The diverse palates of South Bay residents have especially brought more choices to the table for those who are dining out while sticking to a particular diet. Whether diners are observing religious beliefs, aiming to eat healthier food or trying to slim down, local restaurants have plenty to offer.

Longtime South Bay favorite Country Gourmet has always emphasized healthy offerings on its menu. The Sunnyvale restaurant has served free-range meats and primarily locally grown organic foods for a number of years.

"For me personally, as a chef, I'm responsible for what we're serving," says executive chef Jimmy Connors, about why he favors organic choices. "It's about commitment to the community and supporting smaller farmers."

Eating organic and natural foods seems to be on the minds of more and more South Bay diners. Organic produce is grown without pesticides, and free-range meat comes from animals that graze in pastures, rather than being kept in pens.

"People are definitely in tune with those things," Connors says. "A lot of people come in with questions."

Country Gourmet serves only wild salmon, and the restaurant gets all of its meat from the Bay Area-based Niman Ranch, which produces free-range beef, pork and lamb that has been raised naturally, without growth hormones. The restaurant also features organic produce.

The abundance and range of produce available in the area gives the restaurant the ability to offer a variety of vegetarian choices. Popular dishes have included kabocha squash with rice, orzo pasta and blood orange sauce, tofu and black mushroom fried rice and black trumpet mushroom risotto with truffle oil.

Casablanca's Cafe, which opened in September 2004 in the location that the Willow Glen Kosher Market occupied for more than 30 years, continues to serve some of the market's former customers with Greek, Mediterranean and Persian dishes that are both halal and kosher.

Halal refers to a set of dietary rules followed by Muslims, and kosher describes Jewish dietary laws. Halal and kosher rules have many differences, but the way in which meat is butchered according to both halal and kosher guidelines is very similar.

"The animal is cut the same way," says Casablanca's owner Fawaz Hamed, who gets his meat from a halal source. The halal and kosher methods are often considered healthier because impurities are not left in the meat.

According to kosher rules, meat and dairy must be kept separate in the kitchen. In accordance with halal guidelines, Casablanca's Café does not serve alcohol. The café also features a bazaar that stocks imported foods such as olives, flat breads, spices and prepackaged foods that are certified halal.

The café serves sandwiches, salads and soups, as well as combination plates and entrees.

Hamed says popular dishes include the kufta kabob, a dish with layers of baked minced beef and lamb with spices, topped with potatoes and tomatoes, and chicken or lamb kabob dishes. The restaurant also serves grilled fish--either tilapia or salmon--marinated in garlic sauce and herbs and served with rice and a salad.

Vegetarians will also find many choices on the menu at Casablanca's Café. The sandwich menu prominently features such Mediterranean staples as hummus--a mixture of garbanzo beans, garlic and sesame and taboulleh--a mixture of minced tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, mint and grains.

Protein-conscious diners will appreciate the new menu that was launched recently at Pasta Pomodoro, a chain of casual Italian restaurants throughout California and Arizona. Although most dishes are the same, the menu highlights vegetables and protein in different sections. Along with meat entrées and pasta choices, the menu offers small and large portions of appetizers and salads, as well as side dishes, which diners can mix and match.

The restaurant hasn't specifically targeted trends such as low-carb diets but is aware of customers' overall interest in healthier eating, says Heddi Cundle, Pasta Pomodoro's marketing director.

Pasta Pomodoro diners can substitute gluten-free or multi-grain pasta for the regular pasta in any dish. The multi-grain option replaces the whole wheat choice that the restaurant previously offered. The gluten-free pasta, made from lentil flour, is a high-protein choice for carbohydrate counters, while the multi-grain pasta offers an option for diners aiming for more whole grains in their diet.

Popular health-conscious choices at Pasta Pomodoro include pollo griglia, a grilled skinless chicken breast marinated in garlic and rosemary and served with orzo, or the verdure, an all-veggie dish of roasted Brussels sprouts, eggplant, asparagus and broccoli served with a choice of olive oil and garlic or spicy tomato sauce.

Amber India, a contemporary Indian eatery at Santana Row, features substantial vegetarian choices, with the menu organized in vegetarian and non-vegetarian categories. The restaurant serves up cuisine that ranges from traditional Indian favorites to dishes with a modern twist.

Executive chef Vittal Shetty says about half of the diners at Amber India order vegetarian dishes. According to Shetty, some of the restaurant's most popular vegetarian dishes use paneer, a slightly dense, fresh white cheese similar to mozzarella. Paneer is often served cut into bite-sized cubes. Spinach and fresh okra are also popular main ingredients in the restaurant's vegetarian dishes. Amber India often offers organic foods in its weekend specials.

The menu includes more traditional vegetarian fare such as navratan korma, which features vegetables simmered in cashew gravy, or lahsooni palak, a dish of spinach and garlic that is served with a choice of paneer or potatoes. Diners can also sample such contemporary dishes as pan-fried eggplant steak, which is stuffed with spiced paneer and topped with tomato onion-seed sauce, or bhara jungli khumb, a roasted portobello mushroom stuffed with paneer and asparagus.

"In India, [vegetarianism] is a big part of the religion," says Shetty, who grew up in South India.

He recalls that in his homeland, vegetarian food was an important aspect of the culture and festivals.

"When you cook vegetarian, you enlighten yourself," Shetty says. "It's a soulful kind of thing; I feel that myself sometimes."

Vegetarian cooking is also a labor of love for Christina Phan, the owner of White Lotus, an all-vegetarian restaurant in downtown San Jose. Being a Buddhist is part of the reason she runs the restaurant, which she bought in November 2004. She also likes to serve healthy food.

Phan serves up a variety of meatless Vietnamese and Chinese-style dishes, with an emphasis on lighter cooking and lots of produce.

"We don't use MSG; we don't use much oil," says Phan. "We use a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables."

A glance at White Lotus' menu shows that those interested in opting for a meatless diet don't necessarily have to worry about missing the "main" ingredient. Chicken, beef and other meat entrées are mock meat, made from textured vegetable protein. TVP is a meat substitute, made primarily from soy flour, which stands in for pork, beef, chicken and even fish on the menu. TVP adds a texture and taste similar to the "real thing" in White Lotus' dishes such as lemon chicken or pork clay pot. Phan says the beef curry is particularly popular.

Vegan diners, who eat no animal products, have lots of choices at White Lotus. Most dishes are dairy- and egg-free, and the menu informs customers which items do contain dairy or eggs.

Phan says eggplant dishes are favorites among diners, as are noodle dishes such as chow mein. The menu also includes a variety of dishes featuring tofu, a protein-rich versatile soy ingredient that is perhaps the best-known staple of a vegetarian diet. Tofu is the star of one of White Lotus' most popular dishes, in which it is stuffed with black mushrooms and clear noodles, fried and covered in a tomato sauce.

Amber India, 377 Santana Row, Suite 1140, San Jose, 408.248.5400.

Casablanca's Café, 1185 Lincoln Ave., San Jose, 408.993.8636.

Country Gourmet, 1314 S. Mary Ave., Sunnyvale, 408.733.9446.

Pasta Pomodoro, multiple San Jose
locations including 1205 The Alameda, 408.292.9929 or 2083 Camden Ave., 408. 371.2600 or 378 Santana Row, 408.241.2200.

White Lotus, 80 N. Market St., San Jose, 408.977.0540.