The Vegetarian Zone 
(formerly Kung Food Vegetarian Restaurant)
2949 Fifth AvenueSan Diego, CA 92103
298-7302
Reviewed By Robert Ross

The sixties . . . the Beatles, free love, free speech, a search for meaning, back to the earth and granola . The dawning of the age of Aquarius. The mores of the fifties were crumbling and no one quite knew what the future held. Some of us fought for social justice, some of us tuned in, turned on and dropped out, and some searched for a better life in far off communes. Eventually most who "experienced" the philosophy of the sixties found their way back into the system, a little wiser and a little more aware of themselves and the world around them. According to Frank Russo, owner of the Kung Food restaurant, the philosophy of the sixties began for him in the early seventies. After a stint with IBM, then nine years with in the fast food business, which gave him some invaluable restaurant skills, he began his search for a more meaningful life. It was during this period that he discovered ARICA (a personal growth philosophy) as a path toward greater self awareness. This eventually lead to the idea of offering nutritious and tasty vegetarian food in a restaurant setting.

And just where did the name (Kung Food) come from? The year was 1975, and Frank was involved with Kung Fu, a martial arts discipline. For Frank the discipline of Kung Fu was about the use of energy. It's not too difficult to tie this into food, after all, food is energy, energy for humans. Take this concept of energy, pure energy, natural energy, combine it with a dash of previously learned restaurant skills and you have Kung Food. Now, add a dollop of years, twenty to be exact, of constantly changing and evolving recipes, a staff of sixty, and you have . . . , a San Diego institution.

Open seven days a week (Monday-Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. - Friday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.), Kung Food offers an international selection of vegetarian dishes that are delicious, healthy, and (if you're not already a vegetarian), just could make a convert out of you.

On our visit we sampled the Spinach Mushroom Lasagna (a favorite among the regulars), which is made with mozzarella, ricotta, cheddar and Parmesan cheese. It's baked with spinach, fresh mushrooms, spinach noodles and a homemade marinara sauce. This was served with a marinated vegetable salad. We also sampled the Aphrodite Quesadilla, which combined melted cheese, spinach, mushrooms, sour cream and sunflower seeds rolled into a flour tortilla. This came with a curried potato salad (one of the best potato salads I've ever tasted!). We followed this delicious lunch with The Fruit Parfait Delight (made in their own bakery) , which was . . . a delight!

Kung Food caters to a cross section of the community, from business people to college students, has ample parking, a heated garden patio and a brunch menu for the weekends. A beer and wine menu is also available. And if you have a little extra time and are looking for some unique and magical gifts, drop into their gift shop, located right on the premises.

Kung Food restaurant took the positive energy of the sixties, combined it with the public's desire for vegetarian cuisine that is exciting to the taste, and made it work for the nineties. Well worth a visit!

Robert Ross can be reached by e-mail at: SanDiegoRoss@Yahoo.com