By Cali Bagby

Weekly editor

The Hillside Supper Club’s menu says “comfortable food, no pressure,” and features delights like smoked broccoli, grass-fed steak, hand-made fettuccine and duck liver mousse with rhubarb gelee.

The owners, Lopez native Jonathan Sutton, shown right, and his long-time friend Tony Ferrari started running the club as a “pop up” in San Francisco, meaning they rented a restaurant on its off days.

“It’s a great way to get started without all the overhead of owning a restaurant,” said Sutton. “It was going well and we had good feedback.”

Now the two young men are working on owning their first restaurant.

Sutton, 25, said the Hillside Supper Club will be inspired by his time growing up on Lopez. His mother Carmen Cicotti still lives on Lopez and Sutton tries to visit at least once a year. While in college, Sutton would return to the island and cook private dinners for several families using ingredients from the local farms including Horse Drawn Farms, Sweet Grass Beef and Jones Family Farm.

“The island is very community driven and supports local businesses and local farmers,” he said. “At the restaurant we are trying to spread community values from the islands to San Francisco. We’re going to small farmers, seeing the hard work they are doing.”

Sutton said the slow food movement, the antithesis to fast food, is gaining momentum in San Francisco and across the country, drawing interest from college students to posh diners looking for the newest trends in the restaurant business.

For Sutton, having a restaurant also allows him to do what he loves – working hands on with beautiful ingredients and seeing people enjoy the result.

“I love how food brings everyone together,” he said. “I love going out and talking with people and seeing their smiles, it’s instant satisfaction.”

For more info about Sutton visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/1868593168/support-hillside-supper-club-open-as-a-full-time-r or www.hillsidesupperclub.com.