SAMEDI

UPTOWN -- Tate's beauty salon is getting a makeover. The space, sandwiched between Feet First and Superfood Bar at 4113 Magazine Street, will serve as the future home of Café Aliment. The café will continue Superfood's salads and kale wraps, as well as highlights from the call-in/extended menu that features innovative pastas and pizzas. But knowing the innovative duo, there are likely to be some new items popping up on the menu.

NoDef caught up with Superfood owner Joseph Stone recently to discuss the projected opening of Café Aliment and what changes are in store for Superfood Bar. Stone discussed that the original Superfood Bar will continue to serve up smoothies and snacks, with the adjacent café offering more daily lunch and salad options along with the planned addition of many to-go items. The timeline is a moving target, and in part will take at least a few months because the Superfood team is busy with increased summer business.

NoDef was lucky enough to enjoy an off-menu treat this past Sunday, an impromptu lychee slurry with fresh coconut juice and bits of supple coconut flesh. The lychee, for those unacquainted, has a uniquely delicate, perfumy like scent, and dazzles its way through the richness of coconut juice. It’s this type of sensory experience that is the rule more than the exception at Superfood Bar. Customers can savor the surprising balance of tart, earthy, and sweet flavors melded into a simple salad of citrus, red beet, and sprouts.  Another surprise is Chef Amie’s take on the classic margherita pizza; the Superfood version has a tender buckwheat and squash crust with cashew ricotta, fresh basil and tomato, extra virgin olive oil, macadamia Parmesan, and Himalayan pink salt that is delectable.

When asked about the secret to his success, Stone had a philosopher’s bag of practical and existential answers. What he articulated was a deep understanding of what people want to eat as well as his guiding philosophy in “trying to connect” the many paths of healthy living, from working with local farmers to reduce pesticide use and grow healthier varietals, to the use of nutrient rich food in unexpected combinations. Stone states, “This (business) is an imperfect thing, but each year it moves it a little further, I try to pull in multiple sources of knowledge and better practices and try to do so with a little art and grace.”

One partnership that exemplifies Stone’s philosophy is his source for pecan milk. Not satisfied with mass produced irradiated almond milk, Stone has worked with a local pecan farmer to reduce pesticide use and grow a healthier pecan varietal. The partnership has proven mutually beneficial: Stone’s customers get a healthier, tastier, local product, which leads to increased business and revenue for the small family farm.

Chef Amie Havens and Joseph Stone have managed to encourage healthy eating in a way that has avoided nutritional dogma and the sterility of hyper-healthfulness. Forging a balance between what tastes good and is also good for the body.  The renovation next door has begun; hopefully the close of summer will bring the opening of Café Aliment.