true food kitchen

actually was a great experience.. it's no secret that i am a meat and potatoes kinda guy. don't know what to have to eat? if it has bbq in the name well i'm pretty much sold. i'll try anything and that even goes for true food kitchen.

so we join some friends we were visiting in san diego for brunch on sunday (05/19/13) and i didn't know much about the place. it was next to a cheesecake factory so i figured i have a "back-up" if it doesn't go well. the best explanation for true food was it was "true food." well good, i hate the false kind of food anyway.

our over the top friendly waitress did a better job describing the concept of true food with a few feel good key words like local, organic and sustainable which is usually followed by my saying something very politically incorrect about hippies but i accept the concept and decide to feel good.

san diego is well known for it's local bison usually found in the coronado area so i chose the grass fed bison burger and sweet potato hash with umami.

i had to search my phone for what umami was. i got a bunch of umami burger joints that didn't have good reviews. so i chose to show just how out of the hip sustainable thing i should be in and asked what it was. it's a sauce. ok.

so how about the burger? it was good. better than good. i was very pleased with the taste and the quality for the price. i'm not much of a sweet potato guy but since my other choice was kelpsaladi went with whatever was fried or grilled. the parmesan cheese that is used for the bison burger really made it stand out. it was cooked to order with a little pink in it.

and of course i feel good because i ate something healthy and organic so as long as the bison roam the grasslands of san diego, i will continue to eat at true food.

had the seasonalsaladthat was added to the menu a week ago. had salmon and kale added. the roasted cauliflower was the best part, well other than the roasted brussels sprouts. let's be honesty, it's actually hard to pick what the best part was. perfect fall salad! two thumbs up.

good reviews and checked this place out and was pretty good - thesaladand burger - better than i expected so was good...staff really nice and happy to chat - a good place

sad excuse for food. when you order steelhead, you shouldn't get salmon substituted without letting the customer know. to top it off, the fish was overcooked and arrived dry. the arugula in thesaladwas mostly wilted and the quinoa tasted more like barley.

eating healthy shouldn't involve giving up flavor. the food was void of any distinct flavor: bland all around. avoid if there are other options.

great atmosphere , delicious food ,try farmers marketsalad& summer garden moroccan chicken ,teriyaki brown rice and red chili shrimp amazing.

sea bass tacos were a 6.8 out of 10. small and not a lot of flavor, but ok. had bites of other meals,saladand spaghetti squash and both were good.

never had a bad meal here. the kalesalad(with salmon) is incredible. the chocolate is a childhood favorite re-invented. your mother would approve, even though the food is so plentiful that it is hard to clean your plate.

true food kitchen in santa monica is a healthy spot that offers tasty nourishment with the added benefit of making you taller and blonder! during my wedding dress diet i found this to be a nice balance between going out to eat, and actually eating right. true food kitchen in the santa monica place mall always looks busy, but they actually have lots of seating inside and out…so stay in line! i chose to sit outside on a lovely communal table, so i could watch all the other skinnies walk by! as an entrée i had the farmers marketsaladwith chicken, and although the chicken looks a lot like subway quality, the taste was fantastic! whatever dressing they use seems light and the peas tasted like they were picked from a garden just minutes before. speaking of the skinnies! this blog would not be complete without reviewing bethany

too expensive little food/service not great. there was 3 of us not super busy, my friend ordered asaladw/chicken- they forgot to put the chicken on it. i have a tooth ache and ordered the lemonade/cucumber with out ice- it came with ice. when they brought it back without ice it was in a tiny glass compared to the original glass and the server said- "its smaller because we actually will only give you 1/2 the amount without ice!

for a 5.00 lemonade - they should have put it in a larger glass (a cocktail at happy hour is 5.00 in many fine dining establishments) she was very rude when i questioned the size of the drink. very smallsaladnot served with bread, like the amazing salads at cpk or sammys or cheesecake factory.

bottom line- orders were wrong
server (not my server we had several) very rude
portions so small for the mone

i cannot imagine this restaurant lasting for the long haul-only good thing is the decor. there was 3 of us not super busy, my friend ordered asaladw/chicken- they forgot to put the chicken on it. i have a tooth ache and ordered the lemonade/cucumber with out ice- it came with ice. when they brought it back without ice it was in a tiny glass compared to the original glass and the server said- "its smaller because we actually will only give you 1/2 the amount without ice!

for a 5.00 lemonade - they should have put it in a larger glass (a cocktail at happy hour is 5.00 in many fine dining establishments) she was very rude when i questioned the size of the drink. very smallsaladnot served with bread, like the amazing salads at cpk or sammys or cheesecake factory.

bottom line- orders were wrong
server (not my server we had several) very rude
portions so small for the mone

i cannot imagine this restaurant lasting for the long haul-only good thing is the decor.

a nice healthy alternative. got the bison burger and it was terrific. came with a kalesaladand and sweet potato mash. dark chocolate pudding to finish it off.

terrible chicken strips. last evening had the kalesaladwith two other friends the chickne strips that were added to thesaladwere inedible--this is the second time i have had inedible chicken strips at true food. the wiatress was amenable and offered us desert --which we did not want. in additoin the first time this happened at the biltmore location we notcied that the people next to us returned their salads because the chicken was inedible--they recieved a complimentary desert which was a cobbler and burnt to a crisp-- it was left un touched.
i am a very healthy eater and have been very disappointed with the three out fo four times i have eaten at true food.

a refreshing change from the usual fare. in the north scottsdale today, we decided to try true food, having heard from friends on its wonderful cuisine. we started with smoothies morning glory and weekend warrior, both flavorful, but not too filling. followed by the edamame dumplings, these had little flavor, and if it were not for the sauce, we would have not ate them.
nextsaladsummer shopped lightly on the balsamic dressing it was very tasty. entrees heirloom tomato & watermelon with grilled salmon, wonderful flavors, and the corn and ricotta ravioli with spinach and roasted tomato.

delicious food. this is real, fresh, delicious food at it's best and the atmosphere is relaxing and fun. it took me a while to decide, but i ended up ordering the turkey pita with sweet potato hash browns and tuscan kalesaladon the side. everything on my plate tasted great! sure, the prices are not super low, but the serving sizes are enough for leftovers. i would recommend this to anyone who wants a fresh, healthy meal for lunch or dinner.