op and Growing Hope, a non-profit dedicated to promoting gardening and healthy food access. Oh, and they brew some mighty fine beer.“)
- Home Grown Organic Eatery – Traverse City, MI
- Trattoria Stella – Traverse City, MI (From Jen: “I’ve only been once, but the next time I’m in Traverse City, I will definitely be going back. It’s definitely a good pick for a special night out–great location in the basement of the old state assylum/sanitorium (who’d have thought it could look so stylish?!), great service, and even better: locally sourced real food that tastes amazing.”)
- Harborview Grill – Whitehall, MI (From Laura: They serve real food and much of it is local and organic. It's served nicely and there's a great view. They're not open Jan & Feb.)
- Mia and Grace – Muskegon, MI (Also from Laura: Another treasure. They are a beautiful Bistro with real, organic and local fare. They are also a bakery with fresh offerings daily – their carrot cake is to-die-for.)
- Zingermans – Ann Arbor, MI (Info from Holly at Healthy Eats Here)
- Minneapolis, MN
- See this post from Psychic Lunch about Ecopolitan
- New Orleans, LA
- Bayona (Cheeseslave: Chef Susan Spicer)
- New York City, NY
- Blue Hill Farm (From Morgan: I was surprised to see that no one in NYC has mentioned Blue Hill, the local food restaurant where the Obamas recently dined.)
- Gust Organics (Also from Morgan: NYC's first 100% USDA organically certified restaurant, and the first USDA organically certified bar (they have great basil martinis) in the country. Argentinian inspired food.)
- Green Symphony Market (From Michelle: Buffet of vegetarian and vegan options, salad bar, smoothies and tea. Very reasonable prices.) Note/FYI from Kelly – Although we don't eat meat at every meal, I'm not a fan of vegetarian/vegan diets.
- Le Bernardin (Cheeseslave: Chef Eric Ripert; got to eat here for my birthday last year – AMAZING!)
- Community Food & Juice (From THRocks via Twitter: I found a great restaurant in NYC for healthy, organic foods!)
- OKLAHOMA
- The Earth Deli – Norman, OK in the Campus Corner area (From Jessie: They are mostly vegetarian, but they serve local organic produce, antibiotic-free turkey, and sprouted bread on request. Also fair-trade organic coffee, and a great selection of bottled kombucha. Mmmm… Now I want to go there for lunch!)
- Seattle, WA (& surrounding areas)
- Lunchbox Laboratory (Cheeseslave: grass-fed burgers — delicious!)
- Tilth Restaurant – Wallingord, WA (From Annette: The food is amazing, certified organic and made from regional artisan suppliers. They even have a blogroll featuring their local producers. I highly recommend!)
- Green Go Food – Ballard, WA (From Gena at Girl Gone Domestic: Just found a great little healthy fast food place – they are a family owned restaurant/catering business, that supports local and sustainable agriculture. The meat they use is organic grass finished from a local ranch. The veggies they use are in season and local, so their menu is ever changing and they are eco-friendly as well. They also serve their food at a few of the Farmer’s Markets in the area too. I actually just blogged about my visit. The most delicious bacon cheeseburger…and no guilt!)
- Springfield, MO
- Farmer's Gastropub – (From Holly: There is a new restaurant called the Farmer's Gastropub I think. It's at 431 S. Jefferson, uses fresh local food and is so good!)
- TEXAS
- (From Jen Z.: There are several TX restaurants listed at https://burgundypasturebeef.com/public_wheretobuy.php that use grass-fed beef from one of our area producers (one in the Dallas area and the rest in/near Ft. Worth).
- UTAH
- Real Foods Market – Orem, UT (From Sheree: They sell organic stuff and they also own a farm in I think Midway or Heber City, so they sell raw milk, grass fed beef, pastured eggs at the market. There's also a deli in there that has soup, sandwiches, etc. They also have chicken stock you can buy in quart containers. I was able to oder 1/4 beef. I'm so lucky that its close to home.)
