I AM GRATEFUL for Café Gratitude

Meat lovers will appreciate this place. You can leave here and keep your pants buttoned!

On a side note: I've been meaning to write this blog for the longest. I really liked it that much that I kept writing about this blog. Now, after a long overdue wait, I hope you enjoy this blog!

Café Gratitude looks like a beachfront restaurant with the beautiful patio and clear window walls. The décor is cozy and simple inside, wooden chairs, giving it a natural but modern feeling. But this little gem is located on Larchmont and Melrose, pretty busy streets in Los Angeles. However, the place is just as quaint as you’d expect despite its location. I remember coming here with a friend whenever he took me to work but we’d only come for the drinks and desserts because work would tire us at the end of the day. He worked at Paramount and Café Gratitude was located right behind the studio backlots. Truth be told we were a little apprehensive about trying vegan food not just because we were meat eaters, but because of the stereotypes people label vegan/vegetarian atmospheres and the taste of the food itself back in 2009/2010.

I do need to mention that there is a theme to this place; call it a kind of ‘new age’ or anything you like.  So if this is a problem for you, then you probably will not like it.  But I’ll tell you right now, the workers are not pushy about it at all and don’t judge if all you simply want is to eat and go. It’s not just that new age feeling, it’s much more that they care that you are taking care of your body by choosing healthy meals. Café Gratitude may look new age/ hipster and may throw you off, but not once did they make me feel uncomfortable. Not that I’m not heavily into this theme but it is something I do appreciate to an extent. Don’t hate on people who do find enlightenment with things like this. Respect it because we all have your own way of self-satisfaction. And remember, you’re here for the food, which is amazing. After your meal, you feel good about yourself, and not like you just joined a cult or something because you didn’t. You just experienced great food and service.

While we’re on the service side of the blog, the staff at the LA Café Gratitude is friendly. I took two friends to dine with me and they don’t live in LA or SoCal in general. Neither are into the LA scene though but they willingly agreed to come with me because they trust my foodie knowledge. I don’t mind it because I’m a SoCal native and I’ve lived in San Diego/Orange County/Los Angeles my whole life. This is normal to me. Anyway, you can reserve a seat on open table but that should really be for dinnertime since the place looks amazing at night. But for breakfast/brunch, it’s easy to get a table.

What I love most about restaurants is their creativity. A lot of that comes from the food, but also the way they name their dishes. At Café Gratitude, dishes are named simply by how you’d feel after eating it. Kind of like the "you are what you eat" saying, except you won't be ashamed of what you eat here. Everything starts with “I am” and that supports what I mentioned that they care about what you think about yourself and your health. Ok, this may seem a little cheesy to some people, but I thought it was pretty cool. And when they serve your dish, the servers say, “You are” instead of “I am”, which was nice and still personal.

The beverages we ordered were (sorry, we forgot to take photo's of our drinks. They were just too good!):

I AM SPLENDID-ICED Citron Green iced tea. Green rooibos, lemongrass, lemon myrtle, bergamot, orange, tangerine and jasmine.

I AM WONDERFUL Fresh watermelon juice topped with mint

I AM INSPIRED Summer berry limeade with agave and sparkling water on ice topped with mint

The dishes we ordered were (In the same order as the photos above):

I AM BONITA. Rice/quinoa black beans, salsa fresca, avocado and nacho cheese topped with pumpkin seeds served with two corn tortillas

I AM FANTASTIC. Raw chia seed-banana crepe filled with fresh fruit and topped with coconut yogurt maple syrup and pecans.

I AM SUSTAINED. Steamed quinoa with fresh fruit, goji berries, cinnamon, maple syrup and coconut milk.

