Raw food lets natural flavors speak for themselves, unlike cooked cuisine, which always insists on beeping loudly when it's finished in the microwave. Find your own culinary voice with this Groupon.
$12 for $25 Worth of Raw-Vegan Food
Chefs sculpt cuisine according to the restrictions of a gluten-free, raw-vegan diet, with organic animal-product-free foods never reaching temperatures above 115 degrees and always stored properly. As a result, nourishing enzymes stay locked within tasty vegetables. The menu includes items such as cucumber boats filled with eggless egg salad ($12) and pizzas made from sunflower-seed crusts and topped with cashew cheese, sliced tomatoes, and mushrooms ($14).
Raw Vegan Cafe
The volunteer-run Raw Vegan Cafe serves up uncooked gluten-free vegan fare, donating all its profits to Project Hopeful in Joliet. Appetizers on the trim menu include zucchini wraps and mushrooms that, like a black bear’s armchair, come stuffed with pine nuts and fine spices. Served sans nuts, the café's spaghetti comes smothered in a sun-dried-tomato marinara and can be paired with a custom, fresh-squeezed juice of your own creation.
To spread the good word of raw food, the nonprofit teaches foodies and newbies the vegan basics during cooking classes. Instructors arm students with the ingredients, equipment, and recipes necessary to swiftly craft nutritious raw dinners and desserts, saving the cost of ordering takeout from a neighbor’s greenhouse. Main courses such as pizza or bagels shirk flames in favor of a dehydrator, the use of which teachers thoroughly detail. Sweeteners reaped from Mother Nature's garden tinge dessert recipes for delicacies such as chocolate macaroons or lemon squares. Patrons fend off food comas and advancing herds of hungry rabbits to query experts about raw vegan diets during Q&A sessions that conclude classes.
Reviews
So rarely does any restaurant "get it" when it comes to service. The folks at this place have got service down pat.
Dino S.,Yelp, 3/26/12
Wow - Get your taste buds ready. I only wish I could prepare raw food as well as they do it here.
Kevin W.,Yelp, 4/3/12
Tips
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“Best raw vegan cafe I have ever been to. Loved it.”
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“Thanks as always for the delicious and nutritious food.”
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“The owner doesn't take a salary but donates a portion of the profits to charity. ”
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