Attack of the raw
foodist aliens? If so, please, by all means, beam me up
Scotty!

When one of my
TALFs (Totally Awesome Lady Friends), Joan from the
Hungry Hungry Hippo suggested we meet up at CRU, I imediatelty felt the urge to be supportive. She has been going through an extreme 2009: quit smoking, ran a marathon, and has become a raw
foodest. So we all agreed when she suggested our next outing to be at
Cru, a vegan spot smack dab in the Sunset Junction that has both a raw menu and a cooked menu.
AND BYOB. And 100% gluten free menu. Holler at all you Celiacs out there! Just get crazy, people.
The
GLF (Greek Lady Friend) shows up a tad late as usual, but at least I come baring the bottled gift of
Dionysus to go with the two other bottles my
TALFs have provided.
Few. Thank Jesus we have wine here. The only other raw food
restaurant I've frequented is the Good Mood Food Cafe in Huntington Beach, owned and operating by a Swiss raw foodiest, but has sadly closed. I can recall their amazing grape seed smoothies, collard green wraps and the zen atmosphere. But
Cru has more
inventive items on the menu like raw pad
thai and (cooked) mushroom
quinoa risotto. I decided to go with the strictly raw menu with Joan while the other
TALFs, including Diana from Diana Takes a Bite and Shelley from Vinovents, went for the 180 degree plus items. We started off with the
spring roll wrapped with delicately sliced
cucumber encompassing a veggie patch of avocados, sprouts, carrots and
jicama. The dipping sauce was truly amazing - some sort of
sirachi,
thai peanut, and
sesame concoction.
Once I saw the raw pad
thai, made with kelp noodles, there was no turning back. I had to get this. When on earth am I ever going to get kelp noodles?Who knows, I could die tomorrow so I better get them now. STAT! And they were delicious - just a holler or so from Thai Town. The noodles were extra snappy and a little juicy. The flavors were all spot on.

We also shared the Pesto Wrap - cashew cheese, pesto, cabbage, field greens, sweet onions, cucumber,
caesar dressing and sprouts in a collard leaf shell. All with flax seed chips. My large intestine was singing campfire songs. The wrap was almost decadent with all its textures and very filling. I was so happy to have split the pad
thai and the wrap with Joan because it would have been too intense to eat each plate alone.

My other dinning companions ordered off the cooked menu. The sweet potato curry with
quinoa was excellent: aromatic and bright, but I don't think the Lady Friends could finish the entire bowl.
Vegan food is filling, people!

We had all begun to flirt ridiculously with our waiter,
Kyler, who Diana has
bequeathed her first born son's name to. And it was about that time to order desserts. The brownie
ala mode was spotted and wanted.
Pronto. But to our dismay, there was only one left in the kitchen and therefore just one to share amongst five
TALFs. We supplemented with a slice of the Chocolate Truffle Cafe and the
Pistachio encrusted Chocolate Mint
Ganache Cake. Joan rumbled in the back that we've had enough, but we were all like
Pfff, please we're eating
raw, vegan and we can handle this
ish. Oh boy, were we in for it.

I'm sorry, but once you've tried this cake, you no longer have any deep chocolate fantasies to dream about. But only for a few bites, because it's raw and ultra dense. Ahk, shoulda listened to Joan.
Not kidding, the chocolate truffle cake is a force to be reckoned, but I liked the mint chocolate and
pistachio version better.
Everything was delicious and I really
really liked
CRU, but I still went to eat
gelato at
Pazzo's afterwards with Diana after. I want to come back to
CRU. Soon. And BYOB.
CRU
1521 Griffith Park Blvd.
Los Angeles, Ca 90026
tel: 323-6671551tel: 323-6671551
5 comments:
That's right, you went to Pazzo with me after! I'd be game for a second round of both Cru & Pazzo -- but only if you are there to make me feel better when I spazz out and can't decide what to order and then drop my wallet on the ground.
Cru rocks! Can't wait to go back there again! I don't think I'll be able to recreate our meals for the organic wine tasting...
Diana, You are my most favorite sitcom character EVER!!!!!! Next time I'm bringing the vid cam :) Lurve you!
Joan, I'll go back there any time. I wanna try the rawviolis! Wha, you mean you can't whip up that pad thai? dang...
Yeah, I'm all ready to go back for more! And by the way, I did finish my whole bowl...oops! Next time I am most definitely imbibing, too!
Totally excited to try Joan's raw-food cooking, too!
Shelley, Thata girl! That means next time you're entitled to a glass of vino :)
Can't wait for Joan's home cooking(wait, is that wrong?)
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