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Florida Vegetarian & Raw Food Restaurant

Exciting news for Florida residents…a new vegetarian and raw food restaurant is opening in the Tampa Bay area. 

Leafy Greens Cafe will serve raw food dishes and desserts, along with some cooked vegan and vegetarian dishes.  The cafe will be located in North Redington Beach on the Gulf of Mexico (in Tampa Bay).  I'm very happy for Denise Becknell, who owns the cafe.  Denise has secured a great location, and is waiting on licensing before formally opening in August or September.  She writes:

"We are waiting on licensing and we will be all set.  I am really hoping to be open Aug 1 — but we are in a holding pattern waiting for the licensing.  The current owner shut down almost a year ago and is trying to get the old license reinstated so we can just switch ownership.  It could take 3-4 weeks.  The restaurant has a motel attached to it, and we hope to turn it into a raw food retreat in the future too!  This is only the second raw restaurant in Tampa Bay — we are SO ready for this here!  I am including vegan and vegetarian dishes because the kitchen is FULLY equipped and we can entice others into trying our raw food.  We plan to walk around with trays of sample raw food so that we can get people interested.  We are also located across the street from a beautiful Gulf Beach, and we are going to cruise the beach with food to get people into the restaurant to try our new place too!"

Florida rivals California for the largest number of vegetarian and raw food restaurants. 

Want to connect with other food lovers? 

Must Love Food is a new social networking site for foodies to meet, connect, and chat about their favorite foods.  Mark and his friends have created a social networking site exclusively for food lovers.  In addition to meeting other foodies, MustLoveFood plans to include recipes, and will invite chefs, food critics, guest bloggers, cooks and local restaurants to participate. 

Social networking sites are big—and food networking sites are becoming increasingly popular.

One of my subscribers, David, recently visited a number of raw vegan restaurants in Los Angeles, and Southern California—including Go Raw Cafe in Las Vegas, Nevada.  David sent me his impressions, and agreed to share his raw vegan restaurant reviews with everyone.

Leaf (now Earthbar) - West Hollywood

Leaf, in West Hollywood, has been changed to Earthbar.  This is a "Great Earth Vitamin" store that has been trying to change their image.  This is a location that I am actually boycotting and have encouraged all my associates to boycott as well.  The working staff are very friendly and nice; however, the major complaint is the inconsistency on prices charged for the exact same drink. 

I always order the same combination of ingredients, same size drink, and have always been willing to substitute items if one of the ingredients is not available.  I have been charged up to 50% more for this drink at times.  When I confronted management, they advised me the owner would call me to discuss, as I am always willing to provide information to management, so smaller businesses will survive.  They don't seem to want to address the issue as I have not heard a thing. (P.S.  I am not one to expect or accept a free beverage or anything.  I just want consistency so I know what to expect when they go to ring it up). 

The other issue is Leaf is open until 8:00pm in the evening, but they inconsistently shut down their juicers anytime from 7:00pm - 8:00pm and try to get you to switch to smoothies (higher-priced) because that equipment is still used.  As you can tell, my experiences here have not been good and it is a shame that they don't care as I was spending about $50 - $100 a week here because I was also buying pre-packaged food and Raw ingredient and Organic Toiletries from this store.  They now get zero dollars from me and I have gone to the major stores like Erewhon and Whole Foods to get the products that I could be supporting small businesses with.

Great news—we now have 17 new raw vegan restaurants.  These restaurants have been added to the latest version of the Raw Food Restaurant Guide, along with 2 new raw food delivery companies, and 12 new partially-raw restaurants. 

I'm surprised, but thankful, to see so many new restaurants—including 3 international raw vegan restaurants! 

Here's the inside scoop on what's new—with credit to those who have helped me stay on top of all the changes and additions.

17 New Raw Food Restaurant Additions—including 3 international raw vegan restaurants in London, Munich & Istanbul

• New VerdeLlama location in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  Thanks to Diego for letting me know about his 2^nd location.  Diego tells me there may be the possibility of opening a raw food restaurant in Australia!
  
• Raw food chef Chad Sarno has opened 3 new restaurants internationally—one in London, one in Munich, and a third in Istanbul (Turkey).  This is great news for UK and European raw foodies.
• New raw vegan restaurant in Portland, Oregon. 
  
• New all-raw restaurant in Kirkland, Washington.  
• All raw take-out window  in Vancouver has opened (restaurant opening soon). 
• The Chocolate Café in Amsterdam has a once-monthly raw food feast.  
• 2 new raw food restaurants in Canada—one in British Columbia, one in Toronto.
• 2 new raw food restaurants in Miami, FL.
• New raw vegan restaurant in Santa Rosa, CA.  
• A small, raw food home-cafe is available in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. 
• New raw food restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida. 
  

