On being out to lunch...

Right next door to where I work is a most unusual restaurant.
I like to eat there, enjoying my meal while being outside in their back patio.
Their raise flower beds have a wonderful collection of fragrant herbs tucked in amidst lovely flowers.

The food is a creative concoction of whatever is available locally, put together creatively throughout the day. "Natural" and "Organic" foods...very fresh, and very creatively used.

This was a cold melon, cilantro, and wheat berry soup Delicious!

Like I said...this is quite an unusual place. You walk in, grab a bowl from the pile of mismatched thrift store find bowls, and a spoon that likewise is mismatched and in various sizes.

You put a button in a box, and then speak to the person behind the counter to find out what has been cooked. You serve your own soup, then he or she dishes up the various main courses, following your instructions as to the size portion you would like.

You are encourage to get a small serving, and to come back for more if you are still hungry, rather than to waste food.

Due to that option, you pay after you eat. As the server on the first day explained to me: "After you eat, you will know how much you feel the food was worth."

Now there's some different thinking for you!

That also explains the button box. Since there are no set prices, this is the only way they have to know how many meals have been served each day.

I have to say...almost every thing I have tried has been delicious and different. I suspect that recipe is ever exactly the same twice, save for what I hear is a locally favorite called an "Everything Cookie."

Now this is more than a restaurant. It is also a place with an agenda. I should tell you I could eat there everyday for free...taking advantage of their "Complimentary" rice or wheat and beans course. And you will see people doing just that...student and street people, getting a least something to eat when times are hard.

I thought it was an interesting idea.

They are upfront with what they believe and are striving for.

I stand out when I am eating there. Most folks are rather of the tie dyed and mantra chanting persuasion.
There are an awful lot of Buddhas and Indian gods and goddesses around.
The conversations are peppered with words like "yoga" and "organic" and "meditate".
But the other day I was able to speak with a young man who is just a few weeks away from getting his master's degree. He had just gotten divorced, and his world was in shambles. He had no idea what to do next, except that he wanted to move somewhere where people were more accepting.
We talked for a good while, and I told him I would be praying for him.

I noticed there was one Christian tiny poster up amidst the other religion's artwork.
And I wondered if other Christian might come here to make sure that people can find the Bread of Life when they are truly hungry.