In a bygone era, the notion of a vegetarian dining conjured the image of a perspiration-soaked hippie wearing cut-off jeans, sitting cross-legged on the floor shoveling into his mouth a thick, dun-colored gruel with a heaping side of sprouts. Then, in the late ’70s, gourmet eatery Greens arrived on the scene and step by hard-won step ushered into the American consciousness the marriage of haute food-preparation and dark, leafy, farm-fresh grub.

Located in a swanky, breezy spot in the seaside Fort Mason Building, Greens is the standard bearer of conscientious edibles. Founder and chef Annie Somerville summons plated masterpieces that range from the delectable quotidian, like a plate of mesquite-grilled peaches offset with creamy mascarpone, arugula bite and sage honey, to the gastronomically experimental, such as corn-and-zucchini brouchettes with savory tofu hugging a bed of pearl couscous adorned with tart cherries and pistachios.