From Farm to Table at Ubuntu

Ubuntu Restaurant & Yoga Studio (yep, you read it right—this is California after all) showcases garden vegetables and biodynamic produce in such a way as to satisfy even the most hardcore carnivore. No meat on the menu here, but even JW—who lives and dies by sausage and other things swine (smart lad)—loves it here. As do I.


We led off with the marcona almonds with lavender sugar and sea salt along with the fragrant pesto-marinated castelvetrano olives ...


Moved into a plate of perfectly ripened heirloom tomatoes, basil leaves, quince saba, wild fennel crackers, with a sprinkle of espelette (red pepper) and a lovely blob of creamy burrata.


Next up, the fingerling potato salad (potatoes done 3 ways—fried bits, roasted lumps and diced salad) with a super tart sauce gribiche (a mustardy mayo and hard-boiled egg emulsion), New Zealand spinach, black garlic coulis and fried capers.


Another Ubuntu goody: cauliflower—roasted, pureed, raw, "couscous"—with vadouvan spice and coriander.


We managed to squeeze in a couple of other small plates and then wound up with the luscious date cake flanked by a dollop of earl grey ice cream and roasted apples sitting in a pool of caramel.