BiteClub: In mixed company

Sprouted macro bowl, meet foie gras... Can't we all just get along? Vegans, vegetarians, omnivores, locavores, lacto-ovovores, the gluten-intolerant and spice avoidant?

Food doesn’t have to be a battle ground. In fact, forward-thinking chefs know that co-mingling creative vegan, gf, allergy-sensitive and vegetarian fare on their omnivorous menus is more than just pandering - it’s smart business in an evolving food culture. (Don’t believe it? Check out New York Times author Mark Bittman’s VB6, which encourages plant-based eating before 6 p.m., and, well, pretty much every restaurant offering something gluten-free).

Windsor farmer and chef Joe Rueter is putting that bold idea into practice with his new venture, The Gastronomist, in Sebastopol.

Here, duck tacos, grass-fed beef, lamb and, yes, foie gras get cozy with vegan, squash fries, lentil salad, pumpkin gnocchi and a raw chocolate terrine Wednesday through Saturday evenings from 5-11 p.m.

Housed in the Gravenstein Station railroad car briefly occupied by Starlight Wine Bar, Rueter’s fiercely sustainable and local dishes have always been a BiteClub favorite. (His heirloom tomato B.L.T. is a top 10.)

But sprouted living salads, kefir, organic wine and sprouted grains from a guy who routinely grills up hundreds of pounds of bacon at his weekly farm market stands? Yup.

Rueter keeps a separate griddle and cooking boards for vegan foods and cooks the meat outside under a market tent. (Mmm, the smell of sizzling bacon). Anyone with allergies will be accommodated by using the phrase “No-Touchy…” followed by the allergy. Yup, seriously.

“I am not serving anything that has spent weeks in a walk-in, and has been on a truck all day coming from no produce company,” said the never-shy-to-speak-his-mind Rueter in a text message.

“Darn nutrient-depleted tasteless vegetables not happening at this restaurant, period. No frozen meat or fish, nada. We’ve got an established local food system built from the markets we participate in weekly.”

Rueter will offer breakfast and lunch from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the train car with craft beer and organic wines, along with a simplified menu of salads, duck tacos, BLTs and burgers. 6681 Sebastopol Ave., Sebastopol, 707-837-8113 or greengrocerdirect.com.

Quick Hits

Valette in Healdsburg has opened, and we’re booked for a table. Stay tuned for details, but the opening menu looks tasty with house made charcuterie, Liberty farm “duck trio” with pinot noir poached foie gras, Dungeness stuffed petrale sole with cauliflower mousseline and, and… yeah, we’re hungry too. Daily from 5:30 p.m., 344 Center St., Healdsburg, valettehealdsburg.com.

The annual California’s Artisan Cheese Festival kicks off March 20, with an ever-dizzying lineup of curd-wranglers. cooking demos and brunch, and the big Kahuna, the Sunday Artisan Cheese Tasting and Marketplace from noon to 4 p.m. Details and tickets online at artisancheesefestival.com.

Still hungry? Check out Heather’s blog, BiteClubEats.com.