- Washington, D.C.
- Restaurant Nora (From Carissa: America’s first certified organic restaurant!)
- Winooski, VT
- Sneakers Bistro (From Natalie: They serve creative, healthy dishes. Especially their breakfast – always with REAL Vermont Maple Syrup. You will not be disappointed by this place. They even make their own english muffins.)
BY CHAIN:
- Chipotle / Nationwide (Fresh ingredients, they serve meat from good sources, etc.) Read my post about Chipotle from last year. ***Also, read more info about them in the comments below regarding the meat they serve.
- Let’s Be Frank Hot Dogs (Cheeseslave: both San Francisco & LA — grass fed hot dog stands — one of the owners used to work at Chez Panisse)
- ONaturals / ME, AZ, KS, MA (Find locations and read more about them at the link – thanks to Vicky for the tip!)
- Three Tomatoes Trattoria / Vermont (From Natalie: One of my favorites. They serve Italian food with local cheese, meats, and more. They serve locally brewed beer also.)
Lavinia says
I really like this place: https://www.barneyshamburgers.com/
All of their beef is from Niman Ranch, which sources from small sustainable farms. It’s not fully pasture raised, but the cows spend a lot of time outdoors and are partially pasture fed. They make all of their sauces and salad dressing in house, and have a lot of vegetables on the menu. I don’t think any of it is organic, which is unfortunate but there are no preservatives in any of the food they serve (except the ketchup, which is Heinz). They aren’t perfect, but they seem to be making some effort to be sustainable and healthy. And there’s a ton of options for burgers, including salmon, chicken, turkey, and veggie. I still need to find out where they’re poultry an fish come from.
Erin C says
I live in WV and, sadly, we have VERY few decent restaurants. However, there is a “better than usual” place called Huntington Prime (https://www.huntingtonprime.com/) The menu changes with the seasons and a lot of the food is from local sources.
William Brennan says
Honey Cafe.
Glen Ellyn, IL.
https://honeycafe.net/
“offers modern comfort food with a conscience”
William Brennan says
Salt of the Earth.
Fennville, MI.
https://www.saltoftheearthfennville.com/
local, seasonal sourcing. house bakery. They even make their own ketchup!!
holly says
For those in Springfield, MO: There is a new restaurant called the Farmer’s Gastropub I think. It’s at 431 S. Jefferson, uses fresh local food and is so good!
JenZ says
There are several TX restaurants listed at https://burgundypasturebeef.com/public_wheretobuy.php that use grass-fed beef from one of our area producers (one in the Dallas area and the rest in/near Ft. Worth).
In addition, they have their own store where they sell delicious grass-fed burgers made from their own meat – Burgundy Boucherie, Grandview, TX (https://burgundypasturebeef.com/public_store.php).
Alex Lewin says
I did a blog post (before I knew you!) about restaurants serving some version of “real food” in Boston:
https://feedmelikeyoumeanit.blogspot.com/2009/06/boston-area-restaurants-serving-real.html
I include a fair bit of discussion beforehand about the issues.
Hope this is useful.
Bill Harvey says
Hi Kelly…I included the following information in an email I sent to you earlier. I wasn’t sure exactly how to get a restaurant added to your list…thanks again…Bill.
Hi Kelly
natalie says
Vermont is ALIVE with Farm-to-table restaurants, sustainable community support and the Vermont Fresh Network:
One of my favorites: https://www.threetomatoestrattoria.com/home.php Serving Italian food with local cheese, meats, and more. Serving locally brewed beer also.
“The Vermont Fresh Network encourages farmers, food producers and chefs to work directly with each other to build partnerships. Building these regional connections contributes to stronger local communities and their economies.”
