On the way to Lydia’s Lovin’ Foods, an organic vegetarian, vegan and sometimes raw restaurant in Marin county, I decided to stop at McDonalds. Not to eat; just to look. When I entered, I half-expected to see the super-sized children of America eating extra large fries. Fortunately there were none, only older couples silently eating McNuggets, adding non-dairy creamer to their coffee and reading the paper. I left as quickly as I came — the stop was only to feed my curiosity.
Up the road and a world away, I met Lydia Kindheart in her cozy café alive with people. She offered me a mug of chai made with fresh coconut milk (non-dairy of a different kind). “It’s the best,” she said, wide-eyed, hoping I would agree. One sip, and I’ve craved it ever since.
It reminded me of traveling in northern India where villagers offered me the very same drink — minus the coconut milk. I couldn’t refuse the hospitality, so I ended up drinking 10 cups within an hour and meeting an entire village.
The same feeling of community infuses Lydia’s Lovin’ Foods in Fairfax, a town nestled on the eastern edge of Mount Tamalpais. In a culinary world where foods compete for status, Kindheart manages to combine all his diverse fare without pretension or hype. It seems only natural that such a place would exist in Marin but surprisingly, Lydia’s is the only organic restaurant in the county. When Roxanne’s raw food restaurant closed last August, Lydia’s was a fledgling. When Kindheart opened six months ago, more than 500 people showed up. That’s community.
“My intention is to make anyone who comes in here feel comfortable,” she said smiling. “Whether it’s Bush or a Hell’s Angel.”
Neither was at the restaurant the day I visited. It was lunchtime and locals trickled inside exchanging hugs and greetings. The sun slipping through the window shades, warmed our corner table as a light green parsnip-spinach soup arrived with a side of kale laced with avocado dressing — my first tastes of green raw food.
Chlorophyll is not a subject often on my mind but it is on Kindheart’s menu in one form or another and for good reason — it builds the blood, helps digestion and, as Kindheart pointed out, has a structural similarity to hemoglobin. In any case, the colorful plate before me piqued my culinary curiosity. The soup, delicate and balanced, and the kale, perfectly uncooked, tasted fresh and delicious. Lydia explained that the lemon marinade in the kale broke down any toughness in the greens. I marveled at the flavor but detected no lemon. It tasted remotely sweet, all bitterness extracted. The food kept coming. Inquisitive newcomers came to see the tapas plate on my table. “What is that?” one asked, “I want what she’s having!”
Kindheart, her hair in a bun, introduced the refreshing ginger dressing for the spring roll filled with crunchy carrots, beets and marinated daikon. She proffered cauliflower tabouli and a nori wrap with avocado and almond carrot paté. At times, the dishes were hard to decipher. Although ingredients are simple, the preparation seemed more complex. How does one make uncooked pizza crust anyway? Lydia sitting yogically straight, filled in the mystery, mixed with vignettes of her life.
At 13 years old, Kindheart, now 41, decided to fast for seven days. “I wanted to see what it felt like to go hungry,” she said. Her father worked for the United Nations in Africa, which influenced her compassion for others at a young age. Born in France and raised as a teenager in Marin County, Kindheart absorbed the books of Lithuanian-born Anne Wigmore, a raw food and wheatgrass pioneer. Kindheart continued in her footsteps — creating healthy whole foods for her café, which she describes as “much more than a restaurant.”
Kindheart admits she’s on a mission not only to have a healthy organic café but also to have a place that brings people together. That’s why there’s an area for children to play and read atop buckwheat-filled pillows and why there’s a small library for adults. Through the window into the kitchen, the staff could be seen patting spouted seed mixtures onto trays ready for dehydration — (a “cooking” method used in the raw food world) for Kindheart’s line of energy bars. Meanwhile, her Swedish chef, Michael Spiridon, formerly of Roxanne’s, crafted abundant dishes-to-order served by a very welcoming staff.
Kindheart helps friends and clients change their perspectives on eating. Or not eating as the case might be. Fasting has been an important part of her food education, too. She once fasted for 28 days, sustaining herself on wheatgrass. On another occasion, she lived on watermelon for six weeks. Lydia was a fruitarian and, for anyone who has fasted, it’s understood that breaking a fast with clean, simple food is essential. That philosophy is behind every tasty bite served at the restaurant. I felt that sentiment with each dish. Even for a serious carnivore like me, the fresh flavor of seasonal vegetables mixed with special condiments completely satisfied my critical craving for taste and hunger. It felt good to eat.
And naturally, this leads to dessert. Lydia is known for her sweets. I heard about the chocolate chip cookies and the carrot cake made with almonds and dates. But I chose the raw persimmon pie. It’s still a mystery how a raw vegan pie could taste so good, so light and delightful. But I’ll leave the mystery for those who decide to pass up the fast food and make the worthwhile trip to Lydia’s Lovin’ Foods.
Lydia’s is open Sunday-Thursday from 11:30 am to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday from 11:30 am to 11 pm. Closed Tuesdays. It’s located at 31 Bolinas Road in Fairfax, 415-456-5300.
Andrea Blum is an SF-based freelance journalist