Heyday Restaurant Review | Financial District, SF

"Change-averse" is a term we'd never use to describe Jeremy Scheiblauer.

The chef of San Francisco's Heyday is accustomed to menus that vary daily, having worked at the iconic Chez Panisse Café for several years. He uses the same concept at his new fast-casual breakfast and lunch spot.

Heyday's menu always includes a few staple items, such as a Moroccan-spiced quinoa salad that customers love, but Scheiblauer also offers a daily special soup, salad and sandwich that incorporate the season's freshest ingredients to elevate the typical workday lunch.

In that vein, Scheiblauer shared his recipe for freekeh salad (see the recipe), which he created while he was waiting for local cucumbers to come into season. When they finally arrived in his kitchen, Scheiblauer experimented with what he had on hand, mixing the local cukes with cracked wheat, cauliflower, dill, sumac and lots of lemon juice.

The salad is cool, vibrant and ideal for summertime picnics; if you'd like to add more texture, skip the blanching and roast the cauliflower on high heat for a few minutes, until it browns. Scheiblauer suggests replacing the cucumber with diced melon or tomato later in the summer.

Feel free to get a little freekeh.