Parakeet Cafe

La Jolla is a beach town where the weather is beautiful, the people are active, and the food is trendy and healthful. The Parakeet Cafe, with its quirky yet inviting atmosphere, bright pink theme, and parakeet logo, is a good reflection of the community’s very Southern California culture. Its menu offers standard and specialty espresso drinks along with an array of health-food options. Such entrees as “Raw Organic Kale Salad” and “Vegan Protein Bowl” make it clear that the restaurant wants to accommodate its most fastidious diet-conscious customers. In fact, modifications are welcomed.

The two most popular beverages have neither coffee nor espresso. A Matcha Latte’s green color matches its vibrant character — a thick variation of green tea and steamed milk blended together. Although spiced lattes are getting popular, Turmeric Latte is a taste-buds shock… a welcome one. Blended with ginger, cardamom, honey, vanilla, and almond milk, its a heavenly balance.

Breakfast is served all day. An Organic Egg Whites dish is pure, unseasoned, served with grilled asparagus. Healthful! It comes with beet-cured salmon, which is, in fact, beet red. The salmon’s flavor is meek, pairing fairly well with bland egg whites. An Organic Greens Scramble is similar but with asparagus and kale scrambled within the eggs. Both egg entrees come with slices of avocado, thick Ezekiel-like toast and Labenth spread (comparable to strained or Greek yogurt). The toast is warm and soft on the inside but crisp around the edges — a good base for the beet-cured salmon.

We nibbled at a Coffee Cake Muffin along with our meals, but it was dry. The scones and cookies look good, but we suspect that baked goods are not Parakeet’s forte. Freshly made breakfast items and salads are where it shines.

You will pay a premium price for an average portion size, but the amount of time and effort put into the dishes and drinks is worth it if this is the sort of food you seek. High quality, organic ingredients and willingness to accommodate out-of-the ordinary dietary requests make The Parakeet Cafe a worthy stop for health-conscious road trippers.