Popeye, Olive Oyl and Swee’ Pea will return to the sailorman’s Santa Monica hometown to kick off the city’s inaugural Eat Well Week. To celebrate California Restaurant Month, more than a dozen of Santa Monica’s top restaurants will offer discounted pre-fixe menus and new healthy menu options from Jan. 6 through Jan. 13, 2013.  To launch the occasion, Popeye will join three participating Eat Well Week restaurants—Locando del Lago, The Lobster and Ocean & Vine at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel—to create “Popeye Pop-ups,” featuring healthy spinach-inspired dishes and recipes on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Wednesday Downtown Farmers Market.

Popeye was created by E.C. Segar in a Santa Monica studio on Jan. 17, 1929. According to the story line, Popeye was born off the coast of Santa Monica during a typhoon. Popeye’s popularity and his taste for spinach quickly turned him into an immediate health food advocate.

Santa Monica provides a healthy dining experience year round where fresh Farmers Market produce plays a central role.  Dine local and learn more about Eat Well Week and Santa Monica’s wellness scene, by visiting http://www.santamonica.com/eatwell.