Native Kitchen & Kombucha Bar is plant-based dining for the rest of us. “I like to think of it as nutritious by accident,” says Chef Jasmine Dravis, who recently opened the cafe and bar in downtown Petaluma.
Local honey and cheese from Native Kitchen and Kombucha Bar in Petaluma
Focused on food prepared with a “healing intent”—with gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options as the core of her menu—Dravis doesn’t trade flavor for philosophy, or eschew meat on the menu. Instead, her offerings are a simple mix of seasonal fruits, veggies, grains and meats in a variety of guises.
Start with jalapeño cornbread ($5), a sweet-spicy, gluten-free (gf) wedge with local honey and pepper jam (gf/vegetarian), the Mediterranean pickled vegetable plate ($8) that’s piled with fermented pickles, onions, carrots and red peppers with quinoa tabouleh and hummus (gf/vegan) or seasonal stuffed squash ($9) with arugula and parsley (vegan).
Need something heartier? We loved the Sonoma Cheese Board, with fresh and aged goat cheeses and a jar of local honey ($12) and steak-wrapped veggies (using nearby Thistle Meats’ grass-fed beef). Any of the five salads can be made into wraps or have local chicken or steak added, and larger “skillets” (served in a http://www.thistlemeats.com/, natch) range from chickpea and quinoa chili (vegan, gf) to roasted veggie tacos (vegan, gf) and our favorite dish of the day, sweet corn cakes pan-fried in coconut oil with quinoa and marinated kale salad (vegan, $13).
Local beer, wine and libations are served, along with seasonal cobblers ($7, gf), but Dravis compliments her menu best with kombucha elixirs like the Ginger Mule ($7, non-alcoholic) made from muddled ginger, lime and honer or Spicy Strawberry with house made strawberry basil shrub, OJ and a Cayenne sugar rim. Dravis and her husband are ramping up their own kombucha (a fizzy fermented tea with lots of probiotics) production which will be served on tap in the coming months. Meanwhile, don’t miss Dravis’ tonic teas, steeped herbs specially mixed for whatever ails you, and European digestifs like the cultish Underberg (you get it or you don’t).
With an interior as sunny and warm as a spring day, and hometown vibe that’s purely Petaluma, it’s a perfect spot for a morning juice jump, noontime bite or omnivorous family feast (there are plenty of plates to make the tots happy). Best of all, with a menu full of nutrition-packed foods, you’ll leave feeling better than when you came in.
Native Kitchen and Kombucha Bar, 110 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma, 599-3750, open 10a.m. to 10p.m. daily.
One question I have for the chef, is the meat prepared and grilled on the same cutting boards and grill as the veggies? I ask this because I had a nasty case of food poisoning on Thursday. When eating my vegan meal I found a little piece of chicken in my grilled veggies. This is something to think about if you’re vegan or veg.
Probably not going to draw many vegans but nice to see more of an emphasis in that direction nonetheless. I wish them the best . . .
Nasty vinegary stuff, full of nasty bacteria, very dubious claim. Still, will ensure a good ‘cleanse’.
I don’t subscribe to the whole food as panacea thing (sorry, but kombucha doesn’t cure cancer). But there is plenty of research and common wisdom about how “good” bacteria can help our bodies. Kombucha is full of that stuff, but can also be very dehydrating. Too much of a good thing sometimes is too much of a good thing.