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

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

Last weekend I had a fun food & foodie filled adventure. First I went to check out the Food Fight documentary, knowing I’d be meeting up with the one & only Teenage Glutster but also pleased to make the acquaintance of Pat from Eating L.A. as an extra added bonus. It was a unique experience to view this food centric film as part of a Los Angeles foodblogger trifecta, each of us with our very different approaches to food and this fine city we enjoy eating it in.

By the time the movie was over The Glutster and I were feeling famished. There was some yummy looking stuff in the film (it was the pomegranite salsa that got me) and my taste buds were ready for action. After a bit of deliberation we decided to go to Cru, the vegan raw food restaurant in Silver Lake. Neither of us had eaten there before though we’d both been wanting to. Perfect! This was the night of the big rally/protest/march againt Prop 8 at the Sunset Junction (basically right near the restaurant), so I wasn’t sure we’d even be able to get there, but the street had only just begun to fill up with protestors when we arrived so there was no crisis to avert. The scene was rather festive, the vibe friendly and vibrant… it was exciting to see so many people come together to fight for what is right. We however were not there to protest, we were there to eat!

Now before I go any further, I must tell you that it’s very dark inside of Cru… very low ambient lighting and candles. It’s quite lovely in there, not at all too dark to see by, but certainly too dark to take good pictures in without flash. Not only that but my battery was dying too. That said, I did my best as this wonderful meal deserved to be shared.

Being the hardcore food-loving gluttons that we are, we without hesitation started off with not one, but two appetizers. The first was The Mezze Platter: cucumber tzatzizki, beet & apple salad, fig pate, cashew cheese, flax crackers and garlicky rubbed kale. Everything was delicious, the cashew cheese was rich, thick and creamy, not really tasting like cashews or cheese, but of something better than both. The fig pate was really something special, not as sweet as you would expect figs to be and I noticed a deep, almost fermented touch to it, as if it had been steeped in wine… exquisite. Everything else on the plate was just as excellent, right down to the perfectly brined olives. I think it’s fair to say we were both equally impressed.

We also had the Kim-chi Noodle Salad, which I mistakenly imagined would consist of noodles made from kim-chi, but that was not the case. Basically it was kelp noodles on top of a salad of greens, all topped with a healthy portion of kim-chi (I told you the photos were going to be craptastic). This was an odd combo for me, I do like all of the ingredients but I’m not sure I’d think to put them together that way. Plus the kelp noodles were just plain, I’m used to the delicious way they gussy them up in the Kelp Noodle Salad at Hugo’s or how I cook them at home. I didn’t hate it, I certainly ate quite a bit of it, but I’m not sure I’d order it again.

For my main course I got the Pizza Duo: one slice of mushroom pizza and one slice of pesto vegetable pizza (that’s a salad in the back). These were both so delicious. The one on the left is the mushroom pizza featuring a gorgeous heap of shitake mushrooms. I wish I could tell you what all the other ingredients were but I’m just not sure. I think there might be dried tomatoes on there, those green leaves might well be basil, and a most delicious creamy sauce on the crust that was kind of sweet, which may or may not have been made of cashews. The crust itself is made from kambucha squash. I have no idea how they do it, but… wow. It’s soft and chewy, yet firm enough to withstand being picked up and eaten like a normal slice of pizza.

The slice on the right has some glorious pesto sauce on the bottom, thinly sliced zucchini, tomatoes, radishes, and more of those awesome olives. This was a great example of pure food simply prepared and transformed into something spectacular. The vegetables were so fresh and all the flavors came together so well that each one of them ends up being seen in a whole new light. This was very different from the raw pizza at Blossoming Lotus that I got to try on my visit to Portland. That pizza was also really good too, so it’s interesting to see how different raw chefs interpret their versions of the same thing.

When raw food is done well, as it most definitely is at Cru, you really start to understand what the fuss is all about. I doubt I will ever become a raw foodie but the skilled staff at Cru really know how to work some serious alchemy in their kitchen. Another thing I really liked is that the prices at Cru are not outrageous like they are at some of the other raw places in town. That beautiful Mezze Platter was only $11, and it was big. Both of us were still picking at it until the end of the meal.

They also serve a number of cooked dishes at Cru. The Glutster had a lovely cooked meal of a mushroom quinoia rissotto which was also really, really good. I’ll leave it to him to tell you about that one of these days. I can’t wait to go back there to try more of both their cooked and raw foods.

But don’t think the food adventure ended there. No my friends, for even though Cru is known for their Chocolate Truffle Cake and Chocolate Brownie a la mode, we couldn’t resist the lure of the vegan Twinkies that we knew were right up the street at The Vegan Spot. I was concerned they’d be out of them at this late stage in the game, so imagine our delight when we walked in and saw exactly two beautiful golden Twinkies sitting there in the display case, waiting for us, almost as if they’d known we were coming and had saved themselves just for us. Oh joy! The best part was that not only had The Glutster not yet tried one of these vegan Twinkies, but… get this… he’s never even had a real Twinkie before! Not ever! Hopefully he won’t mind that I just outed him from the Twinkie closet, but the cool thing is that his reaction to it and the way he described the Twinkie while eating it was exactly how I described it the first time I had it. Even though he didn’t have any reference to compare it to, he immediately picked up on the awesome dense and cake-like consistency and thick creaminess of the filling. In other words, he noticed all the things that make JennShaggy’s vegan Twinkies so great in comparison to the far inferior Hostess originals.

Let me tell you that when at days end you’re burping up kim-chi, pesto and Twinkies, you know it has been a good day indeed.
www.crusilverlake.com