New Raw Restaurant Opens in Southern California -- and it's worth the trip!

[RawTruth]

Here's a review of a beautiful new restaurant in Costa Mesa, California that I wrote for my meetup.com group (www.rawfood.meetup.com/202 (http://www.rawfood.meetup.com/202)) that I thought y'all might find useful. It's a few weeks old, so I've updated a few things.

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Well, 118 Degrees quietly opened recently ... and I've been there 10 times so far. I think that qualifies me to write a review!

First, the decor is beautiful. It is upscale in a way that is unlike any raw restaurant in California (excluding Roxanne's, of course, though it's been closed for years). The color scheme is orange and coppers and browns with great art on the walls. There's a DJ booth hidden behind one piece of art and music on Thursdays, Friday, and Saturdays. The waitstaff is all in black and executive chef Jenny is visible behind the counter as she prepares each dish herself. Elegant presentation spa cuisine-style.

The menu is four pages long and the selection is extensive. About 12 dishes in each section -- breakfast, small plates, lunch, dinner, salads/soups, desserts, tonics. Also, there are organic vegan wines, a small selection of locally-brewed organic beers, and mixed drinks (both fermented - made with sake - and herbal).

Jenny's experience as originating co-owner of Taste of the Goddess in West Hollywood, owner of Naked Apples in Laguna, and, now, Jenny's Raw & Organic packaged raw food items (available all over the Southland) shows in the menu design. Aside from the almost-obligatory lasagna (she does have two, though), lunch and dinner entrees include nopales soft tacos, sweet corn tamales, heirloom squash samosas, sweet onion panini, mole enchiladas, wild foraged risotto, pesto tortellini, and macadamia coconut curry wrap. Small plates include deviled tomatoes, eggplant carpacio, New Mexico nachos, and a great tortilla soup and raw rawmen bowl. My favorite salads, so far, are the seaweed salad and the compressed spinach salad. And desserts! Warm Peaches and Creme cured my chocolate addiction .. for the night. If it hadn't, though, the Chocolate Lava Cake would have done so nicely. When I stopped in for breakfast, the Blackberry Roll Ups (sweet blackberry wrap with coconut pignolia yogurt & fresh berries) was my favorite with the split banana a close second. I haven't tried it yet, but the pineapple sandwich is intriguing. I can't imagine how many visits it will take to sample everything on this huge menu.

The dining room is well managed by Anthony -- long-time raw fooder experienced in all aspects of raw and living foods design, cheffing, catering, and distribution -- who worked at the famous Sprout Cafe in Atlanta years ago, learning from Jackie and Gideon Graff. His deep knowledge provides solid support to the new waitstaff. If they can't answer your question, Anthony sure can.

118 Degrees is open 7 days a week -- yes -- none of that closed on Mondays stuff and it's open from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. (with the last seating at 8:30). I particularly love this as my pet peeve is restaurants that close in the middle of the afternoon. As a raw foodist, I'm apt to get hungry most anytime and appreciate a restaurant that's open consistent days and hours (just like cooked food restaurants are!). Yay for this one.

Okay, that may be WAY more than you wanted to know, but I do get excited when there's yet another option for dining raw.

Oh, here's the website -- http://www.shop118degrees.com (http://www.shops118degrees.com/)

It's at The Camp
2981 Bristol St., Suite B-5
Costa Mesa 92626
714-754-0718

It faces directly onto Bristol -- not in back where Native Foods and Adventure 16 are.

[Vegan Princess]

Oh my gosh!! This sounds divine! Have you been to Pure Food and Wine in NYC? Is this along those lines? I'm flying down to San Diego this weekend to visit my family. Since I'll be up in Carlsbad on Saturday afternoon, maybe I'll drive up there for dinner on Sat. night - only about a 45 minute drive. I'm trying to get my mom on the raw wagon - I'm sure she'd enjoy this! Thanks for pointing it out.

Cindy

[queenfluff]

Wow 4 pages! That may be too much indecision for me! But Mexican nachoes....drool!

Defiantley going to try this place out when I am out in So Cal again!

Thanks!


