Does it seem lately like everyone you know is plopping butter in their coffee, brewing up homemade bone broth, or refusing steak that wasn’t grass-fed? A huge number of San Franciscans claim to be on the Paleolithic diet (or Paleo for short), but there are surprisingly few places that serve locally-made Paleo meals. Here are a few options and resources for those of you on the caveman diet:
Mission Heirloom Garden Cafe
The Bay Area’s first overtly Paleo-friendly restaurant doesn’t actually exist yet; it’s coming this fall. East Bay Express reveals that Mission Heirloom Garden Cafe plans to open in September at 2085 Vine Street in Berkeley, and owners Yrmis Barroeta and Bobby Chang are currently selling meals for pickup in Berkeley and delivery in San Francisco. Meals have no GMO ingredients, gluten, sugar, grains, legumes, or refined oils, and are prepared using non-plastic or aluminum tools that do not introduce toxins. That means fare like jerk goat meatballs with Savoy cabbage and padron pepper sauce, heirloom tomato consommé with summer vegetables and petite garden herbs, and butterscotch and Tuscan melon with local sea succulents.
Caveman Bowls
Mission Heirloom has instantly helped to fill a relative local void for prepared Paleo meals, but the company isn’t totally alone in the market. Caveman Bowls is largely marketed to the Crossfit community, delivering to fitness centers throughout the Bay Area. Each week, there are three options of entrees; recent choices include beef Stroganoff, black pepper garlic pork, and Cajun chicken.
Zenbelly
Zenbelly specializes in corporate catering, but also does plenty of outreach to real people. Chef Simone Sifnadel hosts frequent Paleo pop-up dinners, where she whips up dishes such as Moroccan-spiced bone in pork chop (which she gets from Fallon Hills ranch in Marin); PEI mussels with white wine, garlic, grass-fed butter, and tallow fries; and pumpkin panna cotta.
Paleo Resources
Finding and cooking ancestral-friendly foods at home can be a challenge for even the most dedicated, but local blogs Nom Nom Paleo and Grok Grub both offer beautiful recipes that aren’t all intimidating. There are also regular Paleo Meetup groups in San Francisco and Oakland, where you’re bound to find some good ideas and advice.
[Photo via Thinkstock]
Got a tip for The Bold Italic? Email tips@thebolditalic.com.