Hm, well if it came down to it, our jungle grass lawn could be grown out for hay... there is no coaxing required with our yard, its more than happy to keep growing and growing....
I love walking barefoot in the grass....so I have nice grass pathways between my growing beds. I still get to walk barefoot in the grass but I have less "lawn" every day Besides, I have more dandelions in some spots than grass...free duck food!!
As for mowing, the paths are just wide enough for a push mower. A weed waker takes care of most of it.