Cafe Soulstice in San Mateo (Northern CA)

[Vegan Princess]

Today I ventured outside the city of San Francisco and decided to check out the new Cafe Soulstice in San Mateo while I was out. Cafe Soulstice is run by Elaina Love and is inside the Equinox gym. Because it is inside the gym, it has a super casual, juice bar feel to it. When you walk in there is a refridgerator with bottled kombucha as well as coconut water and green juice. You order at the counter and they bring the food to your table. My friend and I shared a slice of pizza ($5 for a fairly small slice), a burger and the soft tacos. The total for all 3 entrees came to $24.

I really enjoyed the pizza. I guess you could order multiple slices, but I don't think I would be full even from two. We got the marinara pizza, but they also had pesto and you can make your own. Half a pie is $20 and an entire pizza is $40.

The tacos were my favorite. We were served two and they were wrapped in lettuce leaves. The raw sour cream on top tasted very authentic. It also had beans, cheese, guac, salsa and olives. Sort of messy, but very tasty. My non raw friend also liked these the best.

The burger was served between two thin slices of bread that I wasn't a huge fan of. The burger itself was good though and had a nice bbq type sauce. It was served with a side salad. I chose the ranch dressing (they had about 5 dressings to choose from) and thought it was pretty tasty. My non raw friend found it more "ranch-like" than I did.

Lastly, I ordered a chocolate ball that contained gojis, maca, coconut, cacao and a number of other superfoods. It's was down right delicious and only $2.25. It was about the size of a truffle, but one was just the right amount to end a meal. While I was there they also had a chocolate pie and a mango pie.

While I think the ambiance leaves a bit to be desired, the food at Cafe Soulstice was good. The portions are a bit on the small side, but I often find that to be the case at raw restaurants. That said, for the same amount of money I could be quite stuffed at Cafe Gratitude. Even though I love Cafe Gratitude, it was really nice to have a new place to try and Cafe Soulstice serves a market of people that are further south than Cafe Gratitude. I'll definately be back if I am in the neighborhood. And I would be delighted if the owners of Cafe Soulstice would open another branch in the Equinox in the financial district in San Francisco...I'd go every day for lunch!

Cindy

[spicyfull]

So Happy you and your Friend had a Wonderful time. Thank for your Detailed Account of your time at Cafe Soulstice. I would Love to have a piece of the Chocolate Pie and Mango Pie....

[the_lab_rat]

Glad to hear it turned out to be good, and that your non-raw friends liked it too! Those tacos sound YUM *drool* Well it's only about 20 minutes from where I live so I'll definitely go there sometime soon now that you've tested it out for everyone!

Yeah, isn't it annoying how the portions at raw places tend to be so small for the money? I wouldn't mind small portions if they cut the prices in half :D

[EastCoastie]

I wish I would have known this was there during my trip 6 weeks ago. My family lives in San Mateo and I would have gladly gone and paid whatever to feast on raw. Oh well, next time.

EC

[the_lab_rat]

Okay, it sounded so good, I just had to drive up there and try it out. And yep, very tasty indeed!

I had the pizza too. And the strawberry cobbler for dessert. The pizza slice was kinda small...well, that is, the crust was more like a tortilla than a crust, so it wasn't very substantial. But the sauce and cheese were very good. The guy prepared it so lovingly, LOL :) He took about 15 minutes to make it (yes, ONE slice!) and I swear I've never seen a more perfect piece of pizza. I almost didn't want to ruin it by taking a bite :p And the cobbler was delicious too. The uh.."cobble" part of it was sweet and crunchy, and it had some kind of yummy creamy sauce... mmmm. I thought the prices were pretty average for a raw place. I was mildly annoyed that the lady in line in front of me who ordered the same dessert got a portion nearly twice the size of mine :confused: Hmm. Well, I'm still totally going back there. I wanna try the burger and the sampler plate. And the tacos. And the cinnamon rolls. And and and... :D

[Vegan Princess]

So glad you liked it! You definately have to try to tacos. And the chocolate superfood balls or whatever they're called. :) BTW, one of the guys that works there (his name is Sam) did a raw brunch at Pena Pachamama before (they host vegan brunches with visiting chefs on sundays). The one I went to was cinco de mayo themed. Very tasty!

