Vegan San Francisco!

[Bowwowmeow]

I found a new vegan cafe in San Francisco. Its called Juicey Lucy's (http://www.juiceylucys.com/), and she offers juice fasting (at a very high price, I might add), and some vegan foods (though she uses honey in some; she needs a little enlightenment), but I might go there and give it a try some time.

She does have very good taste in fonts. :agree:

[Oracl]

She does have very good taste in fonts. :agree:

:rolleyes: :lol:

[thevegantwins]

You San Franciscoans are so vegan-deprived :rolleyes:. Vegan Asian, haute cuisine, pizza even vegan ice cream sundaes..

I'm so glad you have another vegan eatery to enjoy. :tantrum:

But no vegan donuts, eh? :laugh:

[Fauxmage]

:nahnah:
No, I haven't found a vegan donut shop yet. :sigh: Maybe I'm not looking hard enough. ;)

[thevegantwins]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/dining/18grat.html?ref=dining

April 18, 2007
Adoring Yourself and Your Appetizer
By CHRISTINE MUHLKE
San Francisco

I AM Luscious. Say it. Now try it on a stranger.

Unable to bring myself to say those three little words to the waitress, I jabbed at the menu. A few minutes later, she presented me with a smoothie made with hazelnut milk, figs, dates, vanilla and raw cacao, making eye contact as she said: “You are luscious!”

And so it goes at Cafe Gratitude, a raw-food restaurant in San Francisco, where every order is a self-affirmation — I Am Open, I Am Beautiful, I Am Powerful — mirrored back to you by your server.

If it sounds like “The Secret: The Restaurant,” you might not be far off: the positivity-preaching millionaire owners (“although there is no solid evidence that his wealth is a result of his practice,” their Web site says) have opened four Bay Area locations in three years, and plan to expand.

“All of our food is local, sustainable, organic, vegan and raw,” begin the well-programmed servers, “except for our rice and quinoa, which are steamed. Quinoa is an ancient....” But that’s the tip of the menu.

How to wrap one’s head around its affirmational glory? The menu’s cover reads: “We invite you to step inside and enjoy being someone who chooses: loving your life, adoring yourself, accepting the world, being generous and grateful everyday, and experiencing being provided for.”

Wow. So. The appetizers: I Am Bountiful live crustini, “toasts” made from seeds and nuts with such toppings as avocado and not-so-local Himalayan salt. I Am Happy live almond-sesame hummus. (“Live” food has not been cooked above 118 degrees, the temperature that kills enzymes, and incorporates sprouting seeds and nuts.) I Am Insightful spinach-wrapped samosas with cauliflower and macadamia “potatoes.”

And on through the long menu: I Am Giving, I Am Festive, I Am Prosperous, I Am Fabulous, Yo Soy Mucho (Mexican bowl).

The cold-brewed coffee is from a co-op of Muslims, Christians and Jews who “work together as one to bring us this expression of peace in a cup.”

After being luscious, I Was Sensational. The flatbread crust of this “live” pizza — served on a plate printed with “What are you grateful for?” — was made from pressed buckwheat and sunflower-seed sourdough. Alone, it had the flavor and consistency of a chew toy. Topped with zippy pesto of basil and hemp seeds; cashew “ricotta”; ripe cherry tomatoes doused in excellent olive oil; and a crumbling of Brazil-nut “Parmesan,” it was wholly satisfying.

Unlike the fussy (if flavorful) food at the New York raw-food restaurant Pure Food and Wine, this was straightforward and unpretentious, embodying the California-born edict of local, seasonal ingredients, simply prepared. With produce this good, what could be simpler than not cooking it at all?

Simple pricing, it seems, is also key: Roxanne and Michael Klein were the first to nudge raw food away from the health-store margins with the upscale restaurant Roxanne’s in Marin Country in 2001.

Though popular with purists and dabblers, its nouvelle-live cuisine proved too expensive: the adjoining take-out shop cannibalized the restaurant. Both closed in 2004.

At Cafe Gratitude, entrees top out at $12.

The cafe’s owners, Matthew Engelhart and his wife, Terces, created the Abounding River game, which helps players discover “a Spiritual foundation that opens up to a whole new way of looking at money and resources.” (Mr. Engelhart and his former wife, Jeanne, founded the natural clothing company Flax, whose labels had such affirmations as “I am perfect spirit radiant life.” When the then-divorced couple sold it in 2002, gross sales were $28 million.)

