The June opening of Tender Greens in Point Loma brought a welcome new addition to San Diego’s Farm to Table scene.  Located in up-and-coming Liberty Station, it was tricky to find, but well worth looking for.  Phil and I were recently invited to check out the restaurant, and I was fortunate enough speak with Eric Oberholtzer, one of the Executive Chef/Owners of the original Tender Greens located in Culver City, CA.  Oberholtzer talked with me about the inspiration behind the founding of Tender Greens, how their ingredients and philosophy sets them apart, and best of all gave me a tasting tour of the menu.

Tender Greens was the brainchild of fine-dining veterans Eric Oberholtzer, Matt Lyman, and David Dressler who connected through their association with Shutters on the Beach, Santa Monica’s premier beachfront hotel.  Oberholtzer described the idea behind the restaurant as “a merging of two cultures”, aiming to combine the Slow Food movement of the San Francisco Bay Area with the fast-food mentality of Southern California.  He wanted to design a place that offers simple meals with great ingredients where you can “get the kind of food that you want, but still afford it on a chef’s salary.”  The result is an unusual combination of high quality sustainable and organic ingredients, served in a low-key, environmentally friendly setting sans wait staff.  They control their overhead by limiting the number of employees, allowing them to serve high quality meals at a mere $10.00 a plate.

Tenders Greens found their way to San Diego thanks to Executive Chef Pete Balistreri, who worked under Oberholtzer both at Shutters, and in San Francisco.  Balistreri and his Executive Sous Chef Rian Brandenburg are long time friends who grew up in Point Loma, and are excited to bring Tender Greens to their hometown.

One of the keys to success for Tender Greens has been a close partnership with Scarborough Farms.  Based in Oxnard CA, Scarborough Farms is the preferred source for lettuces among many of the top tables in Los Angeles.  Oberholtzer described their farming practices as “decidedly sustainable on all levels.”  Scarborough is the primary source of lettuces, herbs, and many seasonal vegetables at both locations, and has been willing to grow items exclusively for use at Tender Greens.  In addition to Scarborough Farms, the San Diego restaurant also gets a large number of seasonal vegetables from Crows Pass Farm in Temecula.

Oberholtzer offered to prepare a sampling of grilled meats and salads, allowing us to taste many of the menu’s core components.  We started with the Happy Vegan Salad, which is comprised of Green Hummus made with cilantro, a farro wheat Tabbouleh with dried cranberries, toasted hazelnuts and baby kale, and Fregola – a toasted pearl pasta, mixed with basil and niçoise vegetables all served over a bed of greens.  The accompanying crustinis were perfect for scooping the Hummus and Tabbouleh, and the Fregola was delicious on it’s own or with the greens.  It was a very happy salad for vegans and non-vegans alike!

The second dish featured yellow fin tuna that had been caught that day by a local fisherman.  Brushed with herbs and seared rare, it tasted light and fresh – definitely something I would order again.  The menu regularly includes herb brushed albacore, which comes mostly from Hawaii or the Pacific Northwest depending on the season.  They use local fish when it’s available, but at this point they are unable to get a consistent commercial supply from Southern California.

The third dish was all about comfort food with a Caesar Salad, Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, and half a “Rocky Junior” chicken served boneless and grilled on the skin side with salt, pepper, garlic, and fresh oregano.  It was a simple but very effective preparation.  My mom would love the rich, buttery mashed potatoes.  The “Rocky Junior” comes from Petaluma, and is the free-range natural cousin of the organic “Rosie” chicken that I find at my local Whole Foods.

As a surprise preview of the following day’s dinner special, I was given a small plate of lamb’s cheek, served with delicious roasted vegetables from Crows Pass.  I was a bit hesitant since I don’t usually eat red meat, but it looked so tempting that I decided to give it a try.  I’m glad I did.  It evoked childhood memories of my mother’s beef stew, though far more delicate.  It was definitely worthy of dinner special status.

As Phil and I were sipping the last of our hibiscus agua frescas and sighing over the feast we had consumed, our host returned with one more tray loaded with desserts.  First up was one of the specials of the day, fresh-made vanilla ice cream.  This was followed by a lemon cupcake, a chocolate toffee cupcake, and an Aztec brownie with a hint of cayenne pepper.  He promised that there was no pressure to finish all of the desserts, but despite how full we both were, it was hard to stop at just one bite.  While they were all tasty, Phil was most drawn to the Aztec brownie, and I was literally drooling over the ice cream.  It was the perfect end to an excellent meal.

Tender Greens makes a valiant effort to support local food sources, and aims to use sustainably grown ingredients whenever possible.  The only exception to that rule is their beef.  For braised cuts they do use organic, but with the flank steak they do not, for reasons of both price and taste.  Personally I would like to see them switch to all pasture-raised meats, but I understand that at this point that is not a practical choice.  Sustainability only works when it takes into account the needs of the grower and the consumer.  Until consumers demand all grass-fed meat, it will continue to be an unaffordable option for places like Tender Greens.

Overall, I was so impressed with Tender Greens that I brought my visiting relatives there for dinner the following week.  They enjoyed it enough to suggest it for dinner again a few days later.  At ten dollars a plate, it’s sure to become a regular stop for even the most budget-minded Socalocavores.