“Meals make the society, hold the fabric together in lots of ways that were charming and interesting and intoxicating to me. The perfect meal, or the best meals, occur
in a context that frequently has very little to do with the food inself.”—the late Anthony Bourdain (See my memorial tribute to him below!)
Since Cecile and I will be leaving for Chicago next week and won’t be around for Father’s Day, we gathered together this mild 79 degree sunny day for a scrumptious Father’s Day brunch at True Food Kitchen in Palo Alto with Michelle and Kyle, Jason and Alex. It was the perfect place to socialize, share a laugh, get caught up and strengthen relationships.
We were escorted to our a table by a young woman with interesting looking green dreadlock extensions that seemed to complement the green movement. True Food Kitchen has received gushing kudos on social media from celebrities like Gweneth Paltrow, Drake and Chris Hemsworth.
Our young male waiter who bore the legend Honest* on his T-shirt took our orders. I had my usual Ancient Greens with Miso glazed sweet potato, turmeric, charred onion, snow peas, grilled portobello, avocado, hemps seed topped with a filet of salmon and a Bright Eyes speciality cold-pressed juice drink that combines apple, ginger, beet, pineapple, turmeric and carrot juice.
True Food Kitchen continues to build up its street creds as the place where “Eating Well is Always in Season.”
Even before it won the 2018 Daily News First Place Reader’s Choice Awards, it was and is, one our favorite eating digs
for healthy eating based on the anti-inflammatory diet of Dr. Andrew Weil, the self-described guru of holistic health. I love the spacious dining areas inside and out and the open kitchen that connects patrons with the culinary craftsmen and craftswomen that prepare the dishes that incorporate “great-tasting ingredients that are at the peak of freshness.”
It appears True Food Kitchen has now taken their popular waiters and waitresses T-shirts that bear legends such as Honest, True, Shine On, and Green Goddess into an online apparel phenomenon for consumers.
After we said our goodbyes to everyone Cecile, Jason and I took some photos together and I couldn’t resist taking photos of the pom pom looking white hydrangeas and other flowers, fountains and bronze sculptures.
Memorial Tribute to Anthony Bourdain:
Cecile and I were heartbroken to hear the news of the suicide death of Anthony Bourdain who once said: “Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride!” One could easily take this out of context. I revere my body as a temple, but what I believe the celebrity chef, author and great story teller meant to say was we should see the world, see how others live their lives, try new things, eat their food, have an open heart and live life to the fullness. It coincides perfectly with all the things I write about on Facebook and my blog: enjoyyourlifenow.net
We had the pleasure of seeing and hearing a talk by Bourdain at the Flint Center at D’Anza College in Cupertino several years ago. The place was packed. We were seated only a few rows back. He was a Jersey boy like me, five years my junior. He was adored by his fans. We recall one overzealous fan stepping on stage and rolling his pant leg up and showing a tattoo of Bourdain. “I’m not sure what to make of that,” he said with an amused and bewildered look on his face. You could tell the witty, provocative star was caught off guard. That being said, His unscripted talk was a delight.
I loved his sense of adventure, his humanity, making himself transparent to the world, sharing his past nearly deadly addiction to heroin as a young man and in the process helped people feel they were not alone in their struggles—whatever they might be. It was President Obama that reached out to CNN to arrange the meeting with Bourdain in Hanoi, Vietnam. He was the person everyone seemed to want to be, who Don Lemon said was more of a journalist that many like himself in the business. Who Cristiane Amounpor said his show went beyond food and travel. He wasn’t afraid to tackle the political hot button places and events of the day during his travels to places like Iran and Israel, Libya and Myanmar (Burma). He strove to understand and help us understand one another’s stories, culture and struggles, believing the best way to do that was over a meal. He willl be missed. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
Photo Credit CNN: Bourdain having a beer and slurping down some noodles with President Obama during a “Parts Unknown” episode in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2016.