Click on this link for a LONG list of Vermont restaurants (and farmers – but, it’s the best list I could find that included the restaurants) in the Vermont Fresh Network: https://www.vermontfresh.net/members.php
This is also a vermont fav or mine: https://www.sneakersbistro.com/ Serving creative, healthy dishes. Especially their breakfast – always with REAL Vermont Maple Syrup. You will not be disappointed by this place. They even make their own english muffins.
natalie says
Lawrence, KS: Freestate Brewery-using local produce in their food whenever possible. The last time I was there, I had butternut ravioli – to die for and made with local butternut squash. Their dessert was also made with local sweet potato (sweet potato pie). Also brewing their own beer. http://www.freestatebrewing.com
KitchenKop says
Thanks for these new ones, I’ll add the info to the post as soon as I can.
Laura, yours especially caught my eye. Our friends next door (Joe & Meg) have a cottage on Lake Michigan near there (Meg’s parents’ actually) and we get to go out every year, lucky us! We’ll have to try those next time. 🙂
Laura LaMie says
Michigan
Whitehall
The Harborview Grill is great they serve real food and much of it is local and organic. It’s served nicely and there’s a great view. This is their website; they’re not open Jan & Feb.
Muskegon
Mia and Grace is another treasure. They are a beautiful Bistro with real, organic and local fare. They are also a bakery with fresh offerings daily(their carrot cake is to-die-for).
Sheri aka Mom says
We are lucky to have a number of great real food restaurants in San Diego.
The Market in Del Mar, https://www.marketdelmar.com/
Ki’s (they catered my wedding and have my favorite chopped salad 🙂 – https://www.kisrestaurant.com/
Rimmel’s Rotisserie – https://www.rimelsrestaurants.com/rimels/cardiff/
https://www.thelinkery.com/
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.
Sheri
Michele says
In San Diego, California you have to add this restaurant–
The Linkery
http://www.thelinkery.com
3794 30th St.
San Diego, CA
619-255-8778
This place is AMAZING. Everything on their menu is local, pastured, organic. As a result of their commitment to local, the menu changes daily.
Anything that is prepared is made in-house, from the fermented sauerkraut to the fermented soy sauce. They use every part of the animal and you can get things like chicken liver po’boys (delicious, I had one!) and chili made from grassfed beef heart.
They make their own sausages (hence the name The Linkery) and offer different ones every week or so. They cure their own meats too and one time I had a Reuben where EVERYTHING was made in house, from the grass fed, house made corned beef, house made sauerkraut, house made rye bread, you get the idea. The veggies are out of this world too, lots of heirloom varieties. And for dessert you have to try their Lardo ice cream sandwich, the “Lardo” ice cream is made with, yes, lard from pastured pigs and is ridiculously delicious.
Oh, and they also offer craft beers and wines, including cask offerings they make in house that are “raw” and unpasteurized.
Caroline says
No, Chez Panisse and Three Stone Hearth are both in Berkeley (which is right near San Francisco, and in the San francisco bay area.)
Chez Panisse is on Shattuck Ave, and Three Stone Hearth is on University Ave.
Also, Saul’s Delicatessan (about a block from Chez Panisse) is a kosher-style deli with local, pastured beef for everything but their pastrami and corned beef (the local ranch doesn’t have enough supply. They get it from Niman, which sources from family farms, and while cows live part of their lives on pasture, are grain finished. They are antibiotic and hormone free). At least seasonally they have real unpasturized lactofermented pickles and pickled green tomatoes, and I beleive their sourkraut is also unpasturized (though it is often heated up for many sandwiches.) (I don’t know about when cukes aren’t in season.) They also get much of their produce from local small farms, often heirlooms, often organic or unsprayed.
KitchenKop says
Caroline, the places you mentioned, I thought they were in SF, not Berkeley…am I wrong? (Always very possible, probably actually!)
I’ll wait to post those ’til I hear from you. (Or someone who knows.)
Thanks,
Kelly
KitchenKop says
Caroline, I hope you got my email, I’m not sure how I missed your comments before – so sorry!
