Back when I first visited Cru in 2007, the vegan spot was a different restaurant. The restaurant served all raw foods with a decidely Asian bent, exquisitely presented to look as delicious as it tasted.

Since then, Cru‘s added cooked foods — and earlier this year, revamped the spot and even switched chefs, with the new Vincent Krimmel simplifying the menu and giving it a more seasonal, locavorian bent.

So after leaving Big Parade LA at noon on Sunday, I stopped by Cru to try out the new menu. The cool raw tomato soup — decorated with a savory cream sauce — was flavorful and refreshing after the long walk.

But the highlight of the meal was the raw Pizza (top photo). Each layer of this live dish had its own distinctive flavor — the fresh raw salsa pomodoro, the savory marinated shitake mushrooms, the rich vegan mascarone, and the mysteriously flavorful vegan Italian sausage, all on a delicious crisp raw crust.

Sadly, the cooked dish I tried was very disappointing. Called Body Ecology, the entree was described as an Austrian red potato salad with sauerkraut and mixed greens. Well, the mixed greens were fine, but the sauerkraut was not fermented enough — and the quinoa-with-potatoes concoction was bland and uninteresting. Perhaps cooked food really isn’t Cru’s thing.

The raw dessert was better, though not much for presentation, especially compared to the beautiful raw raspberry chocolate crepes I had back in the day. The plain, undecorated, and slightly dented, piece of raw Strawberry Cheesecake had a lot of great fruity flavor — but I found it a bit too dense. I suppose cheesecake is supposed to be dense — so those looking for a super heavy dessert may appreciate it.

To give Cru’s desserts a second chance, I picked up a slice of Cru’s Chocolate Truffle Cake from Erewhon last week — but found it even denser, to the point I can’t recommend it. Basically, the “cake” is a big hunk of solid coconut butter — that’s been made more palatable with a whole lot of cacao powder and agave nectar. Simple, clean, and pure? Yes. Decadently delicious chocolate cake? No. Since I can’t handle eating big amounts of coconut butter straight out of the jar, I’ll be steering clear of Cru’s heavy cakes.

But I loved Cru’s raw pizza, and would like to give Cru’s other raw dishes a try. I’m especially curious about the Raw Nori Hand Roll! Want to go Cru at home? Here’s the recipe for the roll, on KCET’s The Public Kitchen.

Earlier: Raw vegan restaurants in Los Angeles

3 Comments

Nobody walks in L.A.? It’s true many of our sidewalks sit sadly empty most days of the week. But last weekend, hundreds of Angelenos took to the streets for a big pedestrian event: Big Parade LA.

Now in its third year, this two-day urban hike’s the brainchild of Dan Koeppel (with me, below), even more famous in the environmental world for having penned THE book on bananas — titled, as you may have guessed, “Banana.” Dan also happens to be a staircase enthusiast and avid walker — from which evolved his marathon-length walking routes and maps (available on Google Maps for the stairways-curious), and eventually, Big Parade LA.

The totally free, non-sponsored event basically is a big walk fest that starts at Angel’s Flight Stairway in downtown Los Angeles and ends at the Hollywood sign above Beechwood Canyon — traversing a big swath of Los Angeles in between. Along the way, walkers get treated to musical performances, mini talks about local history and ecology, and a street-level photo exhibit of L.A.’s past — all while getting to see new-to-them L.A. neighborhoods up close and meeting fellow walkers in L.A.

Intrepid Angelenos signed up for the whole hike, climbing up and down close to 90 stairways that dotted the route — which stretched over 33 miles — not counting the descent from the Hollywood Sign!

I did not. (more…)

0 Comments

>> Recycle your bicycle tubes, get new bike gear. Performance Bike’s Bike Tube Blow-Out invites you to bring in flat or unused bike tubes. In exchange for recycling, you’ll get $5 in-store credit per tube — max $15 for 3 tubes. Stop by Performance’s Santa Monica or Woodland Hills store — both of which will be celebrating their grand openings with freebies and big sales — between Fri., July 23 and Sun., July 25 to get the deal.

>> Don’t forget: Walk and Ride for a Safer 4th Street happens tomorrow! Organized by the L.A. Bicycle Coalition, this event highlights efforts to turn 4th Street into a bike boulevard. The bike ride starts at 10 am from Pan Pacific Park, the walk — which I’ll be joining — starts at 10:30 am from 4th and Normandie and ends at Shatto Park, 3191 W. 4th St., Los Angeles — where free refreshments will await all participants.

>> I didn’t know Marc Abrams, Silver Lake’s Walking Man, but he was a familiar sight to many Angelenos. He died in his hot tub earlier this week — and fans have planned a Silver Lake Walking Man Memorial Walk that traces Marc Abrams’ usual 15-mile jaunt. All are welcome to walk on Sun., July 25 from noon to 4 pm, starting and ending at Silver Lake Recreation Center, 1850 W. Silver Lake Dr., Los Angeles.

3 Comments

Only a few years ago I knew of only one community supported agriculture (CSA) program for Angelenos. Then, Tierra Miguel was pretty much the only option for locavores seeking to buy direct from a nearby farm. Then, the options suddenly expanded — until I could count nine CSA programs for Angelenos.

Now, I’ve found three more.

I’ll update the main CSA options post for easy reference soon. But in the meantime, here are the other three — two of them brand new!

Old Chimney Farm.
Cost: Roughly $30 for about a dozen servings of produce
Pick-up locations: Delivered to your doorstep in Malibu!

