Green Towers of Power

soft yellow interior walls. The rod iron bars in the front windows were removed, making the room lighter and airier. There are even fancy new bathrooms. The cozy full bar a great quick stop if you are in the area for a martini or wine by the glass. I was pleased by the sotto voce room (where one could hear and be heard) as well as jazz great dave Brubeck playing over the sound system.

Like my friend, I’d also go there again. I am anxious to try the lemon parsley cannellini, garlic fries and some of the desserts we didn’t have room for-—just as soon as I finish what’s left of our leftovers, that is. —Leslie

Westbrook

Toma Restaurant and Bar, 324 West Cabrillo, (805) 962-0777. www.tomarestaurant.com owner Alex Thomson, 35, explains: “We created custom lettuce mixes for bouchon and the Wine Cask. Café Luna also has their own mix and we are growing mustard greens for all three. for Sojourner, we are growing kale, cilantro and parsley.”

Open daily for dinner at 5pm.

What do local restaurants Intermezzo, Wine Cask, bouchon, el encanto, Scarlett Begonia and Café Luna all have in common? They’ve all hooked-up with montecito Urban Gardens who is custom-growing fresh, organic greens for the restaurants. But not in the traditional soil farm sense, but in state of the art tubelike plastic towers. The Summerland-based urban garden is growing kale (two types), ten varieties of lettuce, cilantro, parsley, and Bright lights Swiss Chard, among other crops for restaurant chefs around town as well as the public (on sale a few days a week) in their highly visible, aeroponic, towers.

Tower Gardens are 8-foot tall “food grade” plastic towers with built-in “chambers” where plant roots are suspended in air and intermittently soaked with a nutrient-rich, mineral based solution. highly efficient, these “towers of power” produce food in a fraction of the time that similar crops would require when grown in traditional soil. most lettuces, herbs, and leafy greens can be produced in 3 to 5 weeks as a mature living plant with the roots intact.

The business was born on Thomson’s patio. he “beta tested” the vertical farm growing for the personable and highly selective mitchell Sjerven (bouchon and Wine Cask owner) who “loved the results” according to Thomson. The business literally “grew” from there—in the 8-foot tall towers.

“I fell in love with the technology for urban farming,” said Thomson, who has wanted to grow his own food since childhood. Being raised in Borrego Springs, a desert-like community in eastern San diego County, Thompson admits that as a kid, he knew nothing about soil nutrients and was disappointed when his efforts would not yield a crop from the dry, desert sand.

“I never could grow anything as a kid,” says the husband and father of four, including a 4 year old and twin 3-year-old girls, who switched careers as a photographer to urban farmer.

“It’s going great at the farm. We are actually making money! It’s really cool to get my own paycheck,” laughed the tall entrepreneur, adding, “I have a 14-year-old son. I tell him to do what you love and the money will follow.”

Montecito Urban Farms 2352 Lillie Avenue, Summerland 805-694-8224 www.montecitourbanfarms.com On Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10 am to 2 pm, produce is sold “straight from the towers” to the public.