Recently, I was taken to dinner at Akasha by TransFair USA, the folks who give imported products like coffee, sugar and flowers the Fair Trade Certified™ label. This ensures consumers that farmers and workers are paid a fair, above-market price for their goods, while using sustainable practices.

The new Culver City restaurant was the perfect choice because Chef Akasha Richmond sources organic produce locally, purchases from sustainable fisheries and farms, and uses only Fair Trade organic coffees, teas and sugars.

The menu is an amalgam of Indian spices and techniques (from her days at the seminal Los Angeles vegetarian hotspot the Golden Temple) fused with California comfort food. There's the turmeric seared pear salad, cannellini bean hummus, Punjabi mung beans and rice, local greens with shaved fennel and sheep cheese as well as organic mac and cheese and crispy home-made onion rings.

But since I have a sweet tooth, the adjacent bakery is the real treat. Vegan choices like Meyer lemon scones (of course, when Meyer lemons are in season) or salty chocolate pecan tarts are tempting. As are the old-fashioned chocolate peanut butter cupcakes with thick ribbons of frosting (ganache anyone?). And since the pastries change all the time (as does the menu) you'll just have to keep coming back for more.