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Pretty Good Advice is a reenvisioning of what fast food can be — seasonal, fresh and locally grown. The fast-casual restaurant is fueled by Matt McNamara’s farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains. McNamara is best known for co-founding Sons & Daughters in San Francisco, which received a Michelin star in 2012. He originally started his 83-acre farm in 2013 to grow ingredients for Sons & Daughters but left the restaurant in 2017 to live on the farm with his family.A few years later, he opened the first Pretty Good Advice location in Soquel, which he followed with a second location in downtown Santa Cruz. Now, he’s bringing the restaurant’s fresh, vegetarian-leaning sandwiches, burgers and fries north, to downtown San Jose, meaning Bay Area residents will no longer need to make the trek down Highway 17 to enjoy his creations. The location at 125 Paseo de Antonio opens Wednesday, with starting hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.McNamara stepped away from fine dining because he wanted to makes his food accessible to more people, he told SFGATE in a recent interview. “My objective is not to charge you 300 bucks to sit down,” he said. “My objective is that this fruit should be consumed by the whole community.” He also felt that he couldn’t take full advantage of his farm-to-table pipeline. “We produce massive amounts of fruits and vegetables — fine dining uses very little food,” McNamara explained. “We were sold out every night, but you’re sold out with like 50 people.” At Pretty Good Advice, he serves up to 800 people on a Saturday. While fine dining restaurants don’t tend to have many regular customers, McNamara is proud to share that 70% of his customers at Pretty Good Advice return regularly throughout the week. It’s easy to see why people return so often — the menu is constantly featuring exciting new creations. “Right now, it’s citrus season,” McNamara said. “There’s probably 600 citrus trees and about 20 varieties that are ripe.” The current menu incorporates fruity, zesty flavors into salads, soups, drinks and desserts. Preserved Meyer lemons are transformed into a creamy dressing for a Brussels sprouts salad. Makrut limes are infused into a curried carrot soup. For dessert, pot de crème is topped with powerfully fragrant candied yuzu. My favorite dish was the hummus topped with pomegranate chermoula sauce and served with house-made pita. I also loved the OG Spicy Boy breakfast sandwich, which features a fried egg, roasted jalapeños and caramelized onion.The menu changes with the seasons as McNamara plants seeds with dishes already in mind, like an eggplant sandwich. “I know that if I plant more than five rows of eggplants, I can’t gobble it up. But San Jose is opening, so maybe I’ll plant more than five this year.”In the summer, he harvests stone fruits, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes and berries. In the fall, he plucks pomegranates, pineapple guavas, apples and pears. He enjoys growing lesser-known fruits like pink blueberries, plum cherries, rangpur limes and those pineapple guavas.“I’m really good at utilizing what I have and what’s coming,” he said “So I think that’s the challenge of it, that’s what’s really fun.” The chef’s favorite dishes unite elements from multiple seasons like his persimmon salad with a plum jam-black pepper vinaigrette.McNamara makes the most of not only the seasons but also byproducts and food waste. “What I’m most proud of is developing a menu that’s a cycle,” he said. The 300 chickens on his farm feed on food scraps and, in turn, fertilize the soil. They also provide the eggs for the popular breakfast sandwiches, which always feature a giant rectangular hash brown. He also buys fruit that falls from trees at other farms and turns it into jam. He sees it as a win-win, since he gets a good deal and prevents that fruit from going to waste. Even the trees that fall on his property are turned into charcoal and used to smoke dishes.McNamara has learned over the years how much to plant to avoid overproducing, but sometimes he still gets more than he knows what to do with. “It’s like a ‘Top Chef’ challenge,” McNamara said. “Here’s 600 pounds of this. What are you going to do with it?” When he was getting crushed by persimmons, he made a persimmon lemonade to get through thousands of pounds of the fruit. He also preserves strawberries and berries to craft peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids menu. “I’m a pretty accomplished chef, and I say I can farm, but I wouldn’t call myself either of them,” McNamara said. “I’m like this weird guy in between that says, ‘Dump it on me, and I’ll create this nice dish for the community.’” During extra-bountiful harvests, he shares his produce with other Santa Cruz County businesses, like Fruition Brewing and Kitchen, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, and Bookie’s Pizza.McNamara grew up in Cupertino and chose San Jose as Pretty Good Advice’s first step into the Bay Area because he’s a fan of the city’s food scene. He also recognizes that the region is home to many vegetarians and vegans who can appreciate good food. He hopes to open more locations in the future. For now, he continues to find ways to push the restaurant forward. Recently, he recruited his brother-in-law to start making some of the bread for the restaurant.“This is a very honest product, and I think any community would really appreciate having it,” McNamara said. Pretty Good Advice, 125 Paseo de Antonio, San Jose. Open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. —

Pretty Good Advice is a reenvisioning of what fast food can be — seasonal, fresh and locally grown. The fast-casual restaurant is fueled by Matt McNamara’s farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains. McNamara is best known for co-founding Sons & Daughters in San Francisco, which received a Michelin star in 2012.

