Yesterday I grabbed a quick lunch with Monica Greene. She was in town to visit family, particularly her 2-year-old grandson, and to cast her early vote. She’s still living in Aspen and running a small vegetarian/vegan bistro on the top floor of the Explorer Bookstore & Bistro. The Aspen restaurant is closed for renovations so she’s taking it easy. Monica gets offers “all the time” to come back to Dallas and open a new restaurant. Right now she is content–after 16 years, Monica’s Aca y Alla is still doing fine.
Monica is deeply committed to healthy cooking and eating. I pressed her for future plans but she wouldn’t say much. All I got was this: she wants to come back at some point. She is thinking about doing an organic, healthy Mexican spot in the old Arcadia Movie Theater space on Greenville. She promises if she does another restaurant, it will “have a name you can pronounce.” Monica also said she would like to be in the kitchen instead of the front of the house. “I’ve been cooking a lot lately,” she said. “I never had the confidence in my cooking to cook at Monica’s.”
Confidence? Monica Greene without confidence? That’s like hearing Superman say he is afraid of flying.
