Raw Eating at Living Light & Ravens Restaurant

[Guest guest]

Raw food and romance on the North Coast

Erin Van Rheenen, Special to The Chronicle

Friday, August 14, 2009

With all the orchards, organic gardens, farmers' markets and locally harvested

seaweed, this is definitely the place to check out the organic, the vegan and

even the raw, a style of eating that steers clear of not only animal products

but also cooking. Lest you think that such fare equals deprivation, try this

experiment: Eat raw (or at least meatless and light) one night of your getaway,

then feast more traditionally the next. Couples, compare your post-meal

shenanigans. If you're not significantly friskier after the raw foods meal, I'll

eat my sustainably grown straw hat.

A perfect day of eating (mostly) raw

Noon: Drive 17 miles north to Fort Bragg and Living Light Culinary Academy's

cafe (Main and Redwood streets). No, the school isn't Christian, though founder

Cherie Soria gets a religious gleam in her eye when she sings the praises of raw

food - fresh fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds, all left in their uncooked

splendor. The cafe offers delicious fresh juices and salads, and some non-raw

(but still vegan) options, such as curried carrot soup and Russian borscht.

1 p.m.: If your visit coincides with an afternoon class at Living Light (

www.rawfoodchef.com), sign up. A recent three-hour demo (with lots of

mouthwatering samples) taught how to lighten up a Mexican feast.

7 p.m.: When I asked Soria for her favorite local restaurant, she named the

Ravens' Restaurant (at Stanford Inn by the Sea). Even devoted cheeseheads owe it

to themselves to see how good a vegan meal can be. Sample the Sea Palm Strudel,

featuring delicate seaweed encased in a flaky pastry, or check out the

delectable raw lasagna, where cashew " cream " stands in for cheese

(Comptche-Ukiah Road at Highway 1, Mendocino; (800) 331-8884,

www.ravensrestaurant.com).

If you go

Coming events: The Vibrant Living Expo in Fort Bragg (Fri.-next Sun.;

www.rawfoodchef.com) offers culinary demos, a mini film festival, a Raw Pie

Contest and speakers. Pure Mendocino (Aug. 28-30) features organic wine and food

tasting and farm tours.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/14/TRSF1957ST.DTL

 

Card-carrying SFVS members can receive the following discount:

North Bay

The Ravens Restaurant Stanford Inn by the Sea, Coast Hwy 1 & Comptche-Ukiah Rd.,

P0 Box 487, Mendocino 95460, 800-331-8884 (www.stanfordinn.com/ravens.html) 10%

on menu (rooms not discounted)

http://www.sfvs.org/discounts.php