Thanks to Adrienne, Carl, Melanie, Jeff, Annet, Paul, Melissa, Jen, Bea, Lindsay, Angus, Jess, Flora, Andrea, and Rebecca for the tips.  

2 New Raw Food Delivery Services

We have two new raw food delivery services—one based in Texas, and the other based in Oklahoma.  Both companies ship meals nationally across the U.S.  Thanks to Lisa and Anna (the owners) for making me aware of their services.

12 New Partially-Raw Food Restaurants Added (Cooked Vegan/Veg. with Raw Options)

I've added 12 new partially-raw resturants.  These restaurants serve vegetarian or vegan food and offer some raw food dishes.

• 2 new partially raw restaurants in NYC. 
• Partially raw cafe in Canada added.  
• New vegan restaurant in Queens, NY.  
• 5 semi-raw vegan restaurants in Arizona have been added to the guide. 
• Organic Market & Café in New Hampshire.  
• New juice bar and café in Connecticut.  
• New juice bar in New Orleans, LA (yeah – something healthy in N’awlins!).  

Hat tip to Dhrumil (via Twitter), Melissa, Jeff, Eli, Vai, Robert, Ellen, and Ashley.

Updates:

• Wow Raw Café in Canada now has a website.  
• Loving Life Café in New Oxford (PA) has moved to a new location.  
• Cru now has a website.  
• Live Health Café (in Toronto, Canada) has changed its name & address, and now has a website. 

Thanks to Sheryl, Laura, Jeanne, and Jennifer for the updates. 

 
Closings:

Unfortunately, Good Mood Food in Huntington Beach, CA is no longer in operation.  Thanks to Margit for making me aware of this.  Margit writes:

In its place is a coffee/lunch place called Good To Go and they do have some raw food choices and almond milk for coffee, but they don't seem to promote themselves as a raw food place.  Their chocolate mousse is very to die for, and worth the outrageous $7+ price. Good Mood Food lunch boxes I noticed are being sold out of a small fridge in a pastry shop called The Cake Box in the next shopping centre east of the one where Good To Go is.

That's all for now.  Thanks to everyone who helped with the most recent update.  Enjoy!

Boston's first raw food restaurant - Grezzo - owned by raw food coach Alissa Cohen has received rave reviews. 

Glen Colello, owner of the Connecticut raw food restaurant Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe recently visited Grezzo.  Glen was kind enough to share his experience at the new restaurant. 

GREZZO - Boston Raw Food Restaurant Review

Went for dinner at Grezzo Saturday night, March 1st.  The place was rocking!  Seats about 30—or did that night.   Alissa Cohen was working hard, greeting serving…good energy and cool waitress staff - very nice & helpful.  We did a sample menu—so each person at the table tasted everything on the menu minus one main course.I like everything. Some things I loved. The gnocchi & the mushroom soup were amazing.  The ice cream and cooking that came with it were fantastic. The pictures on the walls were full of life & the kitchen was humming with energy.  (I walked through the kitchen on the way to the bathroom.)  Totally needs to be checked out by all raw foodies!

Glen Colello
Catch A Healthy Habit Cafe
West Haven, CT

If you're like me and you travel a lot, you know that traveling can be utterly exhausting — especially if you're not eating properly.  Finding healthy food and eating well can be tough when you're unfamiliar with a city/location, and you're pressed for time.  Here are some tips for eating healthy (and staying raw) while traveling. 

Tips for Staying Healthy (and Raw) While Traveling:

• If possible, plan in advance.  Locate raw food restauarants, health food stores, and places where you can buy local produce before you leave.

• Bring fruit or fruit smoothies to eat/drink while on the plane.  Unfortunately, if you're traveling internationally, this is not always possible since some countries have restrictions on bringing raw fruits/vegetables across the border.

• Consider bringing a green drink or other superfood (Perfect Food, goji berries)

• Consider bringing a blender/Vitamix to create quick meals "on-the-go"—smoothies, green drinks, and raw salads can be created in under 5 minutes.

• Dried fruit and nuts & seeds (sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts) are great snacks since they're small, easy-to-carry, and non-messy.

• Airport snack shops almost always have fruit—usually apples, oranges, or bananas.  If you're stuck in an airport with no pre-packed food, this is usually the best option.  Most of the fruit is not organic, but if you haven't packed any of your own food, airport fruit is usually the only thing that's raw.

• I usually bring food to eat on the airplane, and then eat as much as possible from the local area (vegan restaurants, local produce, health food stores).

