Going to California!! Need raw suggestions!

[mbf]

Hi,

I am heading to Disneyland CA next week and was hoping for some suggestions on must visit raw food places. Disneyland is in Anaheim and I have scoped out a place called Good Mood Food in Huntington beach? and also plan on taking a day trip to Santa Monica and going to Rawvolutions cafe but I am looking for something close to Disneyland.

Thanks!

Mara:D

[michigan roman]

you prob remember rawtruth and path301 raving about auc lac in fountain valley but in case you didnt i thought ide mention it . though im not sure how far away its from anaheim . but i was there 23 years ago and fountain valley i remember to be a nice city .

[Revvell]

Au Lac is closer to Anaheim than Santa Monica is.

You can also check out Cilantro Live in S.D. and Terra Bella in Huntington Beach on your way up; Juliano's and Leaf Cuisine, both in S.M.

Enjoy!

Revvell

[Conscious Midwife]

I Ditto LEAF Cuisine (Washinton Blvd.)

I give it 4 outta 5 grapes for flavor
and 3 out of 5 for ambiance
and 5/5 for darn good to go items and pricing:D

[mbf]

Thank you! Do you have a website for either of those places?

Thanks again!

Mara

[Tk2dsky]

Au lac is a definite must. The food is delicious. Not too far from Disneyland. I've tried Good Mood Food and was less than thrilled by their offerings. Terra Bella is in Redondo Beach I believe ( not Huntington Beach, unless there is another brance of it). I had food from Juliano's Raw restaurant last week and it was good (although a little pricey). Any of the LA restaurants will be about an hours drive from Anaheim, so plan on a day taking in the sights and maybe enjoy one restaurant for lunch and a different one for dinner.

here's the address for Au lac http://www.aulac.com/raw/AuLacRaw-Menu.html

[FirstGarden]

* Bring an oxygen bottle.

* Bring ear plugs for the rollin' rap-discos that pull up at the intersection.

* Avoid almost all restaurants - you will be bummed. If it's a nat food
restaurant, bring your own dressing.

* When driving, avoid rush hours and lunchtime whenever possible.

* If you sun it, use lotsa sunblock and umbrellas. (Especially between 11am and 3pm -- peek times for ultraviolet & infrared rays. Don't ruin your trip with a case of sun poisoning.)

* Bring extra money for gas prices.

* Most of your progressive, raw kinds of places will be around West LA
and Santa Monica, but they can be found in Orange County as well. I'll try
to find some links for you.

[FirstGarden]

The ultimate restaurant and shopping guide for vegetarians and vegans

Top Restaurants


Secret Spot

Wheel of Life

Native Foods

Orange County, California


Name*
Cuisines
City*
Price*
Rating*
How Veg?*

Aegean Cafe
Greek
Laguna Beach
$19-29
none
vegetarian-friendly


Au Lac
Chinese, Raw Food, Vietnamese
Fountain Valley
$13-19
8.8 / 4
vegetarian / vegan-friendly


Avanti Cafe Restaurant, Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Eclectic (Varied)
Costa Mesa
under $8
7.0 / 1
vegan


Bodhi Tree Restaurant, Coffee/Tea/Juice
Vietnamese
Huntington Beach
$8-13
9.3 / 3
vegetarian / vegan-friendly


Good Mood Food Cafe - Huntington Beach
Raw Food
Huntington Beach
$13-19
none
vegan


Henry's Marketplace Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Costa Mesa
none
vegetarian-friendly


Henry's Marketplace Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Fullerton
none
vegetarian-friendly


Henry's Marketplace Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Laguna Niguel
none
vegetarian-friendly

Henry's Marketplace Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Mission Viejo

Henry's Marketplace Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Yorba Linda

Mother's Market Restaurant, Grocery/Bakery/Deli, Coffee/Tea/Juice
American, Chinese, Deli, Greek, Indian, Italian, Mexican, Soul Food
Huntington Beach
$8-13
8.0 / 2
vegetarian-friendly


Native Foods
Costa Mesa
$13-19
9.3 / 11
vegan


Secret Spot
American, Eclectic (Varied), Mexican
Huntington Beach
under $8
9.7 / 7
vegan-friendly


Sidney's Cafe Restaurant, Caterer, Coffee/Tea/Juice
American, Deli, English, Jewish (Eastern European), Mexican, Tex-Mex
Fullerton
$8-13
9.0 / 3
vegetarian / vegan-friendly