If you live in Malibu, this is about as local and convenient as you can get. Get your weekly box of produce direct from a local 8-acre permaculture farm — delivered to your doorstep every Tuesday between 4-6pm. This brand new CSA requires a seasonal commitment ($360 for a 12 week season). Sign up now — Only 7 spaces are left, and deliveries begin June 22!

CSU Farm Fresh Produce Bag Subscription Program .
Cost: $10 to $12 for a bag of produce for 1 – 2 people
Pick-up locations: Thursday Farm Stand at EXPO, 3980 Menlo Ave., Los Angeles

For low income or bargain seekers who live near USC, this CSA program sounds the most affordable, though I haven’t actually seen a $10 bag to see how much Community Services Unlimited — a nonprofit community organization based in South L.A. — deems is enough produce for 1 – 2 people. If the produce isn’t enough, you can opt for the larger $20 bag — still a great deal, considering the fact that the very local produce comes from CSU’s urban mini-farms and local farmers.

Subscribe for a minimum of four weeks. And if you’re a well-heeled locavore, consider paying the “supporter rate” — $12 for a small bag, $24 for a large — to help out your local farmers.

Silver Lake Farms CSA.
Cost: $20 for a box of produce
Pick-up locations: Silver Lake and Beachwood Canyon

Launched late last year, Silver Lake Farms CSA gets all its vegetables very locally, from one Farmer John in Echo Park and Tara, veggie grower at Silver Lake Farms. Become a member by contacting Tara at info@silverlakefarms.com or 323-644-3700. One downside: These CSA boxes are fruitless, at least until L.A. laws are changed to allow for sale of locally-grown fruit. Upside: Tara posts recipes for current CSA box ingredients on her blog!
__

Thanks to Heart Beet Gardening for the news about the new CSAs!

1 Comments

Question: I am a raw vegan and I am taking a 3 week tour of cali so i thought you may be able to tell me some restaurants to go to! I would love your help! Thanks! Penny

Answer: I am not a raw vegan, but I can recommend raw vegan restaurants I like!

My favorite raw vegan organic restaurant of the moment is Better Life Cuisine, which offers yummy soups, salads, smoothies, juices, wraps, and entrees at affordable prices. Try the Fiesta Platter to get a sense of what the casual place has to offer — and be sure to save room for the sumptuous raw desserts.

Want wine with your raw dinner? Try Juliano’s Raw, which as far as I know, is the only raw vegan restaurant that serves alcoholic drinks. I also love the tasty salmon rolls and chocolate mousse — but I’m not a fan of the overly fruity and sweet appetizer plate.

Also in Santa Monica is Euphoria Loves Rawvolution Cafe, a neighborhood favorite that hasn’t yet pleased my taste buds — but perhaps I should give another try. I’ve had friends rave about the restaurant’s onion “bun” and though I’m not a big fan of the thing, I did enjoy Euphoria’s no-bean hummus — nevermind that I have nothing against eating cooked beans.

For raw Asian dining, visit Cru in Silver Lake for bento box style meals and tasty raw sorbet desserts. I’d visit Cru more if it were on the westside, but for now I just mostly ogle the photos of the restaurant’s raw organic dishes.

Finally, visitors to L.A. will be amazed to see the variety of yummy raw vegan foods available at local Whole Foods. My favorites are the Notchos raw kale chips!

Enjoy your Cali visit. Readers: If you have other L.A.-area raw vegan restaurants to recommend, share your reviews in the comments.

Raw updates:
>> SunPower Natural Cafe: An organic vegan spot makes kale delicious
>> Raw Living Vegan Bazaar: Free monthly raw organic food fest

12 Comments

>> Free the staircase! Dan Koeppel, author of Banana and Big Parade LA founder, reports that the Effie/Mohawk stairs in Echo Park have been suddenly gated:

There are over 20 closed stairways in Los Angeles; a few may have been legitimately shuttered, but others have clearly been appropriated by private individuals….

I’ve been asked – several times – why simply going up to one of these stairways and opening it DIY-style isn’t an option. The answer is simple: legally, stairs are public streets in Los Angeles. They should be maintained and respected the same as any street. The city has a responsibility to keep these thoroughfares open, and prevent them from being taken private, just as it does any residential street that happens – by quirk of fate and history – to also accommodate non-pedestrian traffic.

L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti’s office is investigating this gate issue; contact his office to press the case to free the staircase for the public.

>> Silver Lake Neighborhood Council’s taking on the draft L.A. Bicycle Master Plan, discussing a motion to ask for a more bike-friendly bike plan. Get the details at LAist, then get to the meeting TONIGHT at 7 pm at the Micheltorena School Auditorium, 1511 Micheltorena St., Los Angeles. Earlier: L.A. Bicycle Master Plan.

>> You now have until January to submit your comments about the L.A. Bicycle Plan, BTW. Not sure where to start? Here’s what the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition had to say about the plan.

Photo by Dan Koeppel

0 Comments

Always wanted to be part of a walkable community? To get to know your neighborhood from a pedestrian’s perspective? If you live in Los Angeles, you can be part of a big walking community for a weekend. The Big Parade, a 2-day, 40-mile, 135-stairway walk happening July 18 – 19, invites all to join in the peripatetic fun.

It all begins at the Angel’s Flight Stairway in downtown L.A. at 7 am on Sat., July 18. Walkers will collectively begin marching — passing by more than 50 historic and cultural landmarks, visiting community groups, and stopping to camp for a night near Sunset Junction, until they hike through Griffith Park to get to the Hollywood sign sometime on Sun., July 19! Check out the extremely detailed maps (day 1 above, day 2 below) to