Jen, I’m going to TC this weekend! I’d loooooooove to go here, but I doubt the family that I’m going with will want to pay for the better food. 🙁
Going to add your links now, thank you!
Jen says
That’s Traverse City, Michigan, for those of you who didn’t catch that. 🙂
Jen says
I’ve only been once, but the next time I’m in Traverse City, I will definitely be going back to Trattoria Stella. It’s definitely a good pick for a special night out–great location in the basement of the old state assylum/sanitorium (who’d have thought it could look so stylish?!), great service, and even better: locally sourced real food that tastes amazing.
Caroline says
oh and Three Stone Hearth in berkeley. Its not a restuarant persay, but a community supported kitchen, but perhaps it should be on your list? Sustainable, local, fresh, and very WAPF (though they do they’re own research, not just following any one author.) Its run by 5 very knowledgeable worker-owners (Including Jessica Prentice, author of Full Moon Feast. The other 4 are equally knowledgeable, though not published). Its delicious, and healthy, and great. Only “take home”, ordered online and picked up either one day or one night a week. If you need a soup, stew, salad, cassarole, or dessert, pickled vegetable, stock, or other foods and ingredients for a reheat only meal that you don’t have to worry a bit about whether its healthy, this is the place to get it. (You can also volunteer in the kitchen in exchange for food, which is a GREAT learning expeirience. The worker-owners and kitchen managers and any more knowledgeable folk are happy to show you how to soak and cook good brown rice, make mayonaise or kombucha, or share their great recipe for yummy healthy soaked granola (admitedly, it’s scaled for 15 lbs of oats, but it gives you an idea of how to make some of your own) People will come by to work for a day on a trip to SF, or come for a week just to work, or apprentice or intern, and work regularly for a longer period of time. (I think a standard apprenticeship is 2 months full time or 4 months half time?)
Caroline
Caroline says
Chez Panisse is in Berkeley, CA. I would say about it:
Downstairs, Alice Waters well known restaurant is an expensive, prix fixe treat I’ve heard. (I must admit, I’ve never been downstairs. keeping kosher as well as eating well, is limiting, though they would probably accommodate me). Upstairs in the “Cafe” (still crazy expensive, but less so), is the real gem. Produce, fish and meat is local, organic, sustainably harvested, and delicious. Alice Waters has been working for local, sustainable, seasonal, community sustaining food for more than 40 years, and Chez Panisse is a part of this. A scrumptious and healthy part. (yeah, I’m a fan, not a saleswoman. Its just so GOOD though lol)
Caroline
Kelly says
Thanks Sheree and Debbie, I’ll add them. 🙂
Morgan, yes we are both going!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait!
Sheree says
In Orem, UT, there’s a place called Real Foods Market. They sell organic stuff and they also own a farm in I think Midway or Heber City, so they sell raw milk, grass fed beef, pastured eggs at the market. There’s also a deli in there that has soup, sandwiches, etc. They also have chicken stock you can buy in quart containers. I was able to oder 1/4 beef. I’m so lucky that its close to home.
Morgan says
I definitely want to see him and others speak at the WAPF Conference in Chicago this November. @kitchenkop @cheeseslave are you attending?
Morgan
Debbie says
If you feel it fits the bill, please include “5 Seasons Brewing” in Atlanta. https://www.5seasonsbrewing.com/ We’ve eaten there a couple of times and it was great (I had fried duck livers for my appetizer the last time.) From their website: 5 Seasons celebrates the connection between each other, our food, and the Earth. We
CHEESESLAVE says
Blue Hill is Chef Dan Barber’s restaurant. He will be speaking at the Weston A. Price Foundation conference this November in Chicago.
CHEESESLAVE
Kelly says
Thanks, Morgan, I’m adding it now!
Kelly
Morgan Polotan says
I was surprised to see that no one in NYC has mentioned Blue Hill, the local food restaurant where the Obamas recently dined: bluehillfarm.com.