Our Dessert (In the same order as photos above):

I AM MIGHTY SUPERFOOD ENERGY BAR Made with hemp seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, goji berries, coconut butter, cacao butter, cacao nibs, & vanilla beans dipped in chocolate or spiced with ginger

I AM DELIGHTED SPECIAL CHOCOLATE OFFERING Chocolate truffle that is super rich and flavorful with different fillings daily

I AM SUPER DARK CHOCOLATE NUGGET An intense, bittersweet nugget of ground cacao nibs, almond butter & maca, minimally sweetened with low-glycemic yacon

The food took about 15 minutes. The three of us had a nice little chat and from time to time the waiter checked in on us for refills and to ask us their “Question of the Day”. Yes, you read it correctly. It may be a little tacky but you know what, it really turned our day around. Our question of the day was “What do you want to be when you grow up?” (Other times I went they asked “Who inspires you?” and “What is something you want to change about yourself?”). We don’t have to answer the waiter if we don’t want to, but they tell us their answers to start off. We did answer him and we started a nice conversation with him and each other. Our food came and need I say it was very delicious. Some food is raw, but you won't even know the difference. But you will notice the organic and natural taste. The fruit is naturally sweet, and the oats and quinoa grainy but in a good way. The rice and beans were warm enough to be nice additions to the actual dish (regarding the I AM BONITA) and the drizzle of honey, syrup and coconut milk/yogurt was just right. This is a vegan restaurant and I couldn’t believe the amazing food I was eating was all natural and organic. Need I say that the portions were just right? Think of the three bears. Some Vegan/Vegetarian restaurants offer too little at such high prices, others are cheap but fail in quality and taste. At Cafe Gratitude, you get exactly what you pay for and more. The second I felt like I was starting to get full, I realized I was on my last bite. Now that's a meal that's worth every cent.

Even after your meal [the plate] puts you in a happier mood. “What Are You Grateful for?” It’s really those little quirky things that Café Gratitude adds to your dining experience. It’s not new age; ignore the theme others label it as. That’s what I love about the new places I’ve been trying. The word associations to ‘vegetarian’, ‘vegan’, ‘hipster/new age’ and other ones I can’t think of mean less to me. In fact, labels never really appealed to me. They’re just words that everyone has an opinion of and that’s how it should stay. Sure there might still be that small feeling of insecurity when I try a new place, but as healthy and organic is fast becoming a popular trend in recent years, we all have to break out of our shells and just enjoy food as it is.

This is definitely one of my favorite places to go when I’m in LA. The drinks were always what pulled me in all those years ago, why didn’t I think to sit down any sooner? I come here every now and then for some feel good food and a nice time. I only wish they’d have another location south of Los Angeles, maybe in Orange County, or better yet, San Diego. Then I'd eat there everyday.

Give this place a chance. We all need some smiles every now and then. This place defines healthy eating and happy living. Your body, and mind will thank you for dining at Café Gratitude.

This Café Gratitude is located on:

639 North Larchmont Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA

www.cafegratitudela.com

Visit www.CafeGratitude.com for more locations.

Which 'Wich' Do You Choose?

Looking to get your banh mi fix on, I know just the place if you're not looking to drive that extra distance to Westminister. Especially if you're sick of the basic Lee's Sandwiches and are up for a bit of American fusion incorporated in to the menu. The place is called East Borough in Costa Mesa at The Camp off of Bristol and Baker.

Bahn Mi

The sandwiches are fresh and tasty with all the fix-ins like pickled daikon & carrots, cucumber, cilantro, & jalapenos with just a bit of mayo on the bread that come together to pop in your mouth. The fresh bread is really soft, yet crunchy too on the outside, just the right amount to not cut up the roof of your mouth...a fine line not to cross.

Grilled Pork

I can understand why some people are not a fan of this place. At first glance, East Borough seemed a little too Americanized, since what I love about most Pho places is that it's run down and no one is thinking about a dress code of looking cool. This place gives off a bit of a hipster vibe in this small outdoors covered patio with greenery and mini waterfall area on the right (watch out for that side table, you may be in the splash zone).

Vietnamese Ham with Pate

All my thoughts were washed away once I tried the banh mi and spring rolls, I was in love. The banh mi and spring rolls are definitely authentic. The whole gimmick of East Borough just throws you off a bit, making you assume it's not authentic. I love this place. The prices aren't as cheap as Westminster, but given the location at The Camp, it's understandable why the prices are $1-2 more.