Paleolithic Restaurant Discovered in Arizona

Wow, remember The Stone Age Diet, also known as the Paleolithic Diet or the Cave Man Diet? The idea behind the diet is that humanity evolved to eat fruits, vegetables, and lean meats rather than dairy, grains, sugar, and processed foods. Therefore, the best diet for us today is a copy of that limited menu.

Guessing what humanity ate over tens or hundreds of thousands of years in varying climates and settings is a bit harder than knowing exactly what was eaten, so the various claims for the diets wobble all over the place. I have more references in the link given above.

I hadn't heard of this fad for several years. (And it is a fad diet. There is no necessary reason or scientific backing for it, other than the common sense claims that are sometimes made.) But an Arizona chef has opened a Paleolithic Diet restaurant in trendy Scottsdale.

An article by Carey Sweet of the Arizona Republic splashes a few details.

Some chefs try to predict future trends for their cooking inspiration. Calistro California Bistro chef-owner Devin Walsh is looking back. By about 2.5 million years....

It celebrates foods people ate prior to agriculture and animal husbandry (such as wild game or grass-fed meat, wild-caught fish, shellfish, eggs, tree-nut oils, vegetables, roots, fruit, berries and mushrooms). Not allowed are Neolithic Era foods that evolved from our manipulation (grains, sugar, dairy, beans, and processed foods).

You wouldn't be grazing on mostly dozens of species of plant material with some scavenged raw meat, though. Perish forbid.

For appetizers, Walsh offers chicken or lamb meatballs blended with prosciutto and tomato jam on an almond-meal tortilla. Entrees include salmon over fresh crab and organic-vegetable hash with citrus beets and a dollop of tarragon-mustard or chimichurri pork roast atop sweet-potato mash.

Bees are found everywhere, so "Desserts are sweetened with honey, including poached fruit with house-made granola."

Wait, granola? Isn't granola made with grains?

Never mind. Our Paleo ancestors would find every bit of food in that description odd. And would love, love, love to have the luxury of eating grains, sugar, dairy, beans, and processed foods. Authenticity is a luxury given to the decadent. Enjoy.