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.

Biteclub’s already jonesing for a Cuban cortadito (a sweet espresso drink with milk) from the yet-to-open Rumba Cuban Cafe in Windsor. “Yeah, pretty much anyone who’s seen the Kardashians knows what a cortadito is,” said Elizabeth Torno, who with her husband Isaac plans to open an authentic Cuban cafe at 8750 Redwood Highway in the coming weeks.

Along with Cuban coffee drinks, they’ll be serving up a variety of sandwiches including a the Frita Cubana (a chorizo and beef hamburger), and the classic Cubano on freshly baked bread.

“A Cuban sandwich without Cuban bread just isn’t the same, said Elizabeth. Inspired by years of family recipes, the couple also plan heartier daily specials with classic beans and rice and tostones served with richly marinated beef, pork and chicken.

A close cousin to Puerto Rican and Dominican cuisine, Cuban food is a mixture of Spanish, African and indigenous ingredients based around beans, rice and marinated meats.

“All of our friends are hooked on the food we’ve been making for years,” said Elizabeth.

Just don’t ask for the Tabasco sauce with your Cubano. “Cubans don’t enjoy spicy food at all. We’re all about spices,” said Torno. “My grandmother would absolutely walk away from a jalapeno.”

The nail-biting is over for Bay Area chefs who’ve spent the last several weeks waiting for the call from the reviewers at Michelin. This afternoon, the 2015 Michelin Guide San Francisco, bay Area & Wine Country announced this year’s “starred” restaurants for the Bay Area.

The biggest surprise leaked even before the results were officially released: SF’s Benu and Saison both received a coveted three stars, moving up from their two-star positions last year. The restaurants join The French Laundry and The Restaurant at Meadowood in the three-star category, making for an unprecedented FOUR three-star restos in the Bay Area.

None of the restaurants from 2014 lost a star, making for a pretty static list. Two restaurants earned their first star, Kusakabe and Maruya in SF.

Long considered among the most prestigious accolades in chefdom, the European dining guides began giving their hard-won stars to restaurants around San Francisco nine years ago based on the input of “famously anonymous” reviewers.

Three Stars
The French Laundry, Yountville
The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena
Benu
Saison

Two Stars
Acquerello
Atelier Crenn
Baume
Coi
Manresa
Quince

One Star
All Spice
Ame
Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford
Aziza
Bouchon, Yountville
Boulevard
Campton Place
Chez TJ
Commis
Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant, Forestville
Gary Danko
Keiko à Nob Hill
Kusakabe
La Folie
La Toque, Napa
Luce
Madera
Madrona Manor, Healdsburg
Maruya
Michael Mina
Plumed Horse
Solbar
Sons & Daughters
SPQR
Spruce
State Bird Provisions
Terra, St. Helena
Terrapin Creek, Bodega Bay.
The Village Pub
Wakuriya

The announcement comes on the heels of the Michelin “Bib Gourmand” restaurants in the Bay Area — value-priced restaurants worth checking out.

It’s Michelin season! As a preview to the big stars that will be announced next week, the restaurant rating guide has announced their San Francisco Bay Area Bib Gourmand Awards. It’s a huge feather in the caps of moderately-priced restaurants (ie: the ones most of us can actually afford) and a definite pathway to the stars.

This year’s Bib winners for Wine Country include

Backyard (Forestville)

Bistro Jeanty (Yountville)

Bistro 29 (Santa Rosa),

C Casa (Napa),

Chalkboard (Healdsburg)

Cook (St. Helena),

The Farmer & The Fox (St. Helena) *NEW

Glen Ellen Star (Glen Ellen)

Grace’s Table (Napa)

Hot Box Grill (Sonoma) – under new ownership

La Salette (Sonoma)

Monti’s Rotisserie (Santa Rosa)

Oenotri (Napa)

Redd Wood (Yountville)

Risibisi (Petaluma)

Sazon (Santa Rosa)

Scopa (Healdsburg)

The Girl and The Fig (Sonoma)

Willi’s Wine Bar (Santa Rosa)

Falling off this year’s list: Boon Eat & Drink (Guerneville), Cucina Paradiso (Petaluma)

Despite scathing reviews and general nay-saying, Guy Fieri’s American Kitchen and Bar in New York City appears to be one of America’s top grossing independent restaurants, according to Restaurant Business Magazine.

Who’s laughing all the way to the bank, now?

With an estimated $16 million in sales, Guy’s “off-the-hook” addition to his Flavortown empire is #26 on the list, ahead of such big boys as The Four Seasons in NYC ($13.8m), Boulevard in SF ($12.8 million), Daniel NYC ($11.8m) and even Emeril’s Orlando ($11.3m).

What’s hardly a surprise is that the lion’s share of the restaurants on the list are in tourist destinations like NYC (29/100) Las Vegas (20/100), and California (8/100) with seating for hundreds.

Atop the list: Vegas’ Tao Asian Bistro with a whopping $64million in sales and an average check size of $75. The next closest? Joe’s Stone Grab in Miami with only about half the sales ($35 million).

Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar opened in 2012, and received a legendarily mean review from The NY Times’ Pete Wells. Fans of the Diner’s Drive-Ins and Dives show on Food Network, however, have flocked with an estimated 450,000 meals sold, and an average check size of $37, according to Restaurant Business Magazine.

Our “grain of salt” alarms went off, however, at the tiny asterisks on the list, stating that sales of many restaurants were “estimates” rather than actual statistics.

Regardless, Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar certainly lives up to being “so money” as Fieri claims. Or at least a license to print money.

When failed restaurants bemoan their fate to a bad location, I always think about places like Simply Vietnam in Santa Rosa. Tucked away in an industrial area off Dutton Ave. in West Santa Rosa, its an unlikely success. There’s never anywhere to park, it’s hard to find, there’s absolutely no ambiance and there’s always a wait. But make great pho, Vietnamese noodles and other Asian comfort food consistently, quickly and at a reasonable price, and you’ve got a recipe for a solid business.

Which is why it isn’t surprising that the owners of Simply Vietnam are expanding. The new restaurant, Simply Vietnam Express, will soon open at the former Ticket Sports Bar (3381 Cleveland Ave., Santa Rosa) with Bahn Mi, soups salads, fresh rolls and boba tea. I have no doubt it will have the same rabid following when it opens later this month.

Fast-casual restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill has announced a partnership with Slow Food USA to support or maintain 100 school gardens across the country.

At first blush, it may seem a bit confusing — fast food and slow food in the same breath? But Chipotle, with some 1,700 locations nationwide, has made its mission to use local and sustainably sourced products and “classic cooking methods” (ie: not relying entirely on microwaves). Call it fast food with a conscience.

The new partnership gives Slow Foods USA’s National School Garden Program a $500,000 boost, launching new educational gardens in ten metro areas around the country (none in the Bay Area, however). Slow Foods USA is part of an international grassroots network that promotes healthy dining, sustainable farming, rescuing “endangered” local fruits and veggies and “linking the pleasures of the table with a commitment to community and the environment.”

It’s also a brilliant PR move for both the parties.

Slow Food USA has historically struggled to reach a mass audience, focusing instead on local organizers and bootstrap ideals. Chipotle (which has been criticized in the past by Slow Food USA) has worked hard to get its message of slow-fast food to a nation of McDonald’s eaters.

Whatever the motives, the end result is hopefully better nutrition, engagement with food systems and support for struggling school gardens. Win-win.