THIS PAGE : NICOLE WILSON decision by sharing information on the environmental effects of eating meat : the amount of water required to grow food for the animals and the amount of carbon dioxide produced by raising them .
“ I feel better now with my diet than ever before ,” Redfearn says . “ We still eat fish , so [ we ’ re ] not true vegetarians . But it ’ s not like I eat fish every day . … I ’ m not trying to preach it , but environmentally , [ something has to change ]. … You can still eat hamburgers , but … if you ’ re going to eat two hamburgers this week , why not make one of them plant-based ?”
Redfearn says , if he could , he would turn Lumberyard ’ s menu into all plant-based dishes . “ But I know that it wouldn ’ t be viable ,” he says . “ I don ’ t think the world ’ s ready for it quite yet — enough to support us in this location in Laguna Beach , it ’ s not ready . So , I ’ m gradually trying to move the needle .”
In recent years , he added The Beyond Burger , a mezze platter and portobello mushroom fries with Parmesan and basil aioli to the Lumberyard menu . To complement these veggie-forward dishes , Redfearn says , “ We ’ re adding a lot more Middle Eastern and Mediterranean types of spices and herbs and … methods of cooking than we ever used to .”
For example , the Lumberyard team is using herbs like za ’ atar and rose harissa , a red pepper paste . “ We ’ re just kind of having fun with it ,” he says . “ The items we ’ ve been introducing have been really well received . So it makes me feel like , ‘ OK , we can keep going in this direction .’ It ’ s not like I ’ m going to pull hamburgers off the menu or not serve my meatloaf , but I see that there ’ s a lot more room to grow there .”
Redfearn says The Beyond Burger , which always features a plant-based patty , has gone through several iterations including a recent version with Jack cheese , herb aioli , tomato , pickled onion and roasted red pepper . The current variety is topped with sprouts , avocado and house-made ketchup , but guests may always customize their burger if desired . “ As a pescatarian , I don ’ t really even care about having a hamburger anymore ,” Redfearn says . “ It ’ s really not for me . It ’ s for the person who wants a hamburger , but maybe wants to include more plant-based [ ingredients ] in their diet or wants to do it for the environment — there ’ s a multitude of reasons — or
Vegetarian “ turkey ” stars in the Fiesta Bowl ( top ) and this sandwich , which also contains vegan bacon bits , at Jan ’ s Health Bar .
LAGUNA BEACH MAGAZINE 51