Jonathan and Carol Goldwasser, the husband-wife team behind San Diego’s Parakeet Cafe, came up with the idea for their budding organic eatery after a deeply personal scare: Their daughter was born with a rare disease that caused tumors, which required chemotherapy. In an effort to gain some semblance of control on a seemingly uncontrollable situation, the two feed their four-month-old organic, multi-hued meals as she underwent treatment.
“Food became medicine, it healed her on a small scale and us on a much larger scale: it taught us resilience,” the Goldwasser’s note on their restaurant’s website. “It gave us a small sense of control over the situation and with the help of our close friends and family we found the strength to continue.”
Soon thereafter, as they delved deeper into the benefits of organic eating, the duo opened a handful of juice shops in San Diego, the success of which prompted them to open their first restaurant, Parakeet Cafe, in La Jolla in 2017. Now, five years and nearly a dozen shops later, they opened their first Orange County location.
On Thursday, July 27, Parakeet Cafe christened their new Newport Beach space. Their first Orange County spot will join two other new Los Angeles locations, in Brentwood and Beverly Hills, as the restaurant makes its first foray outside San Diego County.
Guests can expect the many of the same dishes found at its other locations. Highlights include the gluten-free All I Avo Wanted Bowl (featuring blue corn waffle, smashed avocado, feta, shaved radish, over-easy egg, chili flakes, hemp seeds, and salsa matcha), the vegan Parakeet Bowl (brown rice, roasted mushrooms, sesame collard greens, pickled cucumbers, almond butter, and miso mayonnaise), and Shakshuka (two poached eggs, za’atar, labneh, and grilled bread).
Parakeet also offers a host of toasts, ranging from avocado or mushroom to salmon or almond butter, as well as soups, bagels, and housemade chicken sausage. And diners who adhere to…
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