Matthew and Terces Engelhart followed their 2003 board game with a book and workshop series. The next year, they opened the first Cafe Gratitude on San Francisco’s Harrison Street as a “raw food gaming parlor,” Mr. Engelhart said by phone.

While people might be reluctant to take a weekend workshop, the couple reasoned, everyone wants to eat: “So we thought, let’s suck ’em in with food and have them play the game!” (A mural in each restaurant explains the game, the playing cards for which are in the center of every table.)

The Engelharts had become interested in raw food after reading a book on the subject while visiting their organic farm in Maui. They ate only live food for 30 days; afterward, they felt so good that they made the culinary switch. (Proponents of raw food believe that heating and processing kill enzymes necessary for good health.)

Ms. Engelhart, a former dental hygienist, flight attendant, Mary Kay Cosmetics executive and business owner who had an eating disorder for 20 years, is in charge of the menu. Her cookbook, “I Am Grateful,” written with Orchid, the man responsible for the sweets at the cafe, came out this month.

She has not formally studied raw food “cooking”; her husband called her “a natural food alchemist: she has that sixth sense about what goes together.” He’s not kidding.

As for the dish naming, Mr. Engelhart said: “We’re always affirming aspects of ourselves: I am shy, I am funny, I am unorganized, I am chubby. We live in language — we’re always languaging something about ourselves. We wanted people to practice saying something that’s empowering. It’s part of the process to reprogram ourselves, to be who we want to be.”

Asked what he’s grateful for, he said, “Today, I’m grateful for my stiff body: I did yoga for the first time in a long time.”

But the real punch line is how good the food is. I can’t wait to go back and be, if not luscious, at least sensational. I Am Shocked.

[Oracl]

:hungry: :yum:

[Bowwowmeow]

Maybe I should change this to "Vegan San Francisco". We don't have any "Vegan (fill in the name of your city)" threads.

[thevegantwins]

:agree: Good idea. I can't wait for a vegan family trip to SF. Not until the kids are potty-trained though, I'm not changing any diapers on a 6-hour flight.

[Bowwowmeow]

Done!
Now I've got to find a vegan donut shop before the twins are potty trained. ;) :yea:

[my3labs]

Not too far from S.F. Vegan Donuts in Seattle:
http://www.mightyo.com/

[1vegan]

:nahnah:
No, I haven't found a vegan donut shop yet. :sigh: Maybe I'm not looking hard enough. ;)

Found somewhere else, so I can't say how accurate this is ;
yay!! For those who don't have door delivery, you can get them at Ritual coffee in S.F

that's all I know, I can't check it out for you, nor can I give you an adress :o

oh, I can give an adress (mission district) :blinkwave:
Ritual Coffee

(415) 641-1024

www.ritualroasters.com

1026 Valencia St
San Francisco, CA 94110

http://urbantic.com/places/2577_Ritual-Coffee-Roasters

http://local.yahoo.com/details?id=29516934

[thevegantwins]

Virgin America just launched last week. I can fly from JFK to SFO for $149 each way! :yea: The Vegan Twins Take San Francisco for under $1300 for all 4 of us! :yea:

I think this might be a goal for 2008.

[Bowwowmeow]

:fireworks9: YAY!!! :fireworks9:
:Bananas:

[my3labs]

Dan and I can get there super cheap. I'm in.

[Bowwowmeow]

Wow! It looks like we are going to have an official Naked Vegan meetup, just like all the big forums have!
:celebrate: :celebrate: :celebrate:

[Oracl]

I'll have to check the international airfare! :hyper: :excited:

[Bowwowmeow]

Yes, do! :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

[Oracl]

So 2008 will be the year of the inaugural meetup of The Naked Vegan? :wigglebutt:

[Bowwowmeow]

I hope so! :crossfingers:

[Charmagne]

Count me in!!:cheer:

[thevegantwins]

So BWM, how many can sleep comfortably on your houseboat? I hope it sleeps at least....15? :p :D

[paul]

you never know i might pop over for afternoon :teapot:tea

[Gliondrach]

Fuzzy could get there but I probably can't.