BiteClub: ‘Nutritious by accident’

Plant-Powered: Native Kitchen & Kombucha Bar is plant-based dining for the rest of us.

“I like to think of it as nutritious by accident,” says Chef Jasmine Dravis, who recently opened the cafe and bar in downtown Petaluma.

Focused on food prepared with a “healing intent” - with gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options as the core of her menu - Dravis doesn’t trade flavor for philosophy, or eschew meat on the menu.

Instead, her offerings are a simple mix of seasonal fruits, veggies, grains and meats in a variety of guises.

Start with jalapeño cornbread ($5), a sweet-spicy, gluten-free (gf) wedge with local honey and pepper jam (gf/vegetarian), the Mediterranean pickled vegetable plate ($8) that’s piled with fermented pickles, onions, carrots and red peppers with quinoa tabouleh and hummus (gf/vegan) or seasonal stuffed squash ($9) with arugula and parsley (vegan).

Need something heartier? We loved the Sonoma Cheese Board, with fresh and aged goat cheeses and a jar of local honey ($12) and steak-wrapped veggies using nearby Thistle Meats’ grass-fed beef.

Any of the five salads can be made into wraps or have local chicken or steak added, and larger “skillets” (served in a cast iron skillet, natch) range from chickpea and quinoa chili (vegan, gf) to roasted veggie tacos (vegan, gf) and our favorite dish of the day, sweet corn cakes pan-fried in coconut oil with quinoa and marinated kale salad (vegan, $13).

Local beer, wine and libations are served, along with seasonal cobblers ($7, gf), but Dravis compliments her menu best with kombucha elixirs like the Ginger Mule ($7, non-alcoholic) made from muddled ginger, lime and honer or Spicy Strawberry with house-made strawberry basil shrub, OJ and a Cayenne sugar rim.

Dravis and her husband are ramping up their own kombucha (a fizzy fermented tea with lots of probiotics) production which will be served on tap in the coming months.

Meanwhile, don’t miss Dravis’ tonic teas, steeped herbs specially mixed for whatever ails you, and European digestifs like the cultish Underberg.

With an interior as sunny and warm as a spring day and hometown vibe that’s purely Petaluma, its a perfect spot for a morning juice jump, noontime bite or omnivorous family feast. (There are plenty of plates to make the tots happy).

Best of all, with a menu full of nutrition-packed foods, you’ll leave feeling better than when you came in. 110 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma, 599-3750, open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

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Calling all Bakers: BiteClub’s annual Holiday Cookie Recipe Contest has begun, and time is running out (already) to submit your recipe.

This year’s winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to G&G Market, a stack of cookbooks and bragging rights as The Best Sonoma County Cookie Baker of the Year.

Entry is super easy: Just go to www.biteclubeats.com/cookie and input your recipe. Not digital? Mail your entry to BiteClubEats, 427 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, CA 95401. We are EXTENDING the deadline to Nov. 12.

Still hungry? Check out Heather’s food and dining blog at BiteClubEats.com.