In search of... "Healthy", Westside restaurant for an early Sat. night dinner

[J.L.]

Hi gang,

My friend is a registered dietitician (R.D.), and likes "healthy" restaurants.

We & our spouses are having an early dinner in a few weeks on a Saturday. Please help us pick a place.

Westside preferred. Maybe one of the places at Farmer's Market on Fairfax & 3rd?

I refuse to have sushi with a R.D. anymore - Because during last dinner, the conversation went something like... "Oh, did you know that has a lot of mercury?" "Yes, as a matter of fact I do, but I like how it tastes" (frowns all around, followed by awkward moment)

I like to eat "not as healthily" (as many of you on the board probably know by now), so I'd rather not do M Cafe de Chaya (again). I hope my taste buds don't have to "take one for the team" on this dinner...

Please help!

As always - Thanks in advance!

[bigipps]

Two of the three I was going to suggest have already been mentioned. A Voltre Sante and Jack Sprats Grill. You might also check out Kay & Dave's, which is a healthy mexican place. They also have a location further west by the Brentwood Contry Mart.

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Kay 'n Dave's Cantina
10543 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

[Phurstluv]

Kay 'n Dave's is for people who think they like Mexican, but it has absolutely NO FLAVOR. Everything I have gotten there, always tastes the same. BLAH!

[Senor Popusa]

Tender Greens is a great healthy option. Its in Culver City and delicious.

Healthy does not necessarily = vegetarian.

My sister is an RD and she is a big fan of the Nook in West LA as well as Tender Greens. Beacon in Culver City is a tasty and healthy spot.

[westsidegal]

healthy, may not =vegetarian, but it certainly does = eschewing loads of saturated fat.
also, we know that this particular person is suspicious/cautious about the mercury content of fish.
if the friend likes M Cafe de Chaya, and is suspicious about fish, it's reasonable to deduct that the person likes low-fat vegetarian food.

even though many on this board are fans of nook,
i certainly have not been served great food there:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/645463

[westsidegal]

shamshiri grill offers a lot of options that would appeal to someone who is oriented toward healthful food.
lots of their starters work well and they have an entire section of their menu dedicated to vegetarian food. brown rice is available and they will substitute it for their basmati rice and are willing to make many of their specialty rice dishes with it as well.
their dolmas are stuffed with a lentil mixture instead of the oily white rice that is traditional to greek food ( lentils are more healthful than is white rice),
their asch soup is vegetarian and is very delicious.
i like their hummous too.
their made-to-order bread appears to have some whole grain flour in it and is fantastic.
dishes such as vegetarian gormeh sabzi would probably do well with your friend.
also, i have them make their specialty rice dish, adas polo, using brown rice and it's terrific.

[westsidegal]

the last time i was there, metro cafe had a very decent vegetarian entree option and the have a number of very good starters that work for vegetarians.

[mollyomormon]

does RD = vegetarian?

[westsidegal]

rd = registered dietician.
most certainly most dietitians are not vegetarians, but in this case we were given some additional information that makes it seem like this particular dietician is partial to vegetarian food.

[wienermobile]

You might like Paul Martin's American Bistro in El Segundo. The food is local and organic and very tasty.

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Paul Martin's American Bistro
2361 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 180, El Segundo, CA 90245

[westsidegal]

i just looked at their online dinner menu.
not too many dietitians i know would be comfortable with that menu.
yes it may be local/orgainic, but it is extremely focused on saturated fat.
it would seem to me that if the dietitian likes m cafe de chaya, she's not likely to enjoy Paul Martin's.

[Mattapoisett in LA]

Akasha in Culver City has a wonderful selection of things that run the gamut from Quinoa salads to Beer braised short ribs. I believe everything there is sourced locally which is a plus.

If you want something a little more downscale and closer to mid city try Bloom Cafe on Pico or their sister restaurant Chic Wine Bar, which is across the street, are very good options for that.

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Bloom Cafe
5544 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019

Akasha
9543 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

Chic
5545 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019

[Emme]

Was going to suggest Akasha as well.

It's not Westside, but if you were looking into Farmers' Market, Mani's is right there on Fairfax. They have lots of healthy stuff, but some heartier stuff as well.

In Santa Monica, there's Kreation Kafe that's organic on Montana Ave.

Is A Votre Sante in Brentwood too healthy for your palate?

[westsidegal]

second the recommendation of A Votre Sante.

[BestBurgerLA]

I third the recommendation for A Votre Sante. Just went here for the first time on Sunday night (Feb 2010). It was PACKED, but we still ended up getting seated in 10-15 minutes. The Southwestern Salad was delicious and we had the Chips and Guac to start. Everything on the menu looked healthy and fresh!

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A Votre Sante
13016 San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049

[ElissaInPlaya]

I completely agree with Akasha or Bloom. I also like westsidegal's recommendation of Shamshiri Grill. I would also add Chaya Los Angeles to this mix; it also has a lovely space.

[mollyomormon]

What about somewhere like Wilshire?
http://www.wilshirerestaurant.com/pag...

[Servorg]

Have you ever been to Jack Sprat's http://jackspratsgrille.com/ on Pico & Overland across from the mall? It would probably be the kind of place that would alleviate your RDA (Registered Dietician Anxiety)... ;-D>

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Jack Sprat's Grille
10668 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

[Servorg]

Just to update this post. Jack Sprat's has been replaced by a restaurant called "Six" (or The Six maybe). We have been once and liked both the beef burger, which consisted of onion rings maytag blue cheese thousand island butter lettuce tomato $10 - and a special with rigatoni, mozzarella, ricotta, sausage and ground beef done as a ragu. I likened this dish to an unconstructed lasagna.

http://thesixrestaurant.com/