Second Helpings

Macrobiotic Magic

    “You’re eating an orange. You’re so good!” a woman commented recently. We’d been doing a small work project together and the choice was cold pizza or an orange. Well, I eat lots of oranges. Not because I’m good, but because they’re good. And better than cold pizza. But perhaps you’ve had the same experience? There seems to be a sort of knee-jerk reaction to healthy foods; something like, if we eat them, we are in some way denying ourselves.
    I got to thinking about this when I went for the first time to Manzanita Restaurant on 40th Street in Oakland recently. A friend had suggested meeting there for lunch. I’d noticed the brightly painted exterior and greenery many times while driving past and had an idea it was an eatery with an African, or tropical, theme. In fact, it’s vegan and has been macrobiotic since the 1980s. I know vegan and thought I knew macrobiotic, but didn’t realize that this means no nightshades, which include eggplant, potatoes and tomatoes.
    Manzanita offers a set menu that changes daily. Weekends at lunch there is a buffet. My friend and I both chose the “full meal” lunch ($11) as distinct from the “moderate meal” ($9.25), which is, simply, smaller. We got vegetable, bean and miso soup, which was delicious; and then a plate that, with our nutty brown rice, included portions of a flavorsome cabbage, carrot and burdock mix; lima beans with onion and kabocha squash; steamed kale with basil and vegetable sauce; and a green salad with lemon, dill and almond splash.
    So, what made me think of the orange story? The fact that this meal was abundant with delicate flavors; tastes that made me stop talking, focus and savor. It was also hearty, and really good. My friend and I both commented afterwards that we felt really, really healthy having eaten it. And that’s not a bad thing, is it?
    Manzanita Restaurant, 1050 40th St., (510) 985-8386, the lunch and dinner menus are posted each day on the Web site, www.manzanitarestaurant.com. Open for lunch 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and dinner 5:30 p.m.–9 p.m. daily.

—By Wanda Hennig

—Photography by Lori Eanes