Also, GustOrganics (gustorganics.com) is NYC’s first 100% USDA organically certified restaurant, and the first USDA organically certified bar (they have great basil martinis) in the country. Argentinian inspired food.
Kelly says
I’ve added them, thanks guys! 🙂
Raine Saunders says
Hi Kelly. My favorite restaurant in Boise, Idaho is Bittercreek Alehouse. https://www.justeatlocal.com/bittercreek/ They serve local, sustainable food as much as possible. The owner, Dave Krick, makes a concerted effort to offer local cheeses, grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, pasture-raised poultry and eggs. He is also on the board of a new non-profit organization working to bring local to the forefront of our valley’s consciousness – Think Boise First.
Raine Saunders
freeman says
Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti, MI recently expanded their menu, including burgers made from “100% free-range, grass-fed beef raised in Michigan without the use of antibiotics or hormones.” Much of their veggies are also sourced locally, through the local food co-op and Growing Hope, a non-profit dedicated to promoting gardening and healthy food access.
Oh, and they brew some mighty fine beer.
Sustainable Eats says
We just went back to Tilth Sat night and had – get this – SWEET BREADS! I had to try them because I had read about them in NT. They were really good! I’d get them again but I don’t know that I would fix them myself. It sounds like a ton of work.
Sustainable Eats
Kelly says
Gena, that place sounds great! I’ll add it, thank you!
Girl Gone Domestic says
Just found a great little healthy fast food place in Ballard (Seattle) WA, its called Green Go Food. They are a family owned restaurant/catering business, that supports local and sustainable agriculture. The meat they use is organic grass finished from a local ranch. The veggies they use are in season and local, so their menu is ever changing and they are eco-friendly as well. They also serve their food at a few of the Farmer’s Markets in the area too. I actually just blogged about my visit. The most delicious bacon cheeseburger…and no guilt!
Girl Gone Domestic
Hugging the Coast says
Charleston, SC a hotbed of good eats. Alas, few of them are healthy . (Except in the healthy-sized portions kind of way!)
One that stands out is Mustard Seed, one of the few vegetarian friendly restaurants in this BBQ mecca.
Hugging the Coast
Kelly says
I’m finally getting time to add your suggestions to the post, look for them soon, and I hope more people will continue to add more for our list!
Lolaloves13 says
Ok, I think I found one that is worth posting in Chesterton, Indiana. It is Third Coast Spice. I few of my friends mentioned that “I would love it”. The owner is a trained chef and has a spice company as well that caters to restaurants.
This is a segment that was written about the restaurant online:
The objective is to offer as many trans-fat-free, all-natural, no MSG (monosodium glutamate), locally produced, organic, minimally processed, fair trade products as possible, while appealing to the average consumer,” Woodrich said.
The cafe also is family friendly, with step stools in the bathrooms for kids, coloring books and kid sized portions and healthy choices.
The owners also hope to keep their restaurant’s carbon footprint to a minimum with a giant recycling trash bin, automatic light switches in the restrooms, hands-free faucets, low energy lightbulbs and environmentally friendly carry-out packages. I really want to check this out for myself. Tommorrow!
Lolaloves13 says
There has got to be someone that knows of some good restaurants in Chicago! I am in Northwest Indiana and would love to be excited about going out to eat again! 🙂
Kim @ Forever Wherever says
I love Chipolte! Thanks for the information. I think it’s a great idea to have a list of places from all over. Thanks for sharing!
~Kim
Kim @ Forever Wherever
Ginger says
Such a nice idea. Hope some pop up in my area soon.
Ginger
Alison says
@Stacey,
Hey, my family has driven past Cakes and Ale several times but I never knew that it was a healthy type restaurant. Unfortunately, my family lives a good 45 minutes away from there.
Carissa says
Restaurant Nora in DC — America’s first certified organic restaurant!
https://www.noras.com/
Kelly says
You guys are awesome – such great responses from you all! I’m still at the hospital with Mom, and I’ll be playing catch-up for a while when I get home, but I’ll get all these added to the post as soon as I can.
