~*~Veganosaurus Recipes Blog~*~: Café Gratitude San Francisco

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! :)

I 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.

The 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.

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

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.

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

And the walls had posters with food for thought!!

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...

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 -

I AM RENEWED - a simple and effective Wheatgrass Shot.

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!

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 :)

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!