Sitar Indian Cuisine Restaurant, Caterer
Indian (Northern), Indian (Southern)
Fullerton
$13-19
none
vegetarian-friendly


Thai This
Thai
Dana Point
$8-13
none
vegan-friendly


The Living Temple General Store
Raw Food
Huntington Beach
none
vegan

[FirstGarden]

The ultimate restaurant and shopping guide for vegetarians and vegans

Top Restaurants

Secret Spot

Wheel of Life

Native Foods

Orange County, California


Name*
Cuisines
City*
Price*
Rating*
How Veg?*

Aegean Cafe
Greek
Laguna Beach
$19-29
none
vegetarian-friendly


Au Lac
Chinese, Raw Food, Vietnamese
Fountain Valley
$13-19
8.8 / 4
vegetarian / vegan-friendly


Avanti Cafe Restaurant, Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Eclectic (Varied)
Costa Mesa
under $8
7.0 / 1
vegan


Bodhi Tree Restaurant, Coffee/Tea/Juice
Vietnamese
Huntington Beach
$8-13
9.3 / 3
vegetarian / vegan-friendly


Good Mood Food Cafe - Huntington Beach
Raw Food
Huntington Beach
$13-19
none
vegan


Henry's Marketplace Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Costa Mesa
none
vegetarian-friendly


Henry's Marketplace Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Fullerton
none
vegetarian-friendly


Henry's Marketplace Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Laguna Niguel
none
vegetarian-friendly

Henry's Marketplace Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Mission Viejo

Henry's Marketplace Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Yorba Linda

Mother's Market Restaurant, Grocery/Bakery/Deli, Coffee/Tea/Juice
American, Chinese, Deli, Greek, Indian, Italian, Mexican, Soul Food
Huntington Beach
$8-13
8.0 / 2
vegetarian-friendly


Native Foods
Costa Mesa
$13-19
9.3 / 11
vegan


Secret Spot
American, Eclectic (Varied), Mexican
Huntington Beach
under $8
9.7 / 7
vegan-friendly


Sidney's Cafe Restaurant, Caterer, Coffee/Tea/Juice
American, Deli, English, Jewish (Eastern European), Mexican, Tex-Mex
Fullerton
$8-13
9.0 / 3
vegetarian / vegan-friendly


Sitar Indian Cuisine Restaurant, Caterer
Indian (Northern), Indian (Southern)
Fullerton
$13-19
none
vegetarian-friendly


Thai This
Thai
Dana Point
$8-13
none
vegan-friendly


The Living Temple General Store
Raw Food
Huntington Beach
none
vegan


The Stand Natural Foods
Eclectic (Varied)
Laguna Beach
under $8
7.8 / 4
vegan


Thuyen Vien
Chinese, Vietnamese
Garden Grove
$8-13
10.0 / 3
vegetarian / vegan-friendly


Wheel of Life
Chinese, Thai
Irvine
$8-13
8.7 / 17
vegan

Wheel of Life
Chinese, Thai
Huntington Beach
$8-13
9.5 / 6
vegan


Wild Oats Grocery/Bakery/Deli
Laguna Beach
none
vegan-friendly


Yogiraj
Indian (Northern), Indian (Southern)
Anaheim
$8-13
7.5 / 2
vegetarian / vegan-friendly

[Stina]

Don't forget to put a Raw flower in your hair!

[spicyfull]

* Bring an oxygen bottle.

* Bring ear plugs for the rollin' rap-discos that pull up at the intersection.

* Avoid almost all restaurants - you will be bummed. If it's a nat food
restaurant, bring your own dressing.

* When driving, avoid rush hours and lunchtime whenever possible.

* If you sun it, use lotsa sunblock and umbrellas. (Especially between 11am and 3pm -- peek times for ultraviolet & infrared rays. Don't ruin your trip with a case of sun poisoning.)

* Bring extra money for gas prices.

* Most of your progressive, raw kinds of places will be around West Hell-A
and Santa Monica, but they can be found in Orange County as well. I'll try
to find some links for you.

I Beg to differ......I Live in Paradise..................

[Princess Elaine]

I live in Huntington Beach and I love it here.

Elaine

[Revvell]

I Beg to differ......I Live in Paradise..................

