Cafe La Vie in Santa Cruz

[JennaBoBenna]

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[JennaBoBenna]

We've gone back a couple of times since my review, so I'll update a little

We tried the lavendar-blueberry cheesecake--soo delicious! Very smooth, and the lavendar-blueberry combination is perfect!
We also had the banana-coconut cream pie which was really good too! I preferred the cheesecake, but this was good. Very creamy, very coconutty :)
Last night I tried the miso soup(not raw) and it was such a great relief to be able to eat some without a bunch of toxic tofu polluting the broth! Very delicious!
We also shared the cacao tacos entree. I was a bit disappointed. The shell is very thin and soft, I was hoping for a thicker, crunchier shell. It was very much like eating a salad with salsa on top. It was good, but I don't think it was worth the money. The shell could have easily been a collard green or something and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference

[GypsiAnsara]

I agree with your taco review! I, too, was disappointed. And it was the most expensive dish on the (raw) menu at $18. The server told us the menu is soon changing for fall - I look forward to that. Maybe they will bring back the lasagna! Soooooo good.

The lavender blueberry cheesecake is truly awesome - but I can only eat a bit at a time as it is very dense.

I highly recommend the sample platter in the picture. Their cashew cheese is really great - that's what is on the tomato slices with pesto and a little yummy cracker underneath.

One night we went there and my hubby and I split a multi-course meal including dessert for $25. It was perfect for us! They don't seem to have that option all the time, and sometimes they have something called "community night" and everything is $10.

I love sitting in the little room with low Japanese-style tables & cushions on the floor. Very cozy and intimate. It isn't always open.

I am so grateful that this restaurant available to me - very helpful on this journey! And I saw that you can sign up for the 30-day raw challenge there and get 10% of raw dishes :) yaaaaay!!!

Oh, it's also one of the few restaurants in the Santa Cruz area with great servers! Never had a problem and they are all very nice and helpful, even when it's busy.

[GypsiAnsara]

La Vie has boxed meals and pies for sale in the Santa Cruz area healthfood stores and and also Scotts Valley Market (on Scotts Valley Drive). They also sell the to-go meals, cashew spread, ginger yum-yum sauce and live crackers at the downtown Santa Cruz farmer's market on Wednesdays.

[GreenJB5]

My daughter and I visted the place today!!! I would love to share the pictures but we ordered togo. Great food, Great Service!!! I will go back. We also visted a store in the area called Staff. It was nice to see a wide selection of raw food

[GypsiAnsara]

Oh yes, "Staff of Life" is a great old health food store in Santa Cruz. They just converted what used to be the pet corner I think into a raw & living foods area! It's really nice to have it acknowledged like that. I still pick up a lot of my other items around the store, but the ready-made items are all there. Funny, it's not near the produce. That would seem more obvious!

Cafe La Vie has their cashew cheese, ginger yum-yum sauce, pies, veggie spring rolls.... can't think of what else... in the refrigerator case!

[kaleidoscopeeyes]

What beautiful pictures! I live in SoCal, but if I'm ever in the area I'll definitely visit!

[JennaBoBenna]

an update:

I was so excited to head to Santa Cruz the other day, my boyfriend and I were going to hit up Cafe La Vie...but when we drove by it, it was now the "Surfboard Cafe" :eek::( Cafe La Vie closed a few months ago so the owner could raise her baby.

Very sad!!!! They had some of THE BEST raw food. I hope I can find another raw lavender blueberry cheesecake!!