To Live and Eat in L.A. – A Vegan Food Photo Blog

Good news, the excellent, mostly raw food restaurant Cru in Silver Lake is now open daily for lunch! Daytime service is from 11am-4pm, with dinner starting up from 5:30pm-10pm.

Previously their only daytime hours were on the weekend, now it’s everyday with a special brunch on Sundays from 11am-2:30pm. I haven’t been to the Sunday brunch yet so I don’t know what goodies are on that menu, but I can tell you that I so enjoyed their new daily lunch that I went back two days in a row. Cru was already one of my favorite restaurants, now it’s become even more so.

The daytime menu features a selection from their regular menu, which inlcudes quite a few new dishes since my last visit. There’s a nice selection of appetizers, wraps, and even stuff like their take on a raw pizza, a tostada made with raw vegan chorizo, rice bowls, über healthy salads and more.

Bruschetta is pretty much at the top of the appetizer food chain. I love love love it. The Bruschetta Rustica at Cru isn’t the traditional version as usually served on thick crusty bread, but they’ve got the essence down pat, and this reinvented raw(er) version is delightful.

It comes on sunflower flat bread with chopped tomato & basil and cashew cheese. I believe the saucy drizzle along the plate is a pesto infused oil. Everything about this bruschetta tasted so fresh and clean, the cashew cheese was delicious and the tomatoes perfectly ripe and full of flavor (in January!).

You know what’s even cooler about Cru being open for lunch? It’s that they’re also serving breakfast and brunch inspired dishes, all with a unique and tasty twist. The dishes I’ve had so far all sound so simple on the menu but then when my meals arrived, I was dazzled by the presentation and tastiness of it all. Behold:

This is the Crepe Florentine: Sauteed mushrooms and spinach in a vegan, gluten free crepe, served with a side salad. I think the menu actually undersells it, that sounds pretty boring. But wow, look at that, not boring at all! And it tastes fantastic too.

This was my first time having a vegan crepe, and being that it was also gluten free, I had no idea what I was in for. I didn’t expect something so delicate and so just like a real crepe. It was great, as was the delicious lightly cooked mushroom & spinach filling. Even the side salad was notable, just a simple green salad lightly dressed with maybe a bit of oil and lemon, but they also sprinkled on a really nice large grained salt that coated the leaves, and I loved it. Not at all too salty, just the right amount to season the greens and bring all the flavors together. Such a great meal, so filling and satisfying, and when I was finished I didn’t feel like I was going to burst, I felt pumped and full of energy.

Here’s another of the breakfast themed items which really would be good at any time of day, the Sweet Potato Pancakes with sauteed apples and a side of greens. The greens are actually a fairly decent sized green salad placed on top of the whole show. It was the same as the previous salad, this time with fabulous olives thrown into the mix.

The pancakes themselves were more like a cross between a falafel patty consistency and a potato latke. They were more savory than sweet, a bit soft in the middle and nicely crisped on the outside. The green sauce was that awesome basil oil and I don’t know what the orange stuff is, but it was lovely.

The cinnamon dusted apples came served on the side… the serving was actually more generous than shown, I’d started eating some of them before remembering to take a picture. The sweetness of the apples was a nice balance to go with the rest, each bite a whimsical interplay of salty, sweet, crispy, leafy and yummy- yummy being the main ingredient.

To say that I’m impressed by what Cru is doing during daylight hours would be an understatement. I’ve been feeling under the weather and recuperating from a stupid cold and was craving {needing} good, pure food that would not only cure my hunger but also help my immune system do it’s job healing my body. This is the kind of food that you eat and it instantly makes you feel healthier and more alive.

To that end I also got a chance to try some of their juices and smoothies. Concentrated nutrition I can enjoy through a sippy straw? Hell yeah, bring it on! The deep green juice up at the very top of the page is the Green Smoothie with kale, apple, banana, coconut juice and agave. Wonderful! Those of you who are intimidated by green drinks… get over it! This smoothie is so delicious, I promise you it does not taste like salad. It was so good I practically sucked the whole giant glass down in one shot and gave myself brainfreeze. Talk about an energy boost!

On my second visit I got to enjoy the Cacao Maca Smoothie with cacao, sunflower seed milk, banana, maca and agave. Heavenly! It tastes just like an awesome chocolate milkshake, but the kind of awesome milkshake that has no actual milk and is extra good for you.

Now that Cru is open pretty much any time you’re likely to be hungry, you’ve got that many more opportunities to experience fine meals such as these. I can’t wait to try out their Sunday brunch for either the Banana Walnut Buckwheat Pancakes or the Manna Bread French Toast ala Mode with caramel apples.

Daytime just got a lot more delicious.

Cru
1521 Griffith Park Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 667-1551
www.crusilverlake.com

1. Cold weather food at Real Food Daily.
2. Delicious vegan breakfast at Real Food Daily
3. Real Food Daily Veggie Burger FAIL
4. Portabella mushroom sandwich at Real Food Daily
5. Vegan Nachos & Reuben sandwich at Real Food Daily

Both comments and pings are currently closed.