Soma offers healthful, mouthwatering cuisine

Avoiding buttery cinnamon twists and looking for just-the-right ratio

of protein, fat and carbohydrates? Where’s an athlete to go for a

delicious healthful meal?

That’s why triathlete Brad Stevens opened Soma Cafe in Newport

Coast, a coffeehouse and cafe that caters to active lifestyles. Soma

(Latin-derived, meaning body) takes the guesswork out of healthful

eating. Each menu item includes an easy-to-read breakdown of

proteins, carbs, fat, fiber and calories. Athletes can fill up on

foods their bodies need, Atkins and South Beach dieters can stick to

plans, and those not preoccupied by nutrition can just order great

food.

Stevens, 39, organized a group of partners and experts in sports,

nutrition and medicine. Stevens’ primary partners include Mark

Verstegen, who owns Athletes Performance Institute in Tempe, Ariz.,

where professionals train; Shan Stratton, the staff nutritionist for

the New York Yankees and nutritional consultant for 15 Major League

Baseball teams and 13 NBA teams; and Dr. Mike Walsh, a professor of

medicine in Madison, Wis., who provides advice on exercise

physiology.

After rounding up a team of health experts, Stevens needed a

culinary master to plan meals for Soma. He consulted with

award-winning chef and friend James McDevitt. The James Beard

Foundation, a famous culinary institute, named McDevitt as its Rising

Star Chef of the Year in 2001 for Hapa, his former Asian American

restaurant in Scottsdale, Ariz. Now McDevitt owns Budo restaurant in

Napa, Calif., which specializes in Asian-inspired cuisine.

McDevitt instinctively blends Asian cuisines. One of Soma’s Asian

specialties is a sake-glazed chicken breast served with sweet-potato

puree and grilled vegetables, papaya slaw and toasted sesame

($10.95). There’s also pork tenderloin in ginger plum sauce served

with carrot cardamom puree, grilled vegetables and fruit chutney

($14.95). The banana-leaf-wrapped salmon is steamed with lemongrass,

ginger root, mint, basil and lemon and served with fingerling

potatoes and grilled vegetables ($14.50).

At Soma, there are great dishes for vegetarians, vegans and even

steak-lovers. Some of its most popular items are the

banana-oat-flaxseed pancakes ($7.50); the shredded top sirloin and

avocado pizza with low-fat mozzarella and black bean salsa on a

delicious whole-wheat flatbread ($8.95); the grilled and perfectly

seasoned turkey burgers with tomato and onion on a multi-grain bun

($7.25); and the grilled salmon salad with apples, carrots, currants,

dill and red onion in a spicy cumin vinaigrette ($7.95).

As much as Soma is about healthful eating, it’s also about

spreading the word on the necessity of health, fitness and nutrition.

It works with Saucony, Gatorade and Active.com to educate people in

the community. Soma Kids started as a nonprofit program to tell kids

the importance of healthful eating, and it allocates funds for the

parents of children dealing with obesity issues.

Soma is already a popular hangout for health enthusiasts in

Phoenix, where the original Soma Cafe opened. It’s also

computer-friendly, with wireless Internet access. A third location is

under construction in Laguna Beach at the site where the Pottery

Shack used to be.

Breakfast, lunch, coffee and protein shakes are ordered at the

counter, with servers bringing orders to the tables. At dinner, Soma

offers sit-down service.

* BEST BITES runs every Friday. Greer Wylder can be reached at

greerwylder@yahoo.com; at 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626;

or by fax at (714) 966-4679.