Raw restaurant bummer

[JMD]

Hi all,

I went to a place in my area which is vegan and raw for lunch. I have gone there several times. I was so happy because the owner was there and new I could ask him questions about lots of the ingredients since he creates them!!:)
I told the manager / owner I was 100% raw and needed to find something I could eat without nuts or heavy spices esp salt. He recommended a zuchinni bisque.soup...got it ate a big bowl and then realized it was awfully warm. I stopped the waitress to ask her how it was so warm but still considered raw and she told me it was NOT
Come to find out, the soup WAS HEATED!!.to at least 140 degrees or else it would create bacteria and spoil. I felt so dumb and then sorta mad b/c I told him what I needed and felt like he did not listen to me or respect me wishes.. He had suggested a few other items but they were so spiced up and salty. I was bummed but I truly did not know--I thought they warmed it over warm water and made it first in the Vita-mix. I told him that and he said the Vita-mix would also heat it too high and ruin the nutritional benefits of the soup too???

I only share this because I am sorta frustrated and knew people here would understand what I am feeling. He calls himself "RAWbert" and sells all raw things. I wish I double triple checked

JMD

[Sillybloss]

Wow! What a disappointment for you! So often people don't really listen, but he is really at fault here, as he should have taken your conversation into consideration when recommending the soup.

Obviously, service at large has decreased over time, so I guess we need to keep in mind to always double-check when we have an important agenda!

[HydroRaw]

Hello JMD!

Was your site of eatry known as Organic Garden Cafe by any chance? I know this guy named RAWbert and he is the owner of that resterant in Beverly, MA. Honestly speaking, I am not too keen about that fellow.

I went to that restaurant several times and tended to come away with certain disappointment with several raw dishes. Unfortunately, it appears to be the only restaurant serving raw foods in Massachusetts. Maybe Alissa, while living in Maine, will open up a place of her own nearby. That would be very cool! We shall see.

By the way, does anyone know if there will be another Sunset/Boston Harbor Cruise with Alissa in June or thereabout? I missed going on that cruise last year.

Hopefully, your restuarant experience will be pleasant the next time you go out.

Wayne

[JMD]

Wayne!!
You are sooooooo very very right. That is the restaurant and the person. It is so easyyyyyyy to talk the talk but apparently he does not walk the walk. He may be vegan but not RAW for sure!! I should have known something was up when he added a bagel section to the menu!!!

I , too, hope that another restaurant/juice bar something opens up around here. I cannot believe in such a BIG city liek Boston that liitle place is all we got. i keep saying that I am going to open a place.....

JMD

[karenisraw]

I think you got done wrong. My raw restaraunt serves cold raw soup and it is completely cold., Good though

k

[HydroRaw]

Hey JMD!

I don't want to describe the quality of my past interaction with Rawbert since Alissa might know him personally and negativity has no place on this forum. However, you just painted who that fellow is very concisely. It is sad, indeed! You are absolutely right about the inclusion of baked bagels in his menu. It is laughable!

Please know that I am always envious of people living in Southern California where there is a sizable cluster of restuarants serving raw foods. Hopefully with Alissa conducting classes in the New England area, there will be several new raw-food restaurants sprouting up in the Greater Boston area in the near future. It will definitely be a dream come true.

If anyone is reading this and planning to partake in Alissa's classes soon, please consider opening up a raw-food restuarant in Boston or North Shore area. I will make sure to be your frequent customer. Think about it!

Have a rawsome evening!

Wayne

[Miranda]

no worries babe, we're opening our own place...
:)

[JMD]

Miranda,

You are totally right and you are the best!!! i mean that...:) OXOXXO

[monkeyboy]

Hi everyone,

Miranda interesting.

I looked at some property in Providence on Tuesday ,which could pan out. No pun intended.

JMD, sorry about your bad experience.

Obviously something needs to be corrected. I would speak to the owner and ask what the real deal is.

It sounds like you can't make money just on raw. You also need to cater to non raw folks who accompany raw fooders to lunch.

Business is business.



Peace and chicken grease,

M.B.

[sweetgoddess]

please consider opening up a raw-food restuarant in Boston or North Shore area

Its going to happen!!


JMD, I am shocked really. I am so sorry you had such a disappointing experience there. I would call or at least write him a letter so he is aware of what your experience was, and if he wants to, prevent it from ocurring for someone else.

Sends you hugs!
Carmel

[misslinda]

Jen, is e claiming his restaurant to be "raw" and advertise the live enzyme and such?

[newyearspromise]

I would understand if he really had not understood what "raw" means. But it sounds to me that he should know better.

I have gotten good results after receiving bad service at businesses (my last was a bookstore where I waited 20 minutes to be waited on and actually logged into the cash register and opened it, money able to be taken, etc., before anyone approached me to see if I needed anything...) because I write to them or call the customer service line. I am never rude, but I am very direct (I put on my "officer" voice--I am a military officer...) and tell them why it is that I believe whatever happened was unacceptable.

You might need to describe what happened to you (people have a way of "forgetting" about your situation, either they don't want to remember or it just wasn't important to them like it was to you because you were the one who was upset and they weren't), but put it in WRITING and tell him what happened, what "raw" means, and that you have shared this experience with many raw friends now and think he deserves to know why you and your friends do not intend to dine at his restaurant again. Do not be rude or confrontational. Let him know that when/if he plans to correct this problem to let you know so that you can check things out again and possibly resume frequenting his establishment.

Be sure to let him know that you are more than happy to HELP him to correct this problem and give him your contact info if he is interested.

If he does not get back to you, then he just doesn't care. You don't want food with that type of bad energy anyway... :)

[GodsTemple]

newyearspromise,

Wow, that was some good reading there. Great approach, in regards to the responce of eating vs. not eating @ that restrant!!

GodsTemple

[HydroRaw]

Hello everyone!

Here is the URL for Organic Garden Cafe for those who are curious as to what the restuarant offers for raw foods.

http://www.organicgardencafe.com/

Of course, the menu looks great, but some things seem to fall short for some of us who had the opportunity to eat at that particular restuarant. For instance, the flavor of hummus had always been entirely different everytime I went there -- either spicy, nutty or extremely tangy. The waitress mentioned that the ingredients, particularly spices and lemon, used for many raw dishes are not usually consistent, depending on who is working in the kitchen. That does not bode very well for me as I like to look forward to having certain foods on my occasional trips to Beverly. Please know that I am not usually picky with food, but the food flavor of several raw vegan dishes is so varied that it is hard to predict as to whether I am going to enjoy my meal or not. What is bad enough is that the folks won't even let me taste something such as hummus or even onion rings before I place my order.

For those already dined at that restaurant, what was your experience like?

Wayne

[JMD]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your responses....I may go in and talk to him directly an explain how I felt and what customers like me really need. In all fairness...he may have been focusing on finding me things without nuts...versus the raw part too. To me the lesson was t speak up and it showed me just how important this lifestyle is to ME and that made it worthwhile and made me feel good.

To address the comment the "palepoet"--First of ALL i AM A WOMEN who deserves to go out to eat once and a while. Since I AM PAYING I deserve to get what I need. I do prepare foods at home and need no time wasted here justifying my life to the likes of a person like you. You sharp words and tone say nothing about me but alot about YOU!! If you are not kidding, I feel your reply was out of line and inappropriate and I feel bad for you.