He originally started his 83-acre farm in 2013 to grow ingredients for Sons & Daughters but left the restaurant in 2017 to live on the farm with his family.

A few years later, he opened the first Pretty Good Advice location in Soquel, which he followed with a second location in downtown Santa Cruz. Now, he’s bringing the restaurant’s fresh, vegetarian-leaning sandwiches, burgers and fries north, to downtown San Jose, meaning Bay Area residents will no longer need to make the trek down Highway 17 to enjoy his creations. The location at 125 Paseo de Antonio opens Wednesday, with starting hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

McNamara stepped away from fine dining because he wanted to makes his food accessible to more people, he told SFGATE in a recent interview. “My objective is not to charge you 300 bucks to sit down,” he said. “My objective is that this fruit should be consumed by the whole community.”

He also felt that he couldn’t take full advantage of his farm-to-table pipeline. “We produce massive amounts of fruits and vegetables — fine dining uses very little food,” McNamara explained. “We were sold out every night, but you’re sold out with like 50 people.”

At Pretty Good Advice, he serves up to 800 people on a Saturday. While fine dining restaurants don’t tend to have many regular customers, McNamara is proud to share that 70% of his customers at Pretty Good Advice return regularly throughout the week.

It’s easy to see why people return so often — the menu is constantly featuring exciting new creations. “Right now, it’s citrus season,” McNamara said. “There’s probably 600 citrus trees and about 20 varieties that are ripe.”

The current menu incorporates fruity, zesty flavors into salads, soups, drinks and desserts. Preserved Meyer lemons are transformed into a creamy dressing for a Brussels sprouts salad. Makrut limes are infused into a curried carrot soup. For dessert, pot de crème is topped with powerfully fragrant candied yuzu. My favorite dish was the hummus topped with pomegranate chermoula sauce and served with house-made pita. I also loved the OG Spicy Boy breakfast sandwich, which features a fried egg, roasted jalapeños and caramelized onion.

The menu changes with the seasons as McNamara plants seeds with dishes already in mind, like an eggplant sandwich. “I know that if I plant more than five rows of eggplants, I can’t gobble it up. But San Jose is opening, so maybe I’ll plant more than five this year.”

In the summer, he harvests stone fruits, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes and berries. In the fall, he plucks pomegranates, pineapple guavas, apples and pears. He enjoys growing lesser-known fruits like pink blueberries, plum cherries, rangpur limes and those pineapple guavas.

“I’m really good at utilizing what I have and what’s coming,” he said “So I think that’s the challenge of it, that’s what’s really fun.” The chef’s favorite dishes unite elements from multiple seasons like his persimmon salad with a plum jam-black pepper vinaigrette.

McNamara makes the most of not only the seasons but also byproducts and food waste. “What I’m most proud of is developing a menu that’s a cycle,” he said. The 300 chickens on his farm feed on food scraps and, in turn, fertilize the soil. They also provide the eggs for the popular breakfast sandwiches, which always feature a giant rectangular hash brown. He also buys fruit that falls from trees at other farms and turns it into jam. He sees it as a win-win, since he gets a good deal and prevents that fruit from going to waste. Even the trees that fall on his property are turned into charcoal and used to smoke dishes.

McNamara has learned over the years how much to plant to avoid overproducing, but sometimes he still gets more than he knows what to do with. “It’s like a ‘Top Chef’ challenge,” McNamara said. “Here’s 600 pounds of this. What are you going to do with it?”

When he was getting crushed by persimmons, he made a persimmon lemonade to get through thousands of pounds of the fruit. He also preserves strawberries and berries to craft peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids menu. “I’m a pretty accomplished chef, and I say I can farm, but I wouldn’t call myself either of them,” McNamara said. “I’m like this weird guy in between that says, ‘Dump it on me, and I’ll create this nice dish for the community.’” During extra-bountiful harvests, he shares his produce with other Santa Cruz County businesses, like Fruition Brewing and Kitchen, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, and Bookie’s Pizza.

McNamara grew up in Cupertino and chose San Jose as Pretty Good Advice’s first step into the Bay Area because he’s a fan of the city’s food scene. He also recognizes that the region is home to many vegetarians and vegans who can appreciate good food. He hopes to open more locations in the future. For now, he continues to find ways to push the restaurant forward. Recently, he recruited his brother-in-law to start making some of the bread for the restaurant.

“This is a very honest product, and I think any community would really appreciate having it,” McNamara said.

Pretty Good Advice, 125 Paseo de Antonio, San Jose. Open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.