A couple of Paleo Diet-loving caterers, Yrmis Barroeta and Bobby Chang, are opening their first restaurant in Berkeley in September, and it will serve those "bulletproof" lattes with butter in place of milk. As the East Bay Express reports, it's going to be called Mission Heirloom Garden Cafe, named for their catering company Mission Heirloom, and the menu will be gluten-free, grain-free, olive oil-free, and soy-free.
The restaurant is opening at 2085 Vine Street, the former home of Vegi Food Chinese, and the chefs promise not to be too "preachy" in their approach to Paleo cooking.
This should be a boon for all avid Paleo dieters, especially those who live in the East Bay, but there are a couple of details that are slightly disconcerting for those of us who may not be trying to live such a stringent, meaty lifestyle: Barroeta says she's not much of a foodie, and Chang has a molecular gastronomy background, which can sometimes spell trouble.
But let's give these fine folks the benefit of the doubt! And the dishes do indeed look tasty. They're aiming for an early September opening, but if you can't wait that long, you can order some stuff to try from the catering operation.
Update: The team alerts us to a few clarifications, which we'll share with you here.
While our food is all suitable for the Paleo diet, we are not strictly a "Paleo" restaurant. We simply aim to provide delicious, beautiful meals for people who have a range of eating preferences and dietary restrictions. Also, neither Barroeta or Chang are caterers we're running a meal delivery service out of the kitchen right now, and doing a little catering, but our main aim is to get the restaurant up and running. We have a chef who has a background in molecular gastronomy, but he's more focused on maximizing flavor as well as nutrition in each dish... Finally, our food isn't going to be olive oil-free. We are part icular i n how we use olive oil (we don't generally cook with it), but we love using it in vinaigrettes and to finish soups.