Interested in traveling and staying healthy?  My friend Sharon—over at Wild Success—is conducting a teleseminar on April 22nd on the topic of traveling, raw foods, and eating healthy.  If you're interested in this topic, consider joining Sharon on the call. 

A lot has changed since the last Raw Food Restaurant Guide update.  We've added 5 new restaurants, made some address and URL changes—and unfortunately, we've had some closings too.  First, the good news…

Boston now has a raw food restaurant with the recent opening of Grezzo (means "raw" in Italian), which is owned by raw food guru, Alissa Cohen.  Connecticut also has a raw food restaurant with the opening of Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe.  People in the Palm Beach area will be glad to hear that they now have a raw vegan restaurant called Raw Food Underground.  Raw Food Underground is open seasonally in West Palm Beach.  Looking for raw food on Merritt Island, Florida?  You'll find it at Alive & Healthy Organic Eatery.  Finally, I've been told that Nude Food in Windsor Ontario hosts a raw food dinner each month at a different downtown restaurant. 

5 New Raw Food Restaurant Additions

• Catch a Healthy Habit Café—located in West Haven, CT.
• Raw Food Underground—located in West Palm Beach, FL. 
• Nude Food in Windsor Ontario hosts a monthly “living foods feast.” 
• Alive & Healthy Organic Eatery in Merritt Island, Florida.
• Grezzo—Alissa Cohen's new raw food restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts.

Thanks to Rebecca, Glen, Sarah, and Mary.  And now the bad news…

Closings:  In the Raw (Woodstock, NY) has closed.  Thanks to Glen from Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe for the tip.  Café Karma in Denver is closed.  Website says they will reopen in the spring of 2008 at a new location.  Thanks Scott!  Olivia’s Garden of Eden Café in Gastonia, NC has closed.  Thanks Krystal.  Raw Magic in Brighton (U.K.) has closed, but will reopen in a new location.  Thanks to Paz for the tip.

Updates:  Almond Blossom’s website address has been updated.   Address and description for VitaOrganic have changed, thanks to Mark.

More Mainstream Restaurants Offering Raw Vegan Meals

More mainstream restaurants are beginning to offer raw vegan meals.  Among the latest mainstream restaurants to offer raw food selections are:

• Escopazzo (an organic Italian restaurant in Miami Beach, FL) offers 4 raw food meals on its menu.
• Chianti Café (Italian restaurant in Beverly, MA) will serve raw food meals if you call ahead. 
• Sublime (well-known vegetarian restaurant Ft. Lauderdale, FL) will serve raw food meals with 24-hour notice. 

Thanks to Eli, Stephanie and Rebecca.   It's interesting to see how mainstream restaurants are adapting!

Looking for raw food in London?  VitaOrganic is your place. 

One of my subscribers recently wrote to me about VitaOrganic (which is currently the only raw food restaurant in London).  Here is a restaurant review of VitaOrganic, courtesy of Mark:    

VitaOrganic's food is 100% vegan; no dairy or eggs at all, in any of the items.  Obviously, their food is suitable to both vegetarians and vegans, and they advertise it as such; but the food itself is 100% vegan.  The proprietor (and main chef), a Chinese-Malaysian, is a raw foodist and the basic concept of the restaurant is living gourmet cuisine—but London is not California, and the idea of raw foodism is still pretty foreign here and liable to scare people off, so their provision of a buffet consisting of "gently cooked" items (candles under earthenware pots), as well as numerous salads and raw desserts, is a concession to most of their clientele.  The a la carte menu itself, however, is 100% raw (although you can ask for an item, e.g. soup, to be warmed up) and the hardcore raw foodists know that this is the place to eat.  It is also without question a gourmet menu in its style and quality.

Based on Mark's feedback, I have updated VitaOrganic's address and changed the restaurant description.  Thanks Mark.

Good news for people who live in Connecticut.  Glen Colello is opening a raw food restaurant in West Haven called Catch A Healthy Habit.  This will be Connecticut's first 100% raw food cafe. 

The cafe is scheduled to open on February 1st—and it will serve all-raw, mostly organic dishes, along with smoothies, fresh juices, soups, salads and raw desserts.  Catch a Healthy Habit will also sell retail goods. Congratulations to Glen!  Catch a Healthy Habit has been added to the Raw Food Restaurant Guide.

Veggie Magic is a new raw vegan restaurant in Sarasota, Florida. 

The cafe serves 100% organic raw vegan food, and offers carryout, delivery and catering.  If you live in Sarasota (or nearby), be sure to check it out.  Veggie Magic has been added to the Raw Food Restaurant Guide.  

Thanks to Mendy for the tip.