Thanks, and I hope more of you will respond too… 🙂
Kelly
Michelle @ What Does Your Body Good? says
Other Side Cafe
Boston, MA
They serve relatively inexpensive vegetarian/vegan/raw vegan food to hipsters.
Grezzo
Boston, MA
High-end raw food restaurant in Boston’s North End
Green Symphony Market
NYC, NY
Buffet of vegetarian and vegan options, salad bar, smoothies and tea. Very reasonable prices.
Michelle @ What Does Your Body Good?
Elisa says
The Little Grill Collective here in Harrisonburg, Virginia is a great place to eat for us foodies 🙂 They buy from local gardeners, bakers and farmers and it’s a very homey atmosphere. Since it’s a collective, all the servers and staff have a vested interest in the satisfaction of their customers. Here’s a link to the website: https://www.littlegrillcollective.com/ And here’s a quick link to their “food facts”: https://www.littlegrillcollective.com/menu/foodfacts.html
I also love that they are involved in several community outreach projects, including a community center and a soup kitchen that they run out of their own kitchens weekly.
Elisa
Stacey says
In Decatur, GA (near Atlanta), Cakes and Ale serves local, seasonal, sustainably-raised REAL FOOD. I’ve only eaten there once, but it was awesome. Here is their website, so you can drool over the menu yourself — http://www.cakesandalerestaurant.com
There’s also a farm-to-table called Farmhouse at Serenbe — it’s southwest of Atlanta, and rumored to be very good. We’re going there for our anniversary. http://www.serenbefarmhouse.com
Stacey
Erica says
In Berkeley, CA we are blessed with an abundance of restaurants that serve local, pasture-raised, organic and sustainable food. One lesser known one that is one of my favorites is a small cafe called Bread Workshop, at 1398 University Avenue (www.bread-workshop.com). For $7.50 (a great price by Berkeley standards) you can get a grassfed burger with delicious potatoes, veggies, a homemade pickle and homemade ketchup. They also have a grassfed bison burger, grassfed steak sandwich, and numerous other tempting and healthful options (though I have to confess that I haven’t explored many — I usually order the burger because it’s so good!).
CHEESESLAVE says
Haha – you got it, Katie! 😀
CHEESESLAVE
Jessie says
Norman, OK (home of the University of Oklahoma) is blessed with The Earth Deli in the Campus Corner area. They are mostly vegetarian, but they serve local organic produce, antibiotic-free turkey, and sprouted bread on request. Also fair-trade organic coffee, and a great selection of bottled kombucha. Mmmm… Now I want to go there for lunch!
(All I could find for them is a MySpace page: https://www.myspace.com/earthnaturalfoods)
TeamBettendorf says
Ann Marie,
Someday we are going to come visit you and go out to eat. 🙂
TeamBettendorf
CHEESESLAVE says
Local Forage did a post on this a while back based on an article in Gourmet on “farm to table” restaurants.
https://www.localforage.com/local_forage/2007/10/americas-best-f.html
If you pay extra and go to a high-end restaurant with a real chef, they’re more likely to be cooking real food — i.e. they make their own stock for soups, bake their own bread make ice cream from scratch, etc. And they tend to shop at the farmer’s markets, not by from Cisco.
Here are some of my faves in California…
SAN FRANCISCO/BAY AREA:
CHEZ PANISSE (Alice Waters – this is probably my all-time favorite in CA)
1517 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA (510-548-5525)
https://www.chezpanisse.com/
LOS ANGELES:
GRACE (my fave restaurant in LA – Chef Neal Fraser won the Iron Chef America!)
