If you’re looking for the best burger in town, I can tell you exactly where to find it. “The Works” Lean Mean Burger at The Golden Mean in Santa Monica is a knockout, and I guarantee you will not for one tiny moment wonder, “Where’s the beef?” This burger is made from beans, grains and veggies topped with avocado, tempeh bacon (smoked on site), vegan cheese and a magical sauce on a fantastic sesame seeded bun. Personally I’m not a burger baby in any genre and don’t eat much bread, so until proprietor Aaron Glassman suggested it, it wasn’t even on my radar. But this burger was so delicious, infused with so many complex tastes, that I demolished an entire half without a blink.
Here’s the most embarrassing part. Before eating the burger, I’d already consumed a large portion of soup and salad. My dinner companion and I sampled both a lightly seasoned butternut squash puree—thick and satisfying enough to be a meal in itself—and an unusually light and tasty black bean soup.
Baby arugala, edible flowers, baby beets and candied walnuts are among my favorite salad ingredients, but lime-shallot dressing on the Golden Mean Salad was so light we checked to be sure it was there. I could imagine something a little stronger to meld and enhance these fabulous flavors.
“Chicken” Parmesan was a daily special, along with soft shell tacos, but we opted for Japanese udon noodles with “chicken” strips (made from wheat and soy) and sea vegetables; the noodles were cooked perfectly, with just the right amount of kick to the sauce.
Oh wait, did I mention raw kelp noodle salad made with carrots and ginger? Or quinoa salad with black beans and other veggies? Spinach, black bean and yam salad with cilantro-lime dressing? We just couldn’t get enough of their side salads.
One would think after this much food we had no room for dessert, but chef Britt Hawley bakes a low gluten, wheat-free spelt coconut cake with a thin layer of blackberry jam between layers—along with Earth Balance-based frosting—that you may not even want to share. During the French revolution, when told the people of Paris were starving with no bread, the coldhearted Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake!” If one had this particular cake—so nutritious and delicious—it just might serve double duty as a mealtime staple.
The Golden Mean is a mere sliver of a restaurant carved out of a recently enlivened block on Wilshire between 10th and 11th that includes several other excellent eateries. Prior to its opening, Glassman had been a bit of a hermit up at the Ventura county line, funding his endeavors with music education gigs and products, when he was inspired to create community in Santa Monica. Indeed, the original intent was for a bookstore, and there are books, CDs, crystals and even jewelry artfully strewn on shelves around the restaurant for purchase or pleasure.
The charming space is painted in warm tones of sunlight and earth, constructed with eco friendly materials that include natural clay plaster infused with crushed 
crystals and incense. There are cozy tables and chairs downstairs, and more seating in a quiet space upstairs that offers free wifi. In the tradition of Anastasia’s Asylum, long-time former occupant of the space, there is often live music on weekend evenings.
Plates are artfully designed bamboo, the same material used to construct the furniture; and takeout containers are suitable for backyard composting. I simply rinsed mine and added it to my bin.
The Golden Mean refers to divine proportion, balance and harmony, a mathematical formula postulated by Aristotle and allegedly found in everything pleasing in nature. Its namesake restaurant sated my appetite and calmed my energy, leaving me restored and in harmony with the world.
The Golden Mean, 1028 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica 90401. 310.393.6500.
Photo: Whitney Lauritsen
