A friend and I went to Cafe Gratitude today for the first time. You will recall that this was one of the most interesting places that I had never been.It is a restaurant that specializes in live vegan where nothing is meat, poultry, fish or dairy and what there is isn't cooked. It is chocked full of New Age-y vegan fun.
I saw it on a cool local PBS show, Check, Please! Bay Area, where three people all go to each other's favorite restaurants in the Bay Area. The food was well-regarded, but they raved about the desserts and "milk" shakes.
We started out with the I Am Generous guacamole and salsa with live flax seed chips. Both were very good. We also had a side of the I Am Honoring nacho cheese dip, which was neither nacho nor cheese. It was good, but didn't taste at all like the real thing.
My friend had the I Am Graceful Indian bahraini, which consisted of vegetables with quinoa or rice and a spicy coconut sauce. He liked it once he found the spicy sauce buried on the bottom of the bowl. It was a big bowl, so he took some home.
I had the I Am Cheerful sun burger which was a veggie burger made of pumpkin seeds and walnuts, on a sunflower seed paste "bread" and the usual veggie toppings. It was an open face sandwich, so it was easier to eat with a knife and fork than try to pick it up. The burger did not taste like a beef burger at all, but was good. I'd probably order it again. The macadamia nut cheddar cheese I'd probably not do again. It was okay, but what a waste of macadamia nuts.
Where the restaurant shines is in its desserts. It is known for its milk shakes that are made from almond milk, instead of cream. We split a I Am Awakening Key Lime pie and the I Am Lovely fresh pear cobbler with the almond ice cream.
The Key Lime pie was great. I actually liked the macadamia-pecan crust better than the normal graham cracker crust.
The pear cobbler was so-so. The pears were too bland and being raw, had the wrong texture. It was okay, but I wouldn't do it again. The almond milk ice cream was wonderful, though. The tiny serving of it was insufficient, but it was free with the cobbler as a special, so I couldn't complain too much.
The portions are not generous, but both of us left full and satisfied. I had a laugh at the naming game that was on each table, where you choose a word from the spirit list and then the abundance list to make your new name. I've already forgotten mine, but it reminded me of a New Age drag queen name.
The "I Am" nomenclature must get annoying for the servers, but they are cheerful. My friend and I had fun listing all the "I Am's" that the restaurant failed to use on its menu on the way back to the car.
I have a couple of friends that I'll definitely take when they are in town. It is part of the adventure of San Francisco that is fun to share with friends and family.
