Suggestions for RAW food restaurants in California

[Aasyah]

Greetings,

I will be taking a vacation next week home to California, to visit family and friends, and looking for suggestions on where to eat in the San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkely area. I did a search on line and found some very interesting places. Just would like to get more information from places that have been visited by raw foodies in this region :D

Cassandra

[TP]

cafe gratitude in berkely is awesome.. i've eaten there once and if I could i'd just eat there a bunch of times.. :D

http://www.withthecurrent.com/cafe.html

[sevenbravo]

Of course there is Julianos in Santa Monica. I remember the food being delicious, but I also remember stressing over how much it cost! For me that kind of ruined the experience.
Rawvolution in Santa Monica is more of a deli setting, but the food there was great too!

[veganman]

There is a Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco, too. Also, Alive Veggie (http://aliveveggie.com/).

[jjonak]

I live in Berkeley, so you are welcome to pick my brain on raw and vegan resources around the SF area. We are not as well stocked with raw as southern California, but it's still pretty good. Here are the best things I've found:

--Cafe Gratitude has locations in north Berkeley (Gourmet Ghetto near Chez Panisse on Shattuck) and San Francisco (Harrison). It is excellent. In addition to a wonderful menu (note that there are some non-raw items on the menu), there is a nice takeout area in the Berkeley location with raw nut milks, raw dishes and raw desserts to go. Their chocolate milkshake is the best, as are the samosas and the whole bowl (without quinoa). 415-824-4652. www.withthecurrent.com/cafe.html

--Millenium Restaurant is in San Francisco Union Square, and it is primarily cooked vegan but has one or two raw dishes every night on their menu. 580 Geary Street, 415-345-3900, http://www.millenniumrestaurant.com/

--There is a cafe inside the Berkeley Art Museum right on campus called Cafe Muse that has a menu which is half raw (about 3-4 dishes daily). They offer lunch most days and dinner on Thursday, although call in advance, because I have been there before when they were closed without warning.

--On Saturdays (around 10 am-3 pm), there is a farmer's market in downtown berkeley (near Berkeley BART) with several raw options. Lydia's has a stand there with raw pizzas and sushi, lots of live drinks/shakes and raw crackers. There is also a fantastic sushi stand at the other end. They are all vegan, half cooked sushi and half raw. The raw is fabulous - raw "sour cream" and all sorts of painstakingly chopped up goodies, pumpkin seeds, beets, etc. wrapped in chard leaves. They also have raw desserts, raw soups, and raw drinks (including a durian shake). There is also a stand near Lydia's that has raw sauerkrauts and kimchee. All delicious!

--Lydia's has a cafe in Marin County that has raw salads and entrees. It's located in Fairfax. 415-258-9678, http://www.lydiasorganics.com/restaurant.html

--Alive! is located in San Francisco at Webster and Lombard and is also fantastic. They are open every day but Tuesdays from 5-10 pm. 1972 Lombard Street, 415-923-1052, www.aliveveggie.com

--Alive! also has a stand every Saturday morning at the San Francisco Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building (Embarcadero BART) from 8 am-2 pm. The Ferry Building is a sight in and of itself. Lots of different top quality shops of food and produce (though most inside is cooked).

--On Tuesday and Thursday nights, the Oxygen Bar in the Mission in San Francisco used to have raw nights where a very talented young chef would come make wonderful dishes at very reasonable prices, including salad, entrees and dessert. I haven't been in a while, so not sure if this is still happening.

--There is a tiny restaurant in Oakland called Ital Calabash that has cooked vegan but also usually offers 1-2 raw dishes. Food is very good (though there's only one cook and waiter combined, so it can take a while to get it). 1405 Franklin Street, Oakland, 510-836-4825.

--There is a raw energy cafe in Berkeley on Addison, but that's the one place I tried that I did not like. Maybe it's improved; I went there shortly after it opened. At that time, there was no sitting area, it was more of a walk-by window for takeout. It's called Raw Energy and is located at 2050 Addison. 510-665-9464

--I have also heard of a place called Cafe Sangha in Fairfax (415-456-5300), but I don't know if it is still in business. It had "raw gourmet."

