Since opening in 2017 in San Francisco’s Mission District, Kitava Kitchen has become a go-to restaurant for people on special diets.

In January, Kitava will be rolling out a revamped menu with more items to appeal to a wider swath of people, with or without dietary issues — anything from paleo to keto and Whole30, as well as GAPS (an anti-inflammatory diet known as Gut and Psychology Syndrome) and AIP (Autoimmune Protocol).

“We’ll be introducing some new proteins and some new dishes that we think will resonate with a broader set of folks than those who might have thought of us before,” said owner Bryan Tublin. “We’re trying to tap into the comforting nature of modern American cuisine, with its many influences.”

In 2020, Kitava partnered with Oakland’s first gluten-free brewery, Buck Wild Brewing Taproom near Jack London Square, to provide all of the food. During Covid, Kitava delivered throughout the Bay Area through a partnership with AllDay Kitchens.

None of the most common allergens are on Kitava’s menu, no gluten, dairy, corn or soy. The only rice is white (or cauliflower rice), as adherents of these diets maintain that it is the easiest type of rice for the body to process. Refined sugar is replaced with natural sweeteners. All proteins are sustainably sourced. The oils are limited to sustainably grown palm or coconut.

A brownie on the dessert menu is not just a brownie, it’s made with cassava and coconut flour, and is sweetened with coconut sugar.

The name comes from an island off of Papua New Guinea where inhabitants follow a traditional diet and have been studied because of their excellent health.

Tublin, 34, opened Kitava with Jeff Nobbs, both of whom came to the food industry as refugees from the tech world. Tublin had experienced chronic inflammatory pain and found that changing his diet had a major impact on how he felt.

Now the sole owner, Tublin is originally from Queens. His mother, whose background is Irish Catholic, converted to Judaism before she married Tublin’s Ashkenazi Jewish father.

Kitava’s fish ’n’ chips, made with cassava flour batter. (Photo/Alix Wall)

“She’s an independent mind, it wasn’t a condition my father made,” he said, adding that she makes excellent Irish soda bread and noodle kugel.

With Kitava, Tublin aimed to open a restaurant where people wouldn’t have to wonder whether the food was healthy, since all of it is. And it’s not only healthy to eat, it’s healthy for the environment, too. There are no factory-farmed meats, and they strive to use …….

Source: https://www.jweekly.com/2021/12/20/on-a-special-diet-or-not-kitava-kitchens-menu-expands-outward/