I agree. If you don't love and appreciate Ca. go somewhere else.... Oh! I see he is. :)

Revvell

[mbf]

Thanks for all the information and warnings ;) ! remember i'm coming from NY we have our fair share of annoyances..to say the least!

We are very much looking forward to our trip!

Thanks again!

Mara

[Marlie28]

the mother's market in irvine (off of jamboree 405) has some raw desserts, flax crackers, raweos, etc. in a section. they also have good produce if you want to stock up on stuff so you don't eat churros at disneyland. native foods is also in irvine, they have pretty good stuff, not all raw, definitely go to au lac, btw some of their dishes are pricey ($15-$22) but definitely worth it, it's off of brookhurst and the 405. disneyland is on off of the 5, so you'll have to go west to get to these places. have a great time! oh also good mood food sells some prepared food, which might be good to take with you during the day (desserts, raw falafel, raw "green submarine" wraps")

[Vegan Princess]

I definately reccomend Juliano's over Rawvolution. I visited both on my recent trip down to LA. I actually went to Julianos twice. I was dissapointed in Rawvolution. Also, Cilantro's in SD is good, but not worth a trip down to San Diego in and of itself. Of course San Diego is beautiful and worth a trip and if you happen to be there I would check it out. I am from SD (live in San Francisco now) and ate there on my recent trip home. I also don't recall there being much healthy food inside Disneyland so be sure to pack snacks! I am excited to try Au Lac on one of my next trips down. Have fun!!!

Cindy

[mbf]

Thanks again everyone!

Vegan princess, why didn't you like Rawvolution?

Mara

[Vegan Princess]

I didn't love it for a few reasons. It was very small...order at the counter and then bring your food to your seat. There were only 4 or 5 tables. Also I ordered soup and it came in a to-go cup for juice, iced cold. Not very appealing. I also didn't notice any desserts on the menu other a cookie or two. The desserts are amazing at Juliano's. I must say I'm a little spoiled b/c we have a chain or awesome raw cafes up here in San Francisco and I sort of compare everything. I just felt the food didn't taste that great and I was sad that it was my dining companion's first experience with raw food. It's not horrible by any means, please don't get me wrong. But with Juliano's so close, I would choose that for sure. If you have time, perhaps you could do lunch at rawvolution and dinner at Juliano's?

Cindy

[mbf]

Thank you Cindy! We are headed to santa monica today ( its cold here in CA!:( ) so I will let you know our thoughts on both places! We did find a GREAT place very close to Santa Ana/orange county airport its Mothers natural market awesome juice bar and Huge raw food section of raw to go meals :D !! My husband and were in heaven!! They have several locations in the LA area.

Thanks again!

Mara

[Vegan Princess]

Be sure to let us know your thoughts...and enjoy!:D

Cindy

[littleangelbear]

I've been to So.Cal. several times. I absolutely love the OC and am working on becoming a local ;)

Ate at Good Mood Food in Huntington Beach...It is rawsome as they say :) You can get a sampler plate there, but the raw pizza is divine! Awesome raw desserts too.

Also, one of my fave places to eat is the Stand in Laguna Beach...it has some raw items on the menu, but it's more of a vegetarian place. It's an outdoor cafe next to Laguna Cyclery, the bike shop. I like their guacamole salad. They make awesome raw almond milkshakes too.

All the So. Cal. restaurants I've eaten at from Malibu (and LA area) to Dana Point have had nice salads on the menu and have been more than willing to accomodate me :) Much different than where I live now ;)

Californians, I love your state, the ocean, the sand, the food, and the people! You DO live in paradise...Hope to join you soon!

Enjoy your trip!

Hugz and say hi to Pooh and Tigger for me,
Lisa

[Pierre]

What does "Au Lac" mean? I thought it was French for "At the Lake", but with the accents it has to be Vietnamese.

[Princess Elaine]

Littleangelbear...it's nice to hear someone say something nice about So. CA...I've lived here my whole life...yes, I love to visit other places...yet this is my home and I think it's great....

Au Lac is Vietnamese...I don't know what it means though...they have a vegetarian menu and a raw vegan menu...GREAT FOOD!!!...and yes, all the places mentioned in the above posts are great....

I think Good Mood Food has the BEST desserts..Ursula (owner and chef) is an awesome woman with a great spirit...