7360 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles (323-934-4400)
https://www.gracerestaurant.com/
JOSIE (Chef Josie Le Balch; we go here a lot)
2424 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica (310-581-9888)
https://www.josierestaurant.com/entermain.htm
JOE’S RESTAURANT in Venice (my fave brunch in the city)
https://www.joesrestaurant.com/
A.O.C. (Chef Suzanne Goin; this is probably my 2nd fave in LA — best place to sit is as the cheese bar)
https://www.aocwinebar.com/
Lucques (also Chef Suzanne Goin)
https://www.lucques.com/
Let’s Be Frank Hot Dogs (both San Francisco & LA — grass fed hot dog stands — one of the owners used to work at Chez Panisse)
https://www.letsbefrankdogs.com/
Library Ale House in Venice (can’t vouch for all their food but they did just announce on Twitter that they are serving grass-fed beef from J&J Ranch, a local sustainable farm)
https://www.libraryalehouse.com/index.php
O!Burger (haven’t been to this place yet – grass-fed beef, all organic fast food in West Hollywood)
https://www.oburger.net/
Oh, also here are a couple other restaurants I’ve eaten at outside of CA that are wonderful (and very well sourced — from farmer’s markets, etc.):
NEW ORLEANS
Bayona (Chef Susan Spicer)
https://www.bayona.com/
NEW YORK CITY
Le Bernardin (Chef Eric Ripert; got to eat here for my b-day last year – AMAZING!)
https://www.le-bernardin.com/
SEATTLE
Lunchbox Laboratory (grass-fed burgers — delicious!)
https://www.cheeseslave.com/2008/12/30/grass-fed-burgers-at-lunchbox-laboratory/
I could keep going but I will stop! 🙂
CHEESESLAVE
TeamBettendorf says
Ann Marie, On their site you can check to see what type of meat is served in your area. Only half of their restaurants serve good beef. On the front page they phrase it to sound like half of their beef in any given restaurant is good beef but the true situation is half of their restaurants carry only good beef. MO restaurants carry good beef. 🙂
And I feel ya on the frying oil. I *am* trying to avoid GM oils. I wonder if any of their menu items are oil free. As far as what they feed their animals…ugh…it is SO hard to find animal feed that is non-GMO. Even the folks I buy my pork from and my chicken from and my beef from (while they use non-GMO) could not point *me* toward non-GMO feed for *my* animals. It is unheard of and hard to come by.
That’s why we are buying a discer/cultivator and growing our own. :rolleyes: The quest for good food is not an easy one.
TeamBettendorf
CHEESESLAVE says
Not all of the meat at Chipotle is from good sources. They are working toward that. All of their pork and all of their chicken is humanely raised. But only 50% of their beef.
From their website:
“Since 2001, all of the pork served in our restaurants has been from pigs raised in this humane, ecologically sustainable way. In addition to all of our pork and all of our chicken in the US, more than 50 percent of our beef is naturally raised. And we’ll continue until all of our meats in all of our restaurants meet this standard.
Once again, naturally raised pork at Chipotle means:
Lauren says
The place that I am going to recommend is in Naples, FL and it is called Food and Thought. This is a market/restaurant and I personally have never eaten at the restaurant (I LOVE the market!), but the restaurant is constantly getting rave reviews PLUS they serve real food!!! Here it is:
https://www.foodandthought.com/ourrestaurant.asp
TeamBettendorf says
Oh!!! W have two Chipotles here!! Yea!!!
TeamBettendorf
Kara says
Blue Bird Bistro in Kansas City serves a lot of organics and as much from local farms as possible: https://www.bluebirdbistro.com/
Local Burger in Lawrence, KS has all real food – lots of different burgers from elk to bison to beef. And mostly local food, too. I’m told they’re going to open a location in Kansas City soon too. https://www.localburger.com/
TeamBettendorf says
After living here 18 months I still continue my search for real food here in Springfield, MO. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.
TeamBettendorf
Annette says
My favorite in Seattle is Tilth Restaurant in Wallingord: https://tilthblog.wordpress.com/. The food is amazing, certified organic and made from regional artisan suppliers. They even have a blogroll featuring their local producers. I highly recommend!
Annette