I’ve written before about my first visit to Cru, the mostly raw vegan restaurant in Silver Lake, and I’ve been back a number of times since because I was so impressed the first time around. I’m pleased to say they continue to impress with their delicious food, cozy atmosphere and friendly service. Rather than repeat myself telling you all about this place, I’ll refer you to my previous post to get you up to date. For now I’d like to share with you more of the good stuff they’ve been feeding me.
Here we’ve got one of my favorite appetizers served at Cru, the Pumpkin Seed Walnut Chorizo Sausage with avocado lime salad. One thing to note is that Cru also serves fully cooked dishes, it’s not all raw food, and this is one of them. Calling the side an “avocado lime salad” is a bit misleading. What it really is is diced avocado served with a slice of lime and a few sprigs of cilantro. I’m not really complaining here as I love avocado and it was ripe and delicious and went well with the chorizo wraps, but yeah, I was expecting something that was more like an actual salad and instead got an avocado that had just been scooped out of it’s skin (they should change the wording on the menu, this ain’t no salad!).
The chorizo had a much heartier flavor to it than I expected to get from a raw food restaurants attempt at chorizo, and it’s quite tasty. Not very spicy but I picked up a nice Latin inspired kick to it. Everything tasted super fresh, and even though this is actually a cooked dish, it felt very light while at the same time being quite filling. They also offer this pumpkin seed walnut chorizo sausage as one of their full entries with “sauteed bell peppers, zucchini, onions and chorizo wrapped with field greens, tomatoes, avocado and cilantro in a collard leaf”. I’m getting that next time!
While we’re on the topic of things wrapped in collard leaves, here’s the Greek Wrap: avocado, cucumber, tzatziki, alfalfa, field greens, olives, mint and red onions in a collard leaf with sweet potato chips. I must admit that when they first served it to me, I was kind of overwhelmed by all the green I was looking at. Don’t get me wrong, I love greens and I even love them raw… but c’mon, you got admit that if you’re not used to eating a lot of raw food, this much raw collards on a plate can be a bit daunting.
Not being one who’s easily intimidated, I dove right in. Good thing I did too because the wrap was excellent. The collard greens were not bitter like I expected they might be and the cucumber tzatziki is excellent. There was also some avocado that they snuck in there which helped to round out all the flavors and give this thing some meatiness to balance out all the leafiness.
While I was eating a pretty Asian lady came in and was seated next to me. She looked familiar but I couldn’t place where I knew her from. We started talking and when the food first arrived she noted that it basically looked like a rolled up salad, and I’d agree. It pretty much is a Greek salad, all rolled up so it can be eaten with one hand. Later on in the middle of the night I realized who that woman was I’d been chatting with, it was none other than Ani Phyo, easily the world’s best known raw chef and raw foods cookbook author. Dudes, I helped her pick out what to eat!
[My apologies to Ani if that wasn't really you, and if it wasn't than you might like to know that there's an imposter out there that looks JUST like you who's name is also Ani and she likes raw food. Either that or she was just pretending to like it so as to better impersonate you.]
On a subsequent visit to Cru, I arrived not feeling so hot having indulged in too many vegan taste-test sandwiches at Purgatory Pizza the night before. Raw and light food seemed like the best way to get back up to speed. To start off with something that seemed like it might help my unhappy tummy, I got the ginger lemonade. Made from freshly squeezed lemons, not much sweetener and chunks of spicy ginger, not only was it a refreshing pick-me-up, but as I’d hoped, the ginger worked it’s magic and my stomach started feeling better after just a few sips. I was ready for action…
I went with the Mezze Platter: cucumber tzatzizki, beet & apple salad, fig pate, cashew cheese, flax crackers and garlicky rubbed kale. If you followed the link up at the top to my first Cru visit you’ll recall that I had this dish that time too, and it was so good that I was craving it again. This time I got some much better daytime shots to share with you.
