Big Fresh Cafe: The name says it all

The small, focused menu at Big Fresh offers a few Middle Eastern foods -- hummus, falafel, tabbouleh -- held over from the restaurant it replaced, Rami's. But its primary focus is on whole grains (brown rice, whole-wheat couscous, wheat noodles), lean proteins (tofu, all-natural chicken, and wild Alaskan salmon), and fresh produce from local farms.

Most of the vegetables come from local growers and organic suppliers whose names will be familiar to anyone who shops at farmers' markets or pick-your-own establishments: Heirloom Harvest in Westborough, Marino Lookout Farm in South Natick, and 21st Century Foods in Jamaica Plain. Sunshine Dairy in Framingham and Land's Sake in Weston may soon join that list. That means Big Fresh's customers get fruits and veggies of top-shelf freshness, including some plucked that very morning.

Many menu items are organic, which means they're produced without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, growth hormones, irradiation, or genetic engineering. The chicken, from Bell & Evans, is raised without antibiotics or growth hormones. The salmon comes from a regulated fishery. No Coke or Pepsi here; the microbrewed soda is from a JP company. And because Masterson -- who has a "passion for causes," as her husband puts it, especially social justice issues -- wants healthful eating to be affordable for the masses and not just an expensive option for affluent consumers, she has labored mightily to keep prices reasonable; the costliest menu item is $8.25.