On Friday, I went out in search of a completely fermented meal. A friend recommended I try The Backyard in Forestville, Ca. She could not have chosen a better place!
The menu is full of local food, house fermented veggies and kefir soda on tap from The Kefiry in Sebastopol. My videographer and friend, Jenny Rustad, joined me for lunch and we started the meal off with glasses of root beer kefir. The flavor was amazing and nothing like I expected. Root beer is usually so sweet, but this was just right, with perfect bubbles and a really natural root beer aroma.
We had the pickled plate as a starter which had all house fermented and pickled veggies. The trumpet mushrooms were our favorite, but everything tasted amazing, especially the two types of kimchi! So spicy!
Jenny and I had the pleasure of meeting Stem Kent a few weeks ago, the owner of Alive & Healing Tempeh in Windsor, CA. He gave us a private tour and whipped up some fresh tempeh for us. It was the first time I had ever had it, and thought it was great. So when we saw Alive & Healing on the menu at the Backyard, we had to order it all.
We shared a tempeh rueben and a tempeh scramble. The flavors were fantastic and I only wished for a second that there should have been sausage or pastrami on the plate. After the meal, we both felt fantastic! It was almost like a gut healthy buzz. I was almost immediately thankful there was no meat in the meal. We discussed that heavy, overly-full feeling you get after a big lunch and we were elated about our choices.
After lunch, we were craving more kefir soda, so we headed to The Kefiry. Our good friend and fermentation master, Jennifer Harris was there. We tasted through their line up of flavors and took some home with us. I asked Jennifer if it’s possible to overdo it with fermented food and beverage and she said, “Oh absolutely! If your body isn’t used to processing fermented food, it will tell you. And you will probably need to use the bathroom!”
Luckily, Jenny and I have been eating a lot of fermented foods lately, and were in the clear! Needless to say, it was a fantastic afternoon full of delicious food, gorgeous surroundings, and healthy bellies.
