Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Café Gratitude San Francisco


cafe gratitude view 1
Located in a little hideaway at the Mission District of San Francisco, Café Gratitude is a cozy, New Age, live food restaurant where they serve all Vegan, all Oraganic, mostly Raw nourishment for your body, your soul and your mind. From the moment I stepped into this place I knew I was going to be speechless. So I started clicking pictures... loads of them! :)

cafe gratitude barI am usually not one for crowded places but as packed as this place was, I could feel nothing but ripples of happiness and contentment beaming out from every person, every wall and every piece of furniture in the room. The atmosphere was extremely welcoming. I immediately knew that the people who ran this place did a daily cleansing ritual of some sort to maintain this kind of an energy level. There were only two empty seats, waiting just for us. They were located near the entrance, at a table occupied by two other groups of people. Normally I've found sharing tables with strangers an awkward experience but this time I felt absolutely comfortable exchanging a polite smile with the person across the table from me and then just continuing on with the rest of my evening.

table topThe table had a game board spread out on it and a basket with cards. We didn't play the game but we did pick out a few random cards. The messages were were insightful.

I was particularly struck by what this one card said.

game cardAnd it wasn't just the cards which carried messages, the walls of the Café were covered with beautiful art and words of wisdom.

wall 1

wall 2
Including the restroom!! I walked into the restroom and came running back out to grab my camera! LOL It could be considered a regular old restroom - small, clean, with a dim light. Except that this one had a scented candle burning on a quaint little shelf.

restroom1

And the mirror told me I was the adoring love of God..

restroommirror
And the walls had posters with food for thought!!

restroom wall
This one poster particularly caught my attention. The artwork on it was impressive and the words... well they are truly words to live by! It's not the best photo since the lighting was dim but I took a close up of the words which I am constantly repeating today...

restroomwall1
The people who work at the café were pleasant and friendly. Our server had a constantly radiant smile on her face and was very welcoming of our questions. She explained the day's specials to us and then asked us if we'd like to ponder The Question of the Day - "When are you truly free?" Chewing on something like that and holding on to the resulting feeling while one eats would definitely make the food taste better! :)

Even the menu was full of beautiful thoughts! Each item had a special name associated with a feeling - I am healthy, I am passionate, I am giving... Anything you ordered would create a wonderful sensation! :)

We decided to try these -

wheatgrass shot




I AM RENEWED - a simple and effective Wheatgrass Shot.


raw spring rolls



I AM INSIGHTFUL - fresh and crunchy Raw Spring Rolls made of avocado, seasonal fruit, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, sprouts and fresh herbs wrapped in blanched collard greens. Served with a Thai Coconut-Almond Butter Dipping Sauce, which till date is THE BEST dipping sauce I've EVER tasted!! A bite of the fresh fruits and veggies coupled with the nutty, rosey flavors of this sauce... OMG I could literally feel a celestial dance taking place on my tongue!
enchilada
I AM ELATED - a delicious Special Enchilada made of a live, soft vegetable tortilla with sprouted seed filling, topped with spicy salsa verde & cashew sour cream (mmmm). The tortilla was soooo soft and the filling was heavenly! The flavors were perfectly balanced. In fact this was so delicious that for a few moments we considered spending the dessert money on a second serving of it :)

sushi bowl
I AM ACCEPTING - a Sushi Bowl of steamed Bhutanese red rice tossed with kale, avocado, cucumber, nori, scallions and herbs in sesame-ginger sauce. It was light and filling at the same time. I asked for more of the Thai Coconut-Almond Butter Dipping Sauce and poured it all over this... the result was ambrosial!! I didn't care what anyone thought, I licked my plate clean!

I AM BLISS - Chocolate-Hazelnut Mousse Pie. An exquisite concoction of rich cacao & hazelnut mousse topped with coconut meringue in a hazelnut-macadamia date crust. Every bite was truly blissful!

hazlenut mousse

Maybe someday I can run a café like this. What a way to live it would be! :)

14 comments:

  1. OK, you should open it in Urbana, IL! ;) We need a place like that here!

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  2. Oh wow!!!! What an awesome place Sus! And the food looks divine! Yummmmmmmy!

    I need to go to San Fran! :)

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  3. What a lovely place Sus! I'd love to be able to visit a place like that too some day. That dinner looked really delicious and the dessert...OH MY! Thanks for sharing your evening with us.

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  4. An amazing place. it was a delight to read about.

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  5. Terry, tell me about it! I don't think such a place exists in all of the midwest! LOL Actually I think it would do really well at Normal, IL. College towns are generally more progressive than others.

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  6. Nath, yep! And if you're getting to SFO come now while I'm in the area! :)

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  7. Donna, you're sure to love the dinner and desserts. Can you believe the dessert is completely raw?? Amazing right?

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  8. Kim, do they have new age places like this in the UK?

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  9. omg the food! *hits the floor with a loud thud*

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  10. LOL Sarah! Tell me about it! That stuff was heavenly! :)

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  11. what a beautiful post, love the one in Berkeley..... esp. the smoothies and desserts, expensive but raw and vegan and yum and a beautiful location... wow, have to get to this SF one!
    I am in LOVE with the I am Bliss!!!!!! ;0) mmmmm!

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  12. Michele, the I am Bliss was a 100% true to its name! :)

    Well for that matter, all of them were :)

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