I Am Grateful For The Tiny Amount of Light Available

I blog after dark.  That's just the way it works out.  Consequently, the photos that accompany my blog posts are starved of the bright, natural light that wholesome vegan food deserves.  This post is a case in point.  A friend and I went to Café Gratitude tonight, armed with only my iPhone 3GS to document the mostly-raw experience.  Thanks to iPhoto, I was able to adjust the photos to the point where you can almost discern their subjects.

Enough about photos, let's talk about the experience.   This was my first visit to the legendary Café Gratitude, and I was instantly pleased to find it was humble and homey.  I had expected it to be swank and natural-fiber-artsy for some reason,  filled with solemn patrons alternately ingesting their manna and uttering spiritual affirmations.  I imagined that I would be forced to walk into the center of a cavernous dining area, squinting beneath a spotlight, and proclaim my order to a reproachful priestess who would bellow, "'Dazzling?' Surely you're joking, bland fellow.  You shall not sup upon "I Am Dazzling" in this House.  You shall eat "I Am Foolish," instead.  Now be gone."

I Am Honoring

But no. The service was pleasant and easy-going.  The patrons were motley and talkative.  At one point, a boombox started belting The Beatles' "Birthday," and everyone started to clap rhythmically while the servers hopped up and down and sang along for the benefit of a lucky, aging guest.

While you are not required to, you may order your dishes by their "affirmation" titles rather than their prosaic titles.  For example, the daily house special is called "I Am Celebrating," and the live burger is called "I Am Cheerful." When it came time to order, I had no qualms announcing to our affable server, "I Am Elated, and I Am Effervescent."  (Though when I received the "effervescent" house ginger ale, it was clear it would have been more accurate to say, "I Am Overwhelmed By The Hot, Stinging Fist of Raw Ginger.")

I Am Elated

I Am Honoring (live nachos) was pretty darned good and a little spicy;  I Am Elated (Enchilada del dia, basically the nachos in a live tortilla) was OK, and came with a tasty side of slaw;  I Am Cheerful (live sunburger) was dense but flavorful.  The tiramisu, however, was excellent.  I haven't had anything close to tiramisu since my reckless omnivore years, and this was well worth waiting for.  In fact, all of their desserts looked amazing.  I think we would have done well to just get the nachos and a couple desserts, but the extra time it took to ingest the shrugworthy entrees allowed us to fully to soak up the positive atmosphere.

I Am Finished.