Raw Foods Redemption

After an upsetting experience with the chef/co-owner of a raw restaurant in Pleasant Hill a couple of months ago, raw foods had, figuratively speaking, left a really bitter taste in my mouth.  In that post, I linked that experience in Pleasant Hill with another at Cafe Gratitude on 9th Avenue in SF:

I might just give up on raw restaurants all together after this.  The last time that I dined at one, Cafe Gratitude in SF, the waiter (who knew I was vegan) felt compelled to tell me that he prefers to dine on animals because he feels closer to them.

I never blogged the entire experience, or contacted the restaurant management about this, I decided I’d quietly vote with my vegan dining dollars and that was the last time I ate at Cafe Gratitude – February, 2006.

Still, the folks at Cafe Gratitude reached out to me with a sincere apology.  And even after they learned this was a historical incident at a location that has since closed, they invited us back to re-experience Cafe Gratitude, or Gracias Madre.

We decided to accept their invitation and visited Cafe Gratitude’s Harrison Street location on a cool spring evening.  While there are raw foods that many people eat in their daily lives (fresh fruit, garden salads, rice paper spring rolls with veggies, etc), a raw foods restaurant like Cafe Gratitude elevates raw food dining to an entirely new level.

This is what we selected:

• I AM INSIGHTFUL  Spring Rolls (using Chard leaves)
• I AM SENSATIONAL Pesto Pizza (envision dehydrated cracker-like crust, pesto spread & sprouts on top!)
• Tamale (cooked dish from Gracias Madre) – Stoneground heirloom masa steamed in the husk filled with butternut squash and green chile.  Served with black beans and pickled vegetables
• I AM RAPTURE   layer cake
• I AM PRAISING  Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce

The food was uniformly excellent.  We particularly loved the simplicity and understated taste of the black beans, and that has inspired us eat more black beans.  We’ve been soaking and cooking them fresh for the last several weeks now.

The desserts were outstanding.  Most of them have coconut, and I’m not a big coconut lover, but I was very happy with my raw ice cream & chocolate sauce.

The spring rolls made with chard leaves were great, and I especially loved the pesto pizza.  In fact, the only food item we ordered that didn’t impress us was one that came as a side on two dishes, the pickled cabbage.  Aside from that, we would happily eat this entire meal, again.

For anyone who hasn’t been to Cafe Gratitude, they have primarily raw foods with some cooked items on the menu.  The seating at this location is communal, meaning there’s a couple of large tables which may be shared with separate dining parties, and I think there was also a table that seats four.  For me, that detracted from the entire experience — I felt crowded being so close to other diners, as I do like boundaries when I’m eating (as in, that’s my half of the pizza, hands-off!).

We were both very impressed with the raw foods at Cafe Gratitude.  We came away with a renewed appreciation for raw foods, a desire to return to Cafe Gratitude (pesto pizza and layer cake), and the notion of a San Francisco Vegan Food Trek in the Mission.  I’ll leave that topic for another day.

Vegan Latin Fusion cuisine

My tastebuds cannot even imagine what this is  .. but it sounds delicious!  The La Victoria Bakery & Kitchen hosts a vegan feast every Thursday night.  The best way to get the current menu information is to read the Soul Cocina blog

Here’s the menu from last week

Steamed Cajun Spiced GARBANZOS~ $ 3.5
Asparaus SOUP w/ Toasted Farofa and Tempura Asparagus Tips  ~$9
Local Snap Pea & Purple Potato POHA $11
OKRA Rasam with Lentil Fritter and Curry Leaf $11
Vegan TAMALES with Pickled Baby Vegetable and Mole Pipian $15
Organic PLATANOS maduros roasted in red palm oil over Mole Manchamantel with Black Beans and Rice  $15
Kefir Lime Merengue Tartlet with Ginger Scented Rhubarb and Thai Basil Scented Strawberry  $9

While I prefer to dine at retaurants that are exclusively veg to avoid any cross-contamination of my plant food, the worry would be reduced since apparently the entire menu is vegan this night at La Victoria Bakery & Kitchen

I spotted this tidbit in the newsletter from the Millennium Restaurant (the one and same iconic San Francisco restaurant).  Thank you to Millennium restaurant for the tip-off!  Below excerpted from their newsletter:

Attention Mission dwelling Vegans!

Samosa & Dosas in SF

For many years, vegetarians in the San Francisco area envied the abundance of purely vegetarian Indian restaurants in the South Bay.  Why, we asked ourselves, was New Ganges the lone Indian vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco?

Mixed Vegetable Uthappam served with a sambar and three coconut-based vegan chutneys

Then, last summer, it all changed.  Udupi Palace, which has vegetarian Indian restaurants in Berkeley, Newark, and Sunnyvale, expanded to San Francisco.  Udupi Palace serves traditional dosas and other south indian food.

Udupi Palace has been well-received, and even in this economy, they continue to do brisk business.  I’ve been there several times earlier this year, dining early and mid-week, they’ve typically been two-thirds full.

The prices are reasonable, the food is well-seasoned and delicious, and the wait staff are friendly and prompt.  There are many selections for vegans, and the wait staff have always been helpful in answering which items are vegan or can be made vegan.

Inside the Samosa: one order contains two pieces, and two different sauces.

My favorite and recommended dishes are:

Samosas (two pieces, $3.75)
Spring Dosa ($6.95)
Mixed Vegetable Uthappam ($5.75)

The Udupi Palace in SF is one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants in San Francisco.  I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking to enjoy vegetable-based Indian foods (there are no faux meats used in any of the dishes).

And, one of those days, purely in the interest of research for my blog, of course, I need to try their lunch buffet. It’s $7.95 during the week, and $8.95 on the weekends.

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