Raw Food Restaurants in Major Cities like Seattle, Tacoma, San Francisco, and Minneapolis

Believe it or not, there is a huge raw food revolution going on and totally raw food restaurants thriving in major cities. I have personally experienced four restaurants in four differenct cities and I am fortunate enough to have one in my home town of Tacoma, Washington called AmerRAWcan Bistro.

My first knowledge of a raw food restaurant occured about ten years ago when I read an article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer about a gourmet restaurant near San Francisco started by well known chef, Charlie Trotter, and Roxanne Klein. The article described the restaurant, the types of food served and the way some of it was made.

The idea that a celebrity chef was interested in this cuisine excited me and of course, I wanted to go there, but didn't get to San Francisco until six years later when I found Cafe Gratitude right in the heart of the city and they had more than one location. The food's flavor was excellent and I knew that day that my life was changed. I bought the cookbook and never turned back. Sadly, the San Francisco locations were forced to close by an employee lawsuit but Cafe Gratitude has since developed other locations in Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Los Angeles, and Venice Beach.

http://cafegratitude.com/

Their cookbook, "I am Grateful" is full of the basics for raw foodies and mirrors what they serve in the restaurants.

Serendipity! About six months after I returned from my trip. I finally found another live food restaurant in Seattle. I high-tailed it over there as soon as I could. Thrive Cafe is a small restaurant with huge aspirations and many folks on board. The owner, Monika Kinsman, is at the forefront of creative ideas for Thrive and if you check out the website I guarantee you will be impressed.

I have eaten there now many times; the food is great and they also have a small amount of specialty food for purchase. It has a modern clean atmosphere.My favorite dish is " Oh My Sombrero", an excellent taco salad, is but the desserts are brilliant, rich and delicious. The tiramisu is fantasic.

https://generationthrive.com/

Ecopolitan in Minneapolis is raw food organic and also features an oxygen bar, infrared spa and eco-art gallery. Here I heartily gobbled down my first raw food lasagna with a glass of red and will never forget it. Oh, the flavors of the cashew cheese ricotta, the marinara sauce, and herbs came together delightfully with a taste better than any lasagna I've ever had. Fortunately, I created my own version since so I can enjoy it anytime.

Marinara Pasta looked delicious and combined strawberries into it. Very different. There's interesting juice and smoothie choices like Coconut Supreme and Future Shock. http://www.ecopolitan.com

AmeRAWcan Bistro in Tacoma is modern. They use ipads for menus and the restaurant's clean, sleek look is uniquely upscale. Fantastic specials are featured daily like jicama shell tacos, and wonderful desserts. My favorite is the cashew crepe enchilada dish. Imbibing on an organic beer or wine is great, too. (Wine is technically a raw food.)

AmeRAWcan Bistro also gives your meat eater friends a healthy choice so you can dine together. They do make sandwiches of meat that's organic and high quality.

This bistro is located downtown in the theater district. They also do a great juicing business and good coffee.

http://amerawcanbistro.com/

In addition to the many cafes and restaurants with live food, many juice bars and carts are using high quality fruits and vegetables for juices and smoothies. Juice bars are a nice quick way to get your raw food. Look online and maybe discover one in your home town. Enjoy!