Bay Area Trip Part 5: Cafe Gratitude (San Rafael, CA)

I finally got to try Cafe Gratitude!  There's one in Los Angeles but I never had the chance to make it down there.  I was able to go to the location in San Rafael and thought it was an awesome experience.  You know you're in for something different right when you walk through the door and see nothing but inspirational sayings on the walls and ceilings.  It continues all the way up to when you place your order where you're pretty much forced to say positive things about yourself (e.g., I am divine, I am whole, etc...) because that's the name of their dishes :P  So when you tell the waitress what you'd like, for example "I am whole," the waitress responds by reflecting your new enlightened self "YOU ARE whole." Lol!  It's quite different and you have to admit, inspirational and a great concept.  The decor was also very different, simple with the tables and very hippie with the paintings.  You feel like you're walking into another world!  I couldn't wait to try the their raw and cooked food to see if it's magical dish names would really change the way I feel.

I AM WHOLE – Sea vegetable and kale, local brown rice, house-made kim chee, carrots and sprouts with tahini-garlic sauce and teriyaki almonds.

I had the I AM WHOLE which is a very macrobiotic bowl.  You couldn’t ask for a more complete meal with the sea veggies to the kim chee, you really do leave feeling whole ;)  An interesting twist was the teriyaki almonds as their choice of protein.  This was my first time having almonds as part of my meal and I loved it!  It was crunchy and browned to perfection.  You’re given a spoon to chow down this bowl and although it looks like a somewhat small portion in the photo, believe me it’s a good filling size.  Only thing I think could make this dish even better would be some more seasoning with either the carrots or kale, perhaps having it sautéed, something to give it a little push over just the normal steamed veggies that you could do easily at home.  But everything was very fresh and delicious!

I AM EXTRAORDINARY – BLT with sautéed maple coconut bacon, romaine lettuce, sliced tomato and avocado.  Served with spicy chipotle aioli on organic wheat bun.

Karly had the I AM EXTRAORDINARY which I was immediately eyeing at the table next to us the moment we walked in.  I am a sucker for a good bun, no pun intended ;) and this one just looked light and refreshing.  Although I wasn’t able to grab a taste of this one, Karly raves about it.  If you’re an avocado lover like her I’m sure this one is for you.  Doesn’t coconut bacon sounds amazing?!?  

 Café Gratitude serves up some amazing raw desserts like their I AM CHERISHED a mocha cheesecake, I AM RAPTURE! a pineapple coconut cake, I AM IRRESISTABLE a coconut cream pie with chocolate swirl, I AM DEVOTED! a take on coconut pudding, and I AM SUPER! Which are dark chocolate nuggets.  All these desserts use yacon, agave, and dates to sweeten things up and are all raw so there’s no flour in them which is good for gluten-free and macro individuals.  However they do use coconut and almonds, which could be good for some and hard to digest for others.  Macrobiotics is very flexible so try and see which ingredients you can tolerate.  For instance my Native Hawaiian blood I notice can tolerate the coconut pretty well but for some reason the nuts I can only have it occasionally.  So I am torn!  Just remember, if it works for you then great!

 Dining here was really great and I am so happy I finally had the chance to try it.  There are so many other dishes on the menu that I can’t wait to try.  It’s great leaving your meal with a thought of “What are you grateful for?”  Something that we all should reflect on everyday.

Here's a Cafe Gratitude recipe for their macro Asian Cucumber Salad.  Great for the hot summer weather ;)

Asian Cucumber Salad

4-5 small persian cucumbers

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp of sea palm or wakame soaked and chopped

1 tbsp chia seeds

Dash of ground white peppercorn

Cut the cucumbers in 1.5 inch by 1/2 inch sticks.  Combine and mix well.  Marinate for at least 10 mins and serve chilled.

Cafe Gratitude

Asian Cucumber Salad

2200 Fourth Street
San Rafael, CA 94901

Phone: 415.578.4928
Fax: 415.259.0390
Hours: 10 am to 9 pm