Elaine

[donnaw74]

What does "Au Lac" mean? I thought it was French for "At the Lake", but with the accents it has to be Vietnamese.

Not sure on the complete history, but it was the name of Vietnam sometime in 3rd century BC. It was established when two tribes (Au Viet + Lac Viet) combined to form one kingdom.

[mbf]

Hey, back home in NY. Our trip to Cali was great! We got to Rawvolution, Juliano's Raw Planet and Good Mood Food.

Rawvolution was by far the best food! Huge portions and sooo tasty! The atmosphere was very relaxed and just right for my family, the staff was just so friendly and offered us free samples of a few different things during our short wait for our food. We met Matt and Janabei and again so friendly.They were really great to my kids and spent some time talking to my teenage son about raw foods.....really great experience! It was like eating at a good friends house! We felt right at home there.

We then drove to the pier in Santa Monica and walked the 3rd st promenade and found our way to Juliano's place. The feeling and atmoshpere at least at the time we were there was not a family/child friendly place and my children are 7,10 and 17 ( not babies) and very well behaved. Juliano himself welcomed us, was very cordial but also very quick to explain raw food. We told him we were from NY and came to Santa Monica just to try his place. We ordered some smoothies and some amazing spring rolls to go. Our smoothies were amazing and so was the food. As we waited a loooong time we watched them prepare one beautiful dish after another but they also kept trying to sell us different stuff of the shelves, was not impressed with that. The food was fantastic but we did not get the warm comfortable feeling that we got at Rawvolution. The portions half the size of Rawvolution and double the price, but I would go back again with just my husband for an " adult" meal. I have great respect for Juliano and greatly admire his talent and devotion to raw food but I did feel his place more about being a "cool, trendy place" then about the food, just my personal feel.

Good Mood food was cute little place. Very understaffed the day we went, we had to wait a while just to get an order in. Our smoothies were a very big dissapointment but the food was good. My falafel was really really great! My husband had the unchicken salad and inhaled it, I did not have it because it was made with Braggs :( ! The portions were HUGE and the prices reasonable. Desserts were a dissapointment for us, we had the Tiramisu, Dorian tart, almond biscotti and cinnamon roll, we didn't eat it all at once, we took back to hotel and ate later. The tart was awful, I threw it away and everything else was just so so..honestly, I have made better at home. But glad we tried it. The main course was good.

The hidden jem of our trip was truly Mothers Market www.mothermarket.com. We ate several meals at the one in Irvine, just 12 minutes from Disneyland and ate breakfast at the one in Huntington beach. The very best smoothies and raw food take out. The restaurant had a great variety of vegan items on the menu and made me a great salad with a raw mustard and agave dressing. We bought so many raw snacks and packaged items...again the raw selection was the largest I have ever seen anywhere! my kids loved the vegan food and were actually asking to go off Disneyland property to go eat there!

I will also add how wonderful and accomodating the Disney restaurants were! They made us great salads with avocado and bean sprouts, even ESPN and Goofys Kitchen were able to make us something enjoyable to eat. We did 3 character meals. The chef at Goofys kitchen came out and spoke with us about what we needed and he was so nice!! if you have eaten at a Disney character meal then you know it's usually some awful buffet, but again, they were really great! I was also so pleased to find several fresh fruit and vegetable stands through out the Disneyland parks offerring lovely fresh, real unaltered fruit bowls and veggie plates. It was very easy to stay raw, even inside the parks :D !

Hope this information is helpful to some! California was raw food heaven for us and I really envy those whose have such great places nearby! Thanks again to everyone for all the tips and input!

MBF

[Vegan Princess]

I'm glad you had such a great time! A big congrats for staying raw on vacation!! :D Now I can't wait to get out to NYC to try Pure Food and all the raw restaurants there!!

Cindy

[mbf]

Hey Cindy when you are heading out this way let me know! I will fill you in on all the little places too!

Thanks again!

Mara

[Vegan Princess]

Thanks...I'll let you know. I've gone to a conference in NYC the last 2 Junes so I'm hoping I'll go again this year. I don't care about the conference really, just miss the city and want to try the restaurants. :rolleyes: I was vegan last time and had fun checking out Candle 79 and Counter.

Cindy

[rawfigure]

don't eat any Almonds while you are there lol....:eek:

[mbf]

Hi, we are home already but I thought the almond thing did not take effect until Sept 07?

Thanks

Mara