Before I hunker down and provide the scoop on this restaurant, I’d like to present my credentials as an emerging restaurant reviewer… especially of “spiritual” restaurants! So here goes: well, first of all, it's been a personal goal to eat at the 100 best restaurants in the world. I've been to Tour D'Argent in Paris, Paul Bocuse in Lyon, Per Se in New York, Nobu in London, Ten Ichi in Tokyo, Victoria City in Hong Kong (Chow Yun Fat's favorite restaurant, I hear). So yes, I'm a definitely a gourmand and my poor waistline can prove it. Second, I have a penchant for places where dining has to potential to become a spiritual experience.

With that, let’s begin with a review of a twice hidden gem called the Radiance Cafe, ensconced in a nook at the Open Secret bookstore (it’s on 'C' Street in downtown San Rafael, if you’re in the Bay area). Open Secret is itself a hidden gem, a treasure for the aficionado of things new age-y, making this terrific little cafe twice as hard to find.

Radiance is run by Jerry (Radhanath) and Kilimba Alvarez, both devotees of bhakti devotional yoga, who collectively serve up some mighty tasty vegetarian cuisine four days per week. He does the entree cooking and Kilimba creates the salads and desserts. With their simple, daily changing menu of vegetable curry, soup, grain dish and fresh organic local salad greens with creamy vegan dressings, I can assure you that you will be absolutely delighted with this delicious, healthful and reasonably priced menu. They also serve tasty gluten-free and vegan desserts, as well as a freshly squeezed organic coolers.

The first time I dropped by, it was on a Monday and found the café closed – they’re only open Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 7:30 pm, but the menu they posted was appealing and intriguing enough to register it in my memory for a later time. A couple of weeks later, I was finally able to give their cuisine a try. Well, let me describe that first bite of salad – it was a crisp and chilled mixture of organic baby greens from Happy Boy Farms with heirloom lettuces from Capay Farms, drizzled with a creamy vegan dressing made of basil, lemon, olive oil and spices. Well, that first bite literally exploded with freshness in my mouth. It was amazing, the taste of it actually sparkled in my mouth. I then tasted the mixed vegetable curry, made with roasted winter squashes and yams and brussel sprouts – bathed in a curry based on organic coconut butter and oil. And the grain dish was exceptional as well - a quinoa with roasted almonds and sautéed kale and kalamata olives, accented by a homemade apple chutney and Himalayan sea salt. Every bite was heaven.

Then I knew it… these are true artists at work.

Such artistry is rare in a subculture where “good for you” trumps “man, that’s good” ; that rare and wonderful state of perfection when the chef’s taste and innovation are both exquisitely executed and balanced. The last time I had salad this good was at Ad Hoc in Napa, Thomas Keller’s new restaurant. Anyway, after I was about half way through the Radiance plate, Jerry sauntered over and asked, “So what do you think?”

Having just thought about how this salad was a match for Keller's, what blurted out of my mouth was, “Man, you are the Thomas Keller of ashram food.” At first, Jerry looked a little offended by the comment, so I had to explain that “ashram food” is a compliment about a certain kind of cuisine that is imbued with spiritual energy. I love ashram food. I often go to ashrams to get some, because it’s the comfort food of seekers and meditators. There’s only so much foie gras and fine wine you can stuff in your mouth before your body starts craving ashram food to cleanse and detox and bring your frequency back up from sheer hedonism to somewhat spiritual.

You know, perhaps I should have said something to Jerry like - this is the French Laundry of spiritually imbued gourmet vegetarian cuisine… but that doesn’t quite slip off the tongue so easily as "the Thomas Keller of ashram food."

Anyway, back to the theory of vibrational cuisine. I don’t want to trivialize the idea of imbuing food with spiritual energy. When I taste the home cooking of a loving grandmother, I can feel the energy of it subtly pervading my heart chakra. My qigong teacher once made a bunch of his students “repairing qi soup”, and I could literally the qigong energy in the dish. 

The Japanese researcher Dr. Masaru Emoto claims that if thoughts are directed at water droplets before they are frozen, images of the resulting water crystals will be "beautiful" or "ugly" depending upon whether the words or thoughts were positive or negative. In this case, the same ideas about vibrational healing could be said of food. What’s more, it’s obvious as you sit there waiting for your Radiance plate… you can see Jerry in the kitchen meditating as he cooks, and when Kilimba serves you, she does so with absolute mindfulness and loving kindness.

This is one couple who realize that serving humanity can happen one plate at a time.

As Michelin gives stars, I have decided to give Om's. This restaurant is a three Om restaurant, no matter how modest and humble the surroundings. In fact, the food is so spiritually energized that I would venture to say that dining at Radiance isn't just a meal, it's a darshan... If you are sensitive enough, you can probably feel the entire lineage of bhakti yoga within it - and deep within its core, the shaktipat of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada himself. Definitely, definitely, definitely worth checking out!

 
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You can find out more on the web: RadianceCuisine.com

For further information, call Open Secret Bookstore in San Rafael, CA at 415-686-3442