FYI: Weblink doesn't work. :(


I found it http://www.shop118degrees.com/

Hmm, nice site but no menu or anything yet.

[VeggieMel]

118 degrees sounds great, but since you're in Carlsbad, you may also want to go to Cilantro Live right there in town. It's a great raw restaurant. She (Christina) has four locations in San Diego. The Carlsbad location is on Carlsbad Village Drive. http://www.cilantrolive.com

[Vegan Princess]

Thanks Veggiemel. I definately plan on hitting Cilantros while I'm down. I tried it out for the first time on my last visit (the Carlsbad one). I think I might hit the new one in Hillcrest before I go to the airport. I also want to check out the new Greenery Cafe in Leucadia...have you been there yet? It used to be Neshama - but I never got a chance to try that out before it changed hands.

Cindy

[Revvell]

We were in Leucadia a couple months ago and passed by "The Greenery". It wasn't there. Were we there before it opened? Or had it already closed?

[Vegan Princess]

Revvell: I called and spoke the them. They said they opened May 1st. Open for lunch 11:30 to 2 and dinner 6 to 9. When did you go?

[RawTruth]

The Greenery is a good place to stop to get something to take out or to sit for a bit. It isn't a sit down restaurant environment; you order at the counter or pick up food from the deli case. There are a few tables inside and seating on the outside patio. When I was there shortly after they'd opened, there was a limited menu which, I think, they still have.

Depending on where you are in your raw food journey will influence how much you like it, I think. For the last few years, Chris had been making take-out raw meals from the Bikram yoga studio in Laguna Beach . In fact, I'm pretty sure he used Alissa's book (which she'd gifted him) for his beginning recipes. He's evolved from there though his menu definitely leans toward prepared gourmet dehydrated items like burgers and sandwiches and pizza. He does have salads and juices for those of us who prefer lighter fare. I have a menu sitting right here by my computer if you'd like me to replicate it (it's not that long). Otherwise, swing in for a surprise.

Here's their website:

http://www.greeneryrawcafe.com/

It's definitely worth stopping in. They've done extensive work upgrading and remodeling it from when it was Neshama.

[Vegan Princess]

Thank you so much RawTruth! I plan on bringing lunch over to a friend's house on Saturday so maybe I'll just pop into the Greenery and grab something...or stop in before I go to the beach on Sunday. I don't want to bug you to replicate the menu since I'll go by at some point anyway. :D

Cindy

[Revvell]

Revvell: I called and spoke the them. They said they opened May 1st. Open for lunch 11:30 to 2 and dinner 6 to 9. When did you go?

Must have been before that. LOL

[RawTruth]

By the way, when I was there, there was no visible sign outside. I knew where it was from having dined there in its previous incarnation. Just in case there's still no signage, it's on Daphne behind Mozy's which is on the corner of Coast Highway and Daphne. If the big wooden door isn't open, push it open and go into the courtyard/patio. It just looks like a door (albeit quite lovely) in front of a small parking lot. Yikes!

[the_lab_rat]

Thank you so much for posting this, RawTruth! I'm actually headed to Costa Mesa in like 10 days. I'd heard of 118 but the website I found made it seem like they weren't open yet so I never bothered to go 1 mile down the street to look, LOL :p

I'm totally trying it ('trying it'... heck, I'll probably be living in there :D ) That menu sounds sooo yummy. And I've had Jenny's products from stores and they were all good!

[RawTruth]

Great! I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

I just had a breakfast meeting there this morning and tried the Pineapple Sandwich (dehydrated pineapple wheels with banana, strawberries, and avocado sandwiched in between and decorated beautifully with squiggles of macadamia cream which I got without since nuts and fruit don't combine well for me at this point). Very nice.

Have fun playing with your food (as Revvell says)!

[VeggieMel]

I know people who have been to The Greenery and liked it a lot!

I have one other San Diego recommendation. I have a group of friends who recently went to Spreads in North Park. To order raw food there, you have to call in advance and let the owner know you want raw. My friends (who are discriminating raw foodists) were absolutely raving about the taste, presentation and creativity of the raw food dishes they ate there. I can't wait to go! Here's a review of it with the address: http://www.sdcitybeat.com/article.php?id=2616&atype=

[RawTruth]

Interesting ... the review mentions challah bread and marshmallow fluff (!?!?!). If your friends got decent raw food, though, it's worth a try.

