Some of the superheroes who put on the Gourmet Vegetarian Dinners
(September 2007; see photo from 2003 below)

Our primary activity is putting on a Gourmet Vegetarian Dinner every Monday night in Palo Alto, at the First Baptist Church, 305 North California Avenue at Bryant, 1/4 mile East of Alma. This is a full vegan dinner which includes soup, grain, beans or bean products, vegetables, dessert, and beverage, prepared by expert natural foods Chef Gary Alinder, our Chef since our inception in 1987. Dinner price is $15, reservations requested by Monday, 9:30 AM, 650 599-3320. If you can't dine with us, you can order a takeout!

All are welcome at our Dinners, vegetarian or not. The Dinners are particularly helpful for those who want to eat healthy, but may not know how to get started. Many who attend may have the same health concerns you have.

Seating is communal, all are friendly, and newcomers are welcome. Attendance ranges from 60 to 100, with a full spectrum of ages spanning newborns to grandparents, including quite a few interesting singles. Many long-term friendships have started at a Monday Dinner, and are renewed every week!

View the PMC Photo Album!

When a noteworthy speaker or other event is available, we feature an After-Dinner Lecture or Event. Lectures are usually on macrobiotic or other health related topics, by a variety of speakers including macrobiotic counselors, medical doctors, cooking teachers, and people who have dealt successfully with serious diseases using macrobiotic or similar approaches. Other events have included performances by folk singers and vegetarian Chinese acrobats. We have a pass-the-hat policy for our events; we suggest a donation of $5-10.

Dinner Menus are published in advance and accompany the Newsletter. The Newsletter lists and describes After-Dinner Events, cooking classes, take-out meals, macrobiotic and related conferences, services, restaurants, and markets. The Dinner Menus and Newsletter are published every two months, six times per year.

To receive an email notification each time the Newsletter and Dinner Menus are published on this site (every two months), .

To get a printed copy of the Newsletter and Dinner Menus delivered by postal mail, or call the phone number below. To offset the expense of producing the Newsletter and Menus, we suggest a contribution of $10/year. The date and amount of your last newsletter contribution appears on your mailing label. Write checks to "Peninsula Macrobiotic Community", and mail to Gerard Lum, 101 E. Middlefield Road #9, Mountain View, CA 94043, 650 903-0447.

We periodically review our mailing list. Those who have not made a recent contribution are subject to removal.

We welcome and can use additional contributions to the Peninsula Macrobiotic Community, as income from the Dinners does not pay all of our expenses. We are a nonprofit organization, so additional contributions are fully tax-deductible. Send contributions to the address in Mailing List Policy above.

This section is for the benefit of those new to the Gourmet Vegetarian Dinners, served Mondays in Palo Alto. Click on a question.

I'm interested in your Dinners, but I'm not sure about coming because I'm single and I won't know anyone there.

Do I need to make a reservation for the Dinner at 6:30 PM?

Do you accept credit cards or checks?

Can I make Dinner reservations by email or through your website?

If I cannot honor a Dinner reservation that I've made, should I let you know?

Do I need to make a reservation for the lecture at 8:00 PM, on evenings featuring a lecture?

Where will the Dinner and Lecture take place? Can you provide a map?

Where do I park?
 

I'm interested in your Dinners, but I'm not sure about coming because I'm single and I won't know anyone there.

Please come! Our Dinner Manager will help integrate you into our group. Seating is communal, with 8-10 people at a table. All are friendly; our regular diners often spontaneously introduce themselves to newcomers. If you like, we can put you to work serving Dinner!

Or if you prefer, you can get a takeout dinner to enjoy at home.

Do I need to make a reservation for the Dinner at 6:30 PM?

So our chefs can purchase appropriate quantities of food, reservations are requested by Monday morning at 9:30 AM.

To reserve, call 650 599-3320 to hear our recorded message and record your reservation. For our special dinners which may sell out, such as the Anniversary in May or Thanksgiving Theme Dinner in November, early reservations (days in advance) are advised.

If before 9:30 AM, leaving a message is sufficient to make a reservation. You can leave a call back number, but we will call you back only if there is a problem.

If after 9:30 AM and you are still interested in Dinner, leave a message with a callback number. If we can accomodate you, we will call you back. (This is a new policy beginning 2006.)

To see our menus, click on Current Menu above.

Do you accept credit cards or checks?

No. We do not accept credit cards or checks--bad checks have been a problem for us. Please pay with cash.

Can I make Dinner reservations by email or through your website?

No. Please make reservations by telephone, call 650 599-3320.

If I cannot honor a Dinner reservation that I've made, should I let you know?

Yes. Please call 650 599-3320 to let us know as soon as possible, so we can transfer your reservation to another interested party. Reservations that are not honored increase our costs.

Do I need to make a reservation for the lecture at 8:00 PM, on evenings featuring a lecture?

It is not necessary to make a reservation for the lecture.

Note that we have a pass-the-hat policy for our After-Dinner Events; we suggest a donation of $5-10. All money collected goes to the speaker.

Also note that the suggested donation is separate from the Dinner price. If attending both dinner and lecture, total cost will be $15 (dinner) + $5-10 (suggested donation) = $20-25.

Where does the Dinner take place? Can you provide a map?

The First Baptist Church, 305 North California Avenue at Bryant (click for map), 1/4 mile east of Alma, Palo Alto, CA. There are two buildings on the church grounds, the main church and a smaller building (Fellowship Hall) next to it. We meet in Fellowship Hall.

Where do I park?

There is ample street parking available. The church is in a quiet residential neighborhood; please be considerate of the neighbors and do not block driveways.

The church requests that you do not park in a church parking space alongside Fellowship Hall, even if open spaces are available.

President: Ken Becker
Dinner Manager: Miklane Janner
Dinner Manager (Honorary): Ilona Pollak
Newsletter Editor/Webmaster:
Volunteers: Jane Kos, Patricia Becker, Bob Griffin, K.C. Griffin, Kate Latham

Chef: Gary Alinder
Assistant Chef (Honorary): Chuck Collison
Guest Chef: James Holloway
Backup Chef: Paul Schmitt
Clean-up: Colleen Corey, Paul Moran

Web master: Gerard Lum (website)
Web mistress (Honorary): Robin Silberling

Mailing Address: The Peninsula Macrobiotic Community, 99 Oak Haven Way, Woodside, CA 94062 (address newsletter correspondence to the Mountain View address in Mailing List Policy above)

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