Restaurants in Benicia

While it was thoughtful of your body to grow all those extra arms and legs, you might want to make “healthier lunches” your New Year’s resolution this year. Today’s Groupon gets you started with $20 worth of fresh, healthy, all-natural meals from Amanda’s Restaurant in Berkeley for $10. After treating her humble pantry to plenty of water, sunshine, and love, Amanda’s food closet has blossomed into a full-fledged Best of the East Bay restaurant.

Every day, San Francisco Soup Company’s chefs craft 12 soups from scratch. Soups showcase organic and locally sourced ingredients such as cage-free eggs from Glaum Egg Ranch and organic milk from Clover Stornetta, and cast tendrils of steam from biodegradable containers. San Francisco Soup Company’s commitment to conscious dining extends to the nutritional realms: each recipe comes with nutrition stats, and the menu even designates which soups are gluten-, meat- and dairy-free, and which soup spoons best shield noses from affectionate pinches.

Meridian's seasonal menu draws inspiration from global bar bites made from all-natural and locally grown ingredients. Start with an order of bacon mac ‘n’ cheese with buttered panko ($8) or the almond-breaded cod fingers served with jalapeño tartar sauce ($12). For a refreshing post-triathlon meal, opt for the togarashi ahi-tuna niçoise salad with capers, tomatoes, Humboldt fog, and sesame-orange vinaigrette ($14) or quell carnivorous cravings with an all-natural beef burger served with cheddar or blue cheese ($9). The grilled bangers and mash ($13) will evoke sweet childhood memories of playing hopscotch outside the smoky pubs of Bangladesh and also will serve as a delicious stomach stretcher for a third course of sticky toffee pudding ($6) or a house-made ice-cream sandwich with mocha sauce ($6).

The lengthy menu goes on for about nine miles until the Earth's curvature obscures it from view. It's packed full of authentic offerings and contemporarily twisted cuisine. Ride the culinary fence with old- and new-school starters such as crispy tofu ($5.95) or Thai fish cakes ($7.95) before throwing sand on the table and drawing a line in it, indicating the desire to move on to bigger bites. Adherents of authenticity can feast upon classic pad thai ($9.50) and pineapple fried rice ($12.95), while contemporanians can go for the lamb red curry with pumpkin ($16.50) or tamarind-steamed salmon ($12.95). A variety of curries, vegetarian dishes (available upon request), and seafood dishes are also offered. Menu items marked with the ominously seductive chili are spicy and can be ordered on the heat scale ranging from 98.6 to Ghost Rider.

Buttercup Grill & Bar serves up an extensive and eclectic menu of hearty American fare for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and breakfast for lunch or dinner. Start a day of paragliding right with a hearty order of chicken fried steak and eggs ($8.99), or opt for a fresh-fruit-topped Belgian waffle ($6.99). The mid- and late-day menu offers any and everything to satisfy palates of all preferences, including starters such as a cup of soup ($2.99) or lunch-sized salad ($4.95+), or sandwiches like the slow-roasted prime-rib French dip ($7.99). Burgers ($7.59+), pastas ($8.99+), grilled favorites (such as chicken and shrimp jambalaya, $12.99), and other meaty treats ($9.99+) round out the tasty menu. The selection of beer, wine, and frozen non-alcoholic drinks make excellent candidates to chauffer the tasty bites down the body's food chute, and eventually into the gastronomic ball pit at the bottom.

Saul's was highlighted by the New York Times for its organic, often locally sourced, deli-style comestibles catered for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Mumbling morning bellies make peace with platters of smoked salmon accompanied by bagels and cream cheese ($75 for 10 people), washed down with freshly squeezed orange juice ($2.50/person). Disseminate hors d'oeuvres such as the hummus platter, which comes with pitas, olives, and feta ($12–$35), or deal in knishes ($2.50/person) and latkes ($2.25/person). Customizable meat platters can feed between 5 and 20 hungry humans or two famished bicycles with a selection of turkey, pastrami, roast beef, or corned beef ($40–$135). Five varieties of fresh bread and a posse of condiments and sandwich vegetables chaperon the savory slices. Wet whistles and other woodwind instruments with bottles of cane-sugar sodas ($3 each), and sate sweet teeth with cookie platters ($3/person) or a whole cheesecake to toss at insubordinate bassoonists ($38).