Thursday, March 1, 2012

Cafe Gratitude

One of the BEST vegan meals I have ever had was at Gracias Madre in San Francisco, I can't even explain what they did to my kale, but it was AH-MAZING. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked to find out that the owners had another restaurant in L.A. called Cafe Gratitude.

My lovely friend Agatha had been recently and kept telling me I needed to try it (can I just say I adore the fact that I have omnivorous friends who are into vegan food??). I finally got the chance to go a few weeks ago and I was gleefully happy. I love that this company offers 100% organic vegan food at all it's locations grown on their very own farm in Northern CA.

We went on a Wednesday night and it was packed. We waited almost 45 minutes for a table, but once seated service was fast and the food came out quickly. Our table started with "I AM HONORING": Live Nachos with spicy sunflower bean pâté, guacamole, salsa fresca, nacho cheese and homemade crackers. SO INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS! I was definitely honoring whoever came up with this concoction because it was flavorful, fulfilling and oh so pretty!!
For my entree I ordered the "I AM WARM-HEARTED": Grilled polenta with fresh puttanesca sauce and spinach topped with cashew ricotta and Brazil nut parmesan. Even though I was already pretty full from the nachos, I devoured this meal and probably would have even licked the bowl clean had I not been in a public place! The polenta was crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside and I have to say that I have become a huge fan of cashew cheeses, I haven't met one yet that I didn't like.


Agatha ordered the "I AM TRANSFORMED": Two seasonal corn tacos with caramelized butternut squash, black beans, sliced avocado, salsa fresca and cashew nacho cheese. She was nice enough to give me a bite and this too was amazing. Each dish is just bursting with flavors and knowing that you're eating healthy clean food grown on an organic farm just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Isn't Agatha adorable!!??



I am definitely thankful for Cafe Gratitude and can't wait to go back again, especially now since a BabyCakes opened a few blocks away!

7 comments:

  1. I wanna go tooooo!!! And to the L.A. Babycakes ;)

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  2. Although a vegetarian, I do indulge ina lot of vegan meals. I so wish we had eateries like this in the U.K, I do want to eat there.

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    1. I'm lucky to live in a place with so many vegan options! When I go to visit my parents just a couple hours away, there is nothing! Hopefully places like this start popping up in the UK for you!

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  3. Those sound so absolutely amazing! I do hope to visit you in LA some day, and to try some of those awesome places!

    And vegan cupcakes for the win!

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  4. oh wow!! that looks and sounds amazing!!!
    We are trying to plan a trip to San Fran so I'm gonna have to hit up the other place when I go :)

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