Hmmmm ... I wonder, since they rely so heavily on almonds, what they'll be doing in September when there will be NO more raw almonds available?

I'll have to try this next time I'm down there. Thanks.

[Vegan Princess]

Ok I didn't have time to hit 118 degrees. :( But I'm definately going when I'm down over Labor Day. I did eat at Cilantros twice - once in Carlsbad and once in Hillcrest. I loved the Hillcrest decor. And I just have to say their ice creams are out of this world. I shared a banana split with my mom and it was incredible!! I enjoyed all of my food. Especially the thai salad. It has all sorts of julliened veggies along with green apple and young coconut strips, tossed in a spicy almond butter sauce. Mmmm. :p I also hit the Greenery and posted a review in my thread about the Greenery.

Cindy

[RawTruth]

What ... you shared the banana split? That was my appetizer a few times!

[Vegan Princess]

Had to share it - I ordered a full coconut for the coconut water, a half order of the thai salad and an order of the tacos. I was STUFFED! And I brought 3/4 of the thai salad home.

Cindy

[the_lab_rat]

Oh man, Cilantro's ice cream is SO GOOD. I had a sundae with the coconut ice cream and carob ice cream... I wanted it to never end :D

Which is why I must return when I'm down there this weekend! Gotta try that banana split this time!

[RawTruth]

It's a close call, but I like Cru's ice cream better. Cilantro's has that slightly gritty nut-milk texture to it while Cru's is utterly smooth and creamy.

Hey, how 'bout you do your own taste test -- stop at Cru, then, by the time you get to any of the Cilantro Lives, you'll be hungry again. LOL. Works for me!

[kiki_louis]

i had the really(or is it called super?) green smoothie and it was very good. my mom had another drink, i don't remember the name but it was soooo delicious. it tastes better than rice pudding, and that was one of my favorite things back when i was a vegetarian. i am looking forward to going again, i'd like to try the tamales but all i crave lately are green smoothies! i'd also like to try the chocolate smoothie, it sounded delicious. the decor is gorgeous and i liked that they were playing one of my favorite cds, the postal service- give up.

[Vegan Princess]

I *finally* got to eat at 118 degrees!! I think it's my favorite place so far (including many of the places in LA, all places in SF and almost all places in NYC). I really enjoyed the interior (modern/minimalist). The food was excellent and the presentation was very gourmet. My mom and I split 3 appetizers and were very full...but of course we made room for dessert. The appetizers we tried were the nachos, pizza and deviled tomatoes. Their pizza was the best raw pizza I've tried! The nachos were fantastic. The tomatoes were good, but not out of this world good like the other two dishes. For dessert we got the vanilla bean gelato with berry puree and the peaches and creme. Both were delicious. There are SO many things on the menu that look amazing. I absolutely can't wait to go back and I know it will be a regular part of my trips down to San Diego, even though it's an hour drive. Oh and all this wonderful food plus 2 fresh coconuts as drinks only came out to $50. I would say 118 Degrees is on par with Pure Food and Wine but for a third of the cost.

Also, I had no idea what The Camp was. Imagine my surprise when I found a store selling vegan shoes and purses and t-shirts. I was elated! There is another (cooked) vegan restaurant, a bikram yoga studio and a number of other cool shops. Plus it's less than a mile away from South Coast Plaza.

[dalimeindacoconut]

Hi Rawtruth, my mom lives in Newport. Had to meet someone for lunch and was looking for a raw restaurant figured there had to be something in Newport or Corona Del Mar. Couldn't find anything. Walked into a couple local hotels they had no idea. Called the operator asking for any raw restaurants in the area, called 'RAW' in Santa Monica, no one knew anything. Finally called 'Mother's' in Newport and they referred me to 118 degrees. They need to get listed in the yellow pages so the operator will know to look under 'raw'. I was so happy that I was relentessly committed to finding a raw food restaurant. My friend loved it. I loved it. I will definitely be back. Their chocolate drink was delish.