--If you go down south, Cafe La Vie in Santa Cruz also has raw food. 831-429-ORGN. www.lavie.us

--I have heard of a catering and cafe place called Que SeRaw SeRaw (gotta love the name) in Burlingame, near the San Francisco airport. 1160 Capuchino Avenue, 650-400-8590. It's all raw, as you'd guess from the name.

For grocery stores, I don't know where you are staying, but Whole Foods, Elephant Pharmacy and Rainbow Grocery are all great. Elephant has a very limited selection, but it's high quality and all health oriented, and they have a great natural herbs and remedies section with Chinese and holistic practitioners on call all the time.

[veganman]

Hi jjonak -

I also live in the Bay Area. Nice to have someone so nearby!

Do you know if there are any possibilities in the Napa area?

[deedub]

I would like to add that at the Tuesday Framers Market in Berkeley, Blessing has a booth and she has a variety of entrees, deserts and some excellent wraps made by the most loving hands.

For Grocery Stores I would add El Cerrito and Berkeley Natural Grocery Stores located on San Pablo and Gilman respectively. All of their produce is 100% organic.

Enjoy your trip. Much Love.

[ShantiDass]

There are 2 Cafe Gratitude's in SF and both were excellent. We had such good food there. It does add up and dinner for my daughter and I ended up being around $60 but it was worth it. We did order a lot as we wanted to try different things. They also have the best granola I have ever had. They well it in bags and I bought it to take home. I'm not 100% sure it's completely raw as this was before I became raw but I wish I had some now. They did say they were hoping to open a restaurant here in Los Angeles by the end of the year.

Have a fun trip.

[veganman]

I would like to add that at the Tuesday Framers Market in Berkeley, Blessing has a booth and she has a variety of entrees, deserts and some excellent wraps made by the most loving hands.

For Grocery Stores I would add El Cerrito and Berkeley Natural Grocery Stores located on San Pablo and Gilman respectively. All of their produce is 100% organic.

Enjoy your trip. Much Love.

Is Blessing a company, or someone on this list? :rolleyes:

[jjonak]

Hi jjonak -

I also live in the Bay Area. Nice to have someone so nearby!

Do you know if there are any possibilities in the Napa area?


Well, if cost is no object, I've heard you can call up French Laundry and they will do a raw tasting menu with a few days of notice. But I'm not aware of anything else at this point. If you become aware of anything, let me know. Is that where you live?

[Aasyah]

TP, Sevenbravo, Veganman, JJonak, Deedub, ShantiDass


Thank you for your time, help and wonderful suggestions. I will check them out while i am in the area. :D

Cassandra

[greywolf]

There are 2 Cafe Gratitude's in SF and both were excellent.

just so you know - Cafe Gratitude has 2 location IN SF and the new one in Berkeley, 3 total. i go to the one on 9th and Irving as often as i can get away with it since it is just a quick ride on the N train from Dubose park where i live.

everyone seems to know about their Harrison location and the new Berkeley place, but seems to forget the location on 9th...

[nerdgirl]

I live in southern CA and have some excellent raw restaurants around (for example, Jade Cafe, Cilantro Live, The Good Mood Food Cafe, just to name a few). I have considered moving to SF because of the 2 excellent ones there: Cafe Gratitude and Alive. CAFE GRATITUDE is completely fantastic. If you love dessert, look out!!! The vibe is excellent and the food is just amazing.
Alive! has amazing desserts and completely yummy food, as well. I can't say enough about them... you are so lucky to go there... ENJOY!!
Brian Au's (Raw in Ten author) restaurant near Union Square (Pawrawdise, I believe) may be open now. I can't comment on it since I haven't been there, only peered in the window while it was under construction.
There is also a raw restaurant in Santa Cruz called La Vie. I've only eaten there once so I don't feel qualified to comment - good location, though.
I could go to SF for a month and eat at Alive and Cafe Gratitude daily and still want more - they are that good!

[Minnie]

Hi Aasyah,

I posted this before about Cafe Gratitude's food. It's a great place. This can give you an idea of what to order. They even have their menu online. Check it out: http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13479&highlight=minnie :p

Minnie :D