Cafe Gratitude (Mission)

2400 Harrison St. (between 20th & 21st)
(415) 824-4652
www.cafegratitude.com

After weeks of talking about it, D and I finally made it to Cafe Gratitude as a well-deserved (ok maybe not so much) study break.

D was raving about the I am Cool (note: all menu items are affirmations) - a mint chocolate chip shake made with hazelnut milk, vanilla bean, raw cacao nibs and mint - so we shared it and he was right. Amazing.

Next we shared the I am Abundance - a sampler plate of various appetizers including sprouted almond hummus, asian kale-sea vegetable salad, hempseed pesto crustini, spicy cashew nacho cheese w/ flax chips, olive tapenade, buckwheat crackers, spring roll, and a mini house soup which that day was a curry lentil. This dish was really good - namely because it gave me a sense of the different ways raw vegan can be served up and because i am a huge fan of samplers and variety packs. Huge.

We then shared the special for the day - Macadamia-Crusted Chili Relleno topped with "sour cream" and served with a grain (we chose quinoa) and salad. Warning: Uncooked chilis are very very spicy (duh!) I have a better than average tolerance for spicy, but after one bite, my mouth was on fire and I broke out into a sweat, passing the rest of my half over...lucky D!

I know vegan/raw food can be expensive and this was no exception. I just can't help feeling that until you've been to NYC for this kind of food, you haven't really had it. Or can't possibly know how good it can be. But that said, I'd be willing to give Gratitude another chance...the grain bowls looked promising. And I'm down to try Alive! on Lombard. Anyone want to come with?

The Verdict:...Is Still Out