The SJ Mercury News reports this week that most restaurants have restored tomatoes to their menu:

Bay Area eateries are putting juicy red Romas and round red tomatoes back into pita sandwiches, cheese burgers and tortilla salads. Supermarkets are once again stacking them toward the ceiling.

But California tomato growers are anxiously awaiting whether consumers will shun raw tomatoes the way they did raw spinach a year and a half ago.

After a major outbreak of salmonella poisoning from tomatoes, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on June 7 warned consumers nationwide to avoid raw red plum, red Roma and round red tomatoes unless they were grown in certain states and countries.

The warning has still not been lifted. But supermarkets and restaurants now have a clear idea of where their tomatoes are grown.

The Merc follows also published an editorial calling for greater food safety and strong inspection systems.

Aqui Cal-Mex expects fresh tomatoes to return to their menu today.

Togo’s at Meridian & Willow happily still adds tomatoes to their sandwiches.

More WG Tomato updates …

Nearby California Pizza Kitchen locations have pulled tomatoes from their pizzas. But our own Willow Street insists their tomatoes are “vine clustered” and therefore OK. They’ve got ‘em!

For a humorous perspective, the Friday joke from San Jose Inside is titled “California Tomatoes Showing Up on EBay, Black Market.”

And for those of you not afraid to try one of the implicated variety of tomato — but safely grown inside California — Roma tomatoes are on sale at Mi Rancho (Lincoln & Coe) for 2 lbs at $1.

Fine.