Superbowl Sunday Dinner at Cru! February 8, 2010

Well on Superbowl Sunday, after a day of posing as a Fallen Angel for a photoshoot,(pics should be up on my other blog at some point soon) and ironically, the Saints winning the same day as I fell bloody and broken-winged from the sky – , I was incredibly fortunate to be taken out for dinner yet again to another one of my new fave raw restaurants, Cru!

Cru is a cute little restaurant in Silverlake that is completely vegan and has a menu choc-full of delicious raw food delights! My dinner date and I arrived at about 8pm tonight, to an almost full-house. We were lucky enough to secure the last table in the place, the same exact table as we had actually been seated the previous time I had gone there.

The wait staff were very friendly and helpful, and the girl even cracked a joke about us being seated back at our same spot. While we were eyeing up absolutely everything on the menu, several parties of people arrived, eager to get some sweet vegan eats. Alas there was not a seat left in the house but these brave souls would not let this deter them. They waited and oh they waited and were finally rewarded when other groups of guests left.

The pile up continued as we ordered and ate our meals. Cru was going offffff tonight!

And it’s not hard to see why, the minute our meals arrived we were immediately reminded of the reason – oh my god is their food ever good!

Now to the breakdown:

The Appetizer

Bruschetta Rustica: Sunflower bread with a traditional chopped tomato and basil spread and cashew cheese. Amazing way to kick off the night!

The Thirst-Quencher

Fresh squeezed raw ginger limeade. I had looked at this on the menu last time I was here, and this time I just had to order it. It was soo refreshing!

The Main Event

Hawaiian Flat Bread Pizza: Sunflower flatbread with cashew cheese, sundried tomato sauce and shitake mushrooms, side salad (x2 – it’s just that good we both had to get one each!)

The Grand Finale

Coconut Chocolate Mousse Pie: off the raw dessert menu.

This cake/ pie thing was soo tasty. My dinner companion didn’t like the consistency of the coconut layer so much (I had no problem with it, I loved it!), but said it tasted amazing – the chocolate part though = pure and complete heaven.

I think this sums it all up nicely:

Cru, I will definitely be back!

Immunity Dinner at Planet Raw February 6, 2010

Last night I got taken out to my newly-fave raw restaurant, Juliano’s Planet Raw. The food there is always absolutely delicious, they excel at everything – from delectable desserts (raw “cheese”cakes and the like) to invigorating elixirs (smoothies, juices, teas,”milk” shakes and all kinds of crazy, creative concoctions) to slammin salads (better than any I’ve ever had ANYwhere – and I’ve had a lot of salads!) and dazzling main meals (lasagna to die for! Avo sammies! raw pastas, noodles and curries oh my!) – and last night was definitely no exception!

Juliano is not only famous for his amazing restaurant, but also his great “un”cook book called “Raw:The Uncook Book New Vegetarian Food For Life” which I don’t yet own but drool over every time I go to the restaurant (you can buy a copy for yourself here if you like!). His recipes are truly gourmet, and everything is presented in style with delicious raw flair, both in the meals served up at his eatery, and in the pages of the book itself. They also run cooking classes/raw chef certification out of their restaurant which I am thinking of checking out soon!

Now on to the food!

The appetizer:

Raw spring rolls, I think I have had them every time I have been there. These spring rolls are THE bomb for sure. The wrapper is made somehow from coconut ( I guess they dehydrate the coconut to make it nice and wrappery) and the insides are tasty veggies and avo.

The dipping sauce and marinated veggies are also mouthwateringly good. Even the garnish makes me melt. I cannot tell you how good these are. I would travel eight hours each way to get there, just for a bite of one of these spring rolls!

The main courses:

Fat cheze melt

Green curry pasta

The thirst-quenchers:

Tasty Probiotic Immunity drinks (we figured since it was raining we’d better top up that immunity!)

The grand dessert:

Coconut “chez” cake

(SOOOOOOOOO Good)

The midnight snack:

Raw choc balls

When I am “at home” in LA ( you will see me refer to New Zealand and probably various other places
as “home” too!) I like to take advantage of the fact that there are so many good places to eat here!
I am also fortunate enough to have great people to go try them all with! But fear not, very soon I will
have a brand new raw road warrior series for you, as well as more in the lifesavers series and plenty
of how-to/informative articles on veganism, nutrition, raw food, health,great eats on the cheap, and
living the rawk n roll lifestyle! Not to mention more pics of what I ate today, tomorrow and beyond!

Also thank you so much to the wonderful Gala Darling for giving me a shout out on her blog! Much appreciated, and hi to all you nice iCing readers, hope you’re enjoying my blog, and how are you doing??!