Cindy

[RawTruth]

Thanks for posting about Cafe Soulstice, both of you. I'm updating my list of Northern California raw restaurants (though I myself have to force myself to venture beyond Cafe Gratitude when I'm in town) to post for my meetup.com group. Your descriptions are really helpful. Been to Alive lately? Last time I was there was in January and I wasn't sure if Leland was going to stay open. Anyone know?

[Vegan Princess]

RawTruth: Alive is still open. And Leland has a stand at the Ferry Building Farmer's market on Tuedays and Saturdays. He's changed the menu at the restaurant a bit to make it more gourmet and it has a little less choice. I really love his desserts!

Cindy

[RawTruth]

Thanks, Cindy.

I actually did a quick search and found this:

http://www.sfweekly.com/bestof/award.php?award=563243&year=

where Alive! was awarded SF Weekly's Best Raw Restaurant of 2007. I also love his desserts. Last time I was in SF, I walked 3/4 mile from my hotel each night for his chocolate cheesecake. This was after being at Cafe Gratitude for a class and a meal most day! Says something, that. I plan to return while it's still warm enough to sit on the patio in back; it looked so lovely but quite frigid in winter.

[the_lab_rat]

Funny, I was just thinking how I have yet to actually go to Alive, though I get their stuff at the farmer's market almost every time :) I think they have strange hours though, like they're only open for dinner, and only 5 days a week or something...? But yes, delicious desserts!

[RawTruth]

Last time I talked to him, I believe Leland said he was studying acupuncture or herbalism or something like that. Perhaps that's why he's just open for dinner and just five days a week.

Website:

http://www.aliveveggie.com

[Vegan Princess]

I totally forgot about the patio! Thanks for reminding me. Unfortunately, it's usually cool by dinner time. Would be great to have lunch out there on the weekends. But his hours are also odd because he is closed on Tuesdays since he spends the day working at the farmer's market and I think Mondays as well. I think the food is too expensive for lunch. He serves different things are the farmer's market.

[Portia2012]

Does anyone know if this restaurant is still in business???

If it is I want to go there, because it is making me drool just listening about the food.


Love and Light,

Beloved Portia

[carolg]

I love quantity so skimpy would make me walk away unsatisified. I have tasted Elaina Love's food at Portland Raw Festival years back. It was great. I do have her recipe manual she sells.

Wish I was closer to enjoy these raw restaurants, but patiently waiting for Boulder or Denver, CO to get their very own.

carolg

[Vegan Princess]

I haven't been back since I don't venture south of San Francisco too often, but I haven't heard anything about it closing. In fact I think they may have opened a second location futher south.

Cindy

[queenfluff]

Yes, there is another location in Palo Alto, Ca. South of San Mateo. I think it pretty much the same layout (it is in an Equinox gym too). I think it might be a little smaller than the San Mateo one though. I haven't been to the new one yet but I had a very good cacao shake at the San Mateo location.

[Portia2012]

It is good to know that they didn't close :)

Love and Light,

Beloved Portia

[evegan]

I was in Palo Alto a few weeks ago for business and ate there 3 nights. It was delicious! I'm going back next week and plan to eat there most nights again. It's the only game in town south of San Mateo (as far as I can tell).

I'm at the Raw Spirit Festival in Sedona right now. What a wonderful feeling! Ran into Elaina Love at the D'Lish restaurant in Sedona on Wednesday.

[qnjnean]

I went here recently. I loved it. I got the nofish tacos - outstanding. I got the chocolate ball thing, too. (I didn't even read this thread until today, amazing.) I heard there's one in san mateo, too.