Goodonya Organic Eatery

Review #57

After delving into the gluttony of tacos, burgers, pizza and donuts that have arisen on our 101 journey, it’s a badly needed break to have a place like Goodonya show up.  It’s hard work eating one’s way through Encinitas, and no amount of Orangetheory or spin classes can undo all the damage!

Goodonya appeared just in the nick of time too.  This is my clean-eating week right before I leave for New Orleans!  There’s no clean eating there.  It ain’t just their rice that’s dirty.  It’s the land of beignets, Bananas Foster and drive-thru daiquiris and I need to prepare both mentally and dietarally for the damage about to be done!  Starting off this week with a plate of healthy food at Goodonya was just what I needed!

When I first walked inside, I was happy to see good ole local coffee from Moto Deli on the counter.  I love when local businesses support each other, it makes me feel all warm and gooey inside.  It’s cute.  And we love Moto Deli!  My family has been back there multiple times since my review.

Goodonya has a delightful little store of healthy goodies you can purchase if you are out and about in downtown Encinitas and want to eat clean. “Mom, they sell the same disgusting bars you have at home” says BP.  Some people haven’t acquired a taste for bars using real ingredients and no refined sugar.

Besides catering to us high maintenance, health food crazed locals, Goodonya is a safe place to come for people with allergies, offering gluten-free, dairy-free and nut-free options.  This is the first restaurant where I had a glass straw offered in my drink, and I loved it!

Although I didn’t try any this time, they have plenty of wicked-good sounding Kombucha on tap, and I am a Kombucha addict!

We sat down and Hillary, our attentive server, said she needed to point out something at our table.  She is required from her strong moral conviction and possibly the City of Encinitas to  warn us about the hot sauce at the table.  “And it comes out FAST!” She warns.  “Hey!  I need all eyes on me.  Do you all hear me?  Repeat what I just said about this hot sauce” she demanded.  I thought she was going have us sign waivers.

We ordered some chips with salsa and guac to get us going.  I heard that the food can take a long time to get out, so this would keep the wolves at bay.

Both guac and salsa were delicious.  I love the little sprouts on top.  Makes you feel like you’re eating healthy even though it’s chips and salsa.  Goodonya does something very helpful here without even knowing it.  The tortilla chips that accompany the guac and salsa are super flimsy.  As soon as you get a hunk of good stuff on your chip, it snaps in half.  This is great for sharing with a large crowd of people like we had.  There was no way for BP or his brother to mow through the guac quickly.  They could only take a tiny bit at a time, and even that caused the chips to snap.  Because of this, there was plenty for everyone and we even ended up with extra because the sad chips couldn’t handle the job they were born to do.

Mary and Geoff ordered the Pesto Crostini appetizer.  Besides being 100% organic, the cheese is from grass-fed cows.  Doesn’t it seem silly that places need to brag about having dairy products from grass-fed cows?  Doesn’t it seem like a thing that should just be standard?  Ask me on the side about my thoughts on GMOs , commercially raised meats and FDA standards and I will be happy to rant.  But Hubby won’t let me do it here, so back to crostini.  It was yumm-a-licious!

Gavin ordered from the “Organic Breakfast All Day” part of the menu, which you gotta love.

The menu shows a variety of organic bowls, so healthy that I bet eating one actually adds at least a full year on to your life.  I went for the one with Pesto Shredded Chicken.

I love all the fresh ingredients but found the flavor a bit bland.  The bone broth in the middle is a nice touch, but I am a bone broth snob, and if the broth doesn’t gel, it doesn’t gel with me!  The beauty of bone broth is all about the collagen-gel. Still, I enjoyed it , and ya know, an extra year of life and all.

Many others went for the Mexi-Bowl. Our eldest reached for the evil bottle of red hot sauce.  We laughed as it poured out fast into his bowl.  Can’t say he wasn’t warned!  “I’m fine.” He bragged.  This is a kid who traveled to Thailand and ordered all dishes “hot”.  That’s a level of heat we don’t even have in America.

Our eldest’s girlfriend ordered a California Pizza without the cashew sauce since she’s highly allergic to nuts.  “Are you sure Hillary heard you about the nuts?” I asked her, a bit nervous since cashews are something usually on this dish. “I sure hope so” she giggled. “Because I didn’t bring my epi pen with me!  Hahaha!”

California Pizza without cashews

But the clear winner of ordering tonight goes to Mary with her 100% grass-fed beef Hot dog Stack!  Kind of an odd thing to have on the menu at this ridiculously healthy restaurant.  Then again, if you’re going to eat a hot dog, this is the one you want.  This baby is all organic and comes with sauerkraut and homemade pickles. No one enjoyed their meal more than Mary!

Hot dog Stack

BP rounded out his shrimp taco meal with a slice of organic Pumpkin Cheesecake.  I don’t care how healthy this cheesecake is, it is divine!  Super delicious with lots of pumpkin spice flavor.  Really really good!

As we were packing up our leftovers in to-go boxes, none needed for BP, I was shocked to see so much of my eldest’s meal still intact.  “You ok?” I asked him, worried. “It really was hot.” he whispered in a hoarse voice.  I have never seen him defeated before.

We said good-bye to Hillary and staff, promising to come back soon.  Sweetest ladies around!

Bottom Line:

Goodonya is exactly what downtown Encinitas needs.   It is really hard to make super healthy food also taste good, and they have nailed it.   This is now my go-to place to take my friends out for birthdays or place to go when I need a detox before a trip to a place like NO.

If you’re the kind of person who thinks an all organic Sprout Probiotic salad sounds good, than Goodonya is your place!  If not, please join us on our next blog to the Lumberyard Tavern where plenty of unhealthy GMO’d nachos and burgers are surely waiting!

Some of the 101 usual suspects!

 

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Join us in two weeks, on October 21st at 6:00pm  for

Lumberyard Tavern

https://lumberyard101.com/