Tuesday, March 30, 2010

CAYENNE, LEMONADE, TOSTADAS OH MY!

Aja says-
Anyone who knows Noah and I just a little, is aware of how much we love great food, and all that it encompasses. Foie gras, Pig ear, Oysters Rockefeller, you name it we'll eat it.
Unfortunately , most of the things we love to eat, are not exactly great for the waist line, and I have definitely started to notice that my jeans don't exactly fit like they used to.
Taking this into consideration, and the fact that I'm also incredibly vain, I decided to try the master cleanse diet, to get my body on the right track, and limit my urge to excess.
For those of you who don't know, the Master cleanse consists of drinking 6-12 glasses of lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper daily, and taking a laxative tea at night.
For a girl who enjoys her bacon in the morning.. afternoon..and night, this wasn't easy, and after a couple of days I was ready to eat Noah's head, anything that I could actually chew!

When I was ready to join the real world again, Noah and I decided to try out local vegetarian restaurant Cru in Silverlake.
We had heard quite a few good things about this place, but not being much of a vege lover, and Noah being almost anti-vegetarian, we'd never given it a shot.
We figured this was the perfect opportunity to broaden our food horizons.
The restaurant itself, is a very cozy and romantic space.Having only ten tables, there is usually a wait, but we were lucky enough to get there just as dinner service was starting ( because I was HUNNNNGRY!!!), and were quickly seated by their very sweet and sprite like host.

I was ready to eat the menu itself, so we quickly ordered a bowl of the
roasted red pepper soup,
the chorizo (meatless) tostada for me, and the mushroom risotto for Noah.
The soup came out pretty fast, and was good. It had a great creamy flavor to it, and the spices gave it a little bit a kick. It didn't blow me out of the water, but I was satisfied. When my tostada came, I was a little weary at first. It was an entree from their raw menu, and I was concerned about it being a filling dish.

The tostada consisted of a corn shell with raw vegan chorizo,salsa criolla, and a reddish cabbage slaw. I picked it up with my hands and bit down. It was pretty awesome. The crunchiness of the corn shell combined with the sweet and sour slaw, and chorizo(which tasted like meat to me), complimented each other perfectly, and I finished the whole thing with ease. Noah was equally impressed with his dish, and I have to admit, I started to think there might be something to eating healthy....it might also could taste good!
We finished up our dinner with a raw Cacao Maca Smoothie, which consists of agave, bananas, sunflower seed milk, and cacao powder. It was delicious, and pushed us over the edge into blissful fullness.
Bottom line: I won't be giving up pork anytime soon, but I'll definitely be coming back to Cru, for more healthy good eats. Eat well, without the guilt? Sounds good to me!

Noah says-


As Aja mentioned, we really were in need of change. Even though this food is not necessarily our style, I heard so many great reviews of this place, I was determined it was going to be good. And it was!

Close enough for us to walk to, Aja and I strolled down to Cru before the sun lay to rest.

Once seated, our waitress happily opened our cheap Sauvignon Blanc from Trader Joes with the understanding that there was no corkage fee.

I love soup, and this pepper soup is amazing: perfect temperature, great taste and thick like a bisque.



The Mushroom Quinoa Risotto was delicious. I did not think the portions could fill me up, but I was stuffed at the end of the meal. A stuffed that can be described as good. I was still able to move, something that usually does not occur after many of our meals.

As Aja and I easily become obsessed with new tastes and overindulging; we were back at Cru two days later and experienced another great meal, with great wine and wonderful friends. It was a memorable end to a wonderful weekend! Thank you Cru and Aja.

CRU
1521 Griffith Park Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
tel: (323) 667-1551

1 comment:

  1. Loved going with you guys! You know I'm up for it anytime :) Cru and it's deliciously changing menu.

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