| FRESH Earth is the oldest and in many ways still the best of the city's vegetarian restaurants. It's been around in one guise or another since 1985, when it began as a tiny shop on Rockey Street in Bellevue. Today owners Har Bhajan and Pritam Khalsa run two restaurants, one in Bryanston and another in Emmarentia.
Their vegetarian empire includes a factory, Earth Products, which supplies supermarkets, health food shops and other restaurants. They make four varieties of tofu and produce or import other yummy, non-genetically modified products, from dried cranberries to organic aduki beans and vegetarian miso soup (made with hijiki seaweed instead of bonita flakes).
The curries served in the two restaurants are superb, as is the Thai noodle stir-fry. Shepherd's pie is made with lentils instead of mince or soya chunks; burgers and ice cream are tofu-based. Some pizzas are cheese-free; there are also pastas and tramezzini. The juices and smoothies are among the best in town. Wine, tea and coffee are organic, and the coffee is up there with the best you'll find anywhere.
Once a week, an all-you-can-eat buffet lunch is served at both restaurants: in Bryanston every Friday and in Emmarentia on Saturdays. The menu changes every month. A few of the dishes on the buffet for November are cold butternut soup with onion, garlic and ginger; two quiches, one of them with carrots and cashews; bobotie made with soya mince; tomatoes stuffed with savoury beans; potato curry with green beans, peas, coconut milk and tomato; six salads, including citrus-marinated vegetables and a watermelon, strawberry, peach and fresh mint concoction.
Fresh Earth started as a health food shop and still carries products ranging from vitamins and shampoos to fresh bread and organic vegetables.
103 Komatie Road, Emmarentia Telephone: 011 646 4404 Hours: Breakfast and lunch Mondays to Saturdays Website: www.freshair.co.za
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