San Francisco Adventures in Raw Food

My California trip continues with plenty of raw food sustenance. I've been juicing and eating lots of organic fruit for breakfast.  Most meals have been at restaurants, however. Salad always saves the day. I can find them on most menus and ask for a raw version if cooked ingredients are included. But, one can only eat so many salads and luckily a variety of other raw options have graced my table setting. Here are some highlights.

Ahi Tuna Chopped Salad

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Sauce restaurant served up this heirloom tomato salad with delicious, sweet corn cut right off the cob instead of grilled. My main entree was their ahi tuna chopped salad served with a zesty chili sauce. It was quite good and I polished it off contentedly. Had I still been hungry, I would have asked for one more order of this. 

Seaweed Salad

My next raw food experience was at Takara Japanese restaurant. With a sushi bar, I knew I'd have no problem getting some nice sashimi pieces. Tuna and salmon did the trick. This is their seaweed salad, which was the largest I'd ever seen! I loved all the iceberg lettuce underneath the pickled seaweed and salty kombu seaweed noodles. This meal was so satisfying and delicious I was seriously considering whether I'd have room for dinner.

Oysters on the Half-Shell

I enjoyed an assortment of fresh oysters spanning the savory and sweet spectrum at Absinthe, a classy neighborhood joint on Hayes Street. The oysters on this trip have been a real treat. 

Tomato Salad with Fennel Shavings

But the best treat was yet to come. Even from a raw-food perspective, Home restaurant turned out to be just what the name connotes. The meal I got was like three gourmet raw food recipes I would make for myself at home. My first clue that this was going to be a great episode in my San Francisco raw food adventure was the server's enthusiasm upon hearing I eat only raw food. The chef took on the challenge with creative passion and prepared an entree totally unique from the menu offerings. His raw twist on Caprese Salad was a beautiful presentation of tomatoes with fennel shavings that looked just like grated parmesan. It tasted as good as it appeared. 

Cucumber Pear Salad

Cucumber noodles that looked like they had been sliced on the mandolin by a raw-food pro were tossed with pears and chives, accompanied by an unimposing dressing that brought out the delicate flavors.                      

And, last but not least, a creamy peach soup rounded out this bona-fide raw meal. 

Home definitely takes the prize of raw food creations on this trip. Not only did the food taste great, their openness to my raw food lifestyle was refreshing and encouraging.

  

The next day, back at Absinthe for more oysters, I had an elegant gazpacho and butter lettuce salad. When a menu lists as many raw items as this one, I have to go back and try more! 

San Francisco was a great city for my first experiment with traveling and eating raw. It was a whirlwind of unexpected delights. I'm refining my raw-food palate and getting better at communicating with servers about how I eat. I think I hit some great spots but know there have to be a lot more. Has anyone had good raw food in other restaurants of this eclectic city? 

Look soon for Santa Cruz adventures in raw food!