The presentation is quite impressive, and everything tastes as amazing as it looks. I love this dish because you get a little bit of everything. The beet & apple salad is the star of the show, slighty tart and slightly sweet, I could eat a whole bowl of this stuff. The cucumber tzatziki is also very delicious and I’d love to know what they are using instead of yogurt to get it so creamy. The kale was fresh and crisp (the garlic rub down must happen very gently… I didn’t really get a garlic flavor but it was still quite good). I love the fig pate which taste like a cross between a sweet jam and fermented wine, and the cashew cheese, while not tasting much like cashews to me, made for a nice combo along with the figs on top of a tasty flax cracker. They also serve this plate with a few Greek olives which shouldn’t be overlooked because they are packed with awesome.
The above P.O.V photo is provided solely for prurient foodporn purposes only.
Another night, another dinner visit to Cru. This meal began with their Deep Green Salad: marinated kale with avocado, tomatoes, sprouts and sunflower seeds in a chili lime dressing. Pictured here is the smaller version (which is quite large), there’s also a full sized one… my friend got it and it was massive, more than enough for two or more people to share generously. Simple and delicious. The dressing wasn’t very strong, I certainly didn’t pick up any heat from the chili, but despite that it tasted great and seemed to be just what my body and tastebuds were craving.
For my main entree I got another of their cooked items, the Pan-Seared Kabocha Squash: with beets, walnuts and basil over quinoa. Seeing as I love every single one of these ingredients, this couldn’t have been a better choice. Sadly these dark photos do not do it the justice it deserves because this was really fantastic. When the server put it down in front me, the people I was dining with let out a collective “oooooohhhhhh” in a slightly jealous tone. The scent was intoxicating and the taste was even better.
The kabocha was soft & tender while the beets still retained a slight crunch to them. I’m certain there was also some sweet potato in there (the cook must have known how much I love them), and all put together with the aromatic basil, crunchy walnuts, soft & fluffy quinoa, whatever those other greens are (spinach?), and a slight hint of coconut, I’d say it was pretty damn close to perfect.
So far I’ve been batting a thousand at Cru. I haven’t had anything there that wasn’t excellent, and even the things I didn’t love as much as the rest have still been decent. As with all the raw food places, eating at Cru isn’t super cheap (that Mezza Platter for example is $13 bucks) but you really do get what you pay for. The food is always über-fresh and skillfully prepared, and the staff is always very nice and proud to present their food to you- both of these being qualities I highly appreciate in a restaurant. It’s the sort of food and dining experience I don’t mind paying a little extra for, they’ve proven to me a few times now that it’s totally worth it. While I won’t be turning into a raw foodie who’s got that special glow any time soon, I will definitely be returning to Cru often as I’ve made it a goal to try all the other tantalizing stuff on the menu that I haven’t gotten to yet. It’s a dirty job but someone’s gotta do it.
Cru
1521 Griffith Park Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 667-1551
www.crusilverlake.com
I’ve been wanting to go here. I’ve walked passed it last week, but my belly was full from Flore. Reading this post just makes me want to go back there to eat. The Greek Wrap does look very “leafy,” but I’d love to try one! Hope to see you Sunday :0)
I’m not a big raw-foodie but this stuff looks amazing!
So pretty!
That raw food looks so good! I’m super tempted to buy a mandolin veggie slicer to attempt things like the cucumber wraps.
damn those pix are amazing!!!!!! I don’t think food looks THAT good in person! cru is awesome. I usually don’t like raw food, but when places like this do it right, it can be exceptional.
I am trying this place asap when I get back!
I recently stopped in for juice. I was on a colon cleanse. The server was very helpful and we talked about liquid fasts. I’m leaning more and more towards raw vegan food.
Cru looks delish. I’ll definetly return for the Pumpkin Seed Walnut Chorizo Sausage.
I liked the Apple Beet Salad, but wish I’d had the Pumpkin Seed Walnut Chorizo Sausage as well!
Cru looks fun! That ginger lemonade looks delicious and easy to replicate. I’m going to have to try that!
Cru makes Juliano’s look like raw crap. I just went to Cru for the first time a few weeks ago, and I loooove it. I wish that I had gone to Cru on my birthday!
The appetizer of chorizo IS raw. It’s the entree in the cooked section that is … um … well … cooked!
By the way, I eat or take out from Cru at least a few times a month and have since the week she opened. It gets better and more consistent as time goes by. Changing the menu with the seasons puts her way ahead of most of the other LA living foods restaurants.