best plant-based restaurants — Blog — The Grains Of Paradise

We love the Il Fornaio restaurants in California and we almost always end up at either their Carmel or Walnut Creek location when visiting my mother in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, so many of their delicious dishes are not vegan ( without alterations of course ) but I was surprised to find some exceptions this time. The Walnut Creek location was offering a large vegan couscous salad on their lunch menu. It was full of unique flavors, surprisingly filling and absolutely delicious so I knew I would have to try to recreate it once I got home.

So below, my version of Il Fornaio's “Insalata Regina”. This salad is sweet, tart, salty, and slightly bitter thanks to the abundance of arugula. Throw in some diced avocado for some extra healthy fat if you desire, but either way, it’s great!

I find this salad tastes best a room temperature so let the couscous cool a bit before tossing in the other ingredients. This makes roughly two large main course servings or four smaller side salads.

Insalata Regina - 2 to 4 servings

1 cup dried couscous
1 and ¼ cup of water
2 cups arugula
2 tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup red onions, finely diced
1/3 cup raisins ( dried currants could work too )
1 tbs capers, drained
Avocado, diced optional

Dressing

2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1.5 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp sea salt

Cook couscous according to the brand’s instructions. I usually go with 1 and ¼ cup of water to one cup of dried couscous. Boil the water and add dried couscous, stir, cover, and lower heat to a low setting. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Let cool while prepping other ingredients.

Make the salad dressing - I usually place the dressing ingredients in a small mason jar, cover with a lid and shake until incorporated an aerolatte would work too. Store any leftover dressing in the fridge for later use if desired. (keeps about a week)

In a large bowl, toss cooled couscous with tomatoes, arugula, onions, raisins, capers (and diced avocado if using). I usually end up using 3/4 of the prepared dressing. Taste and then add remaining dressing if needed.

Even though I have lived in Hawaii for the last 21 years, California will always be my home. I was born in Los Angeles but spent most of my youth divided between the San Francisco Bay Area and Ventura County. I was also fortunate to spend my college years in San Diego and Orange County before leaving the Golden State for good in 1999.

We only had six days in California so it wasn’t enough time to do everything we really wanted to do. With rolling blackouts, wildfires, and overnight lows dipping in the upper 30s, some plans ( and wardrobe ) needed to be altered. Despite some setbacks, we still enjoyed a lot of sunny weather, some delicious plant-based meals, and some much-needed quality time with the family.

Below are some snapshots I took with my iPhone over the last week. Little snippets from Wine Country, my hometown in the Bay Area, and near my sister’s home in Los Angeles. I gotta be honest, Carlos and I tend to spend a lot of time shopping and eating out when we’re on the Mainland so the images below will reflect that. We love looking at homeware shops, indulging in good wine, taking long drives, and discovering new plant-based restaurants when traveling. Lucky for us, California has a lot of this.

Mahalo for stopping by!