And good for you too

A chic oasis on Melrose Avenue, just west of La Brea, M Cafe de Chaya is the latest restaurant from Shigefumi Tachibe, the genie behind Chaya Brasserie and Chaya Venice.

Sunny yellow awnings mark the spot. Beside the door is a silvery olive tree in a square concrete container. Diminutive pots of thyme sit on the cafe tables out front.

Inside, a sleek glass case holds delectable-looking muffins, breakfast pastries and exquisitely crafted desserts that would not look out of place on the shelves of a Parisian patisserie. To the right are pristine-looking salads, bento boxes and a chorus line of rustic panini.

The surprise is that everything at M Cafe de Chaya is macrobiotic, as conceived by Tachibe and chef de cuisine Lee Gross, who (I want to whisper here) lists former personal chef to Gwyneth Paltrow as one of his credits.

The actress must have been one happy camper, because macrobiotic never tasted so good. This is very skilled, very clever stuff, light-years away from the leaden breads you had to chew all day to get down, which is what I mostly remember from early forays into macrobiotic food. Speaking of bread, the cafe bakes its own excellent baguettes and sourdough boules.

What’s clever is the way the kitchen uses color and texture. A breakfast panini of tofu scramble colored yellow with turmeric to mimic scrambled eggs is flecked with carrots and other vegetables, topped with something called tempeh bacon, packed in a crusty roll, then toasted for extra crunch.

Melrose muffuletta is layers of salami, cheese, roasted peppers and sun-dried tomatoes with a smear of tapenade. But wait a minute. That “salami” isn’t made with meat at all: It’s seitan (wheat gluten), and the cheese is miso-cured tofu. Could have (almost) fooled me.

There’s also a delicious hummus and falafel wrap Madras that features a mixed-grain falafel and tahini-soy yogurt dressing or a grilled teriyaki-glazed tuna burger with spicy yuzu mayonnaise.

Salads are designed to please the palate and the eye. Check out the M chopped salad with tofu-peppercorn ranch dressing or the Indonesian-inspired gado gado garnished with golden tempeh triangles marinated with lemongrass, ginger and lime.

But those pastries! Hazelnut baci and pretty Linzer torte cookies with a dab of raspberry jam are delicious by any measure. Petits fours taste very like real cake, even though pastry chef Eric Lechasseur makes them entirely without dairy or refined sugars. The “butter” is tofu butter.

Welcome to the world of contemporary macrobiotic food.

You’ll need patience, though: Everything on the menu is highly labor-intensive, and service is slow.

*

M Cafe de Chaya

Where: 7119 Melrose Ave., L.A.

When: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily; parking in front and on street

Cost: Soups, $3.25 to $5.75; salads, $6.95 to $12.95; rice bowls, $8.75 to $12.95; sandwiches and wraps, $7.75 to $11.95; patisseries, 90 cents to $5.95

Info: (323) 525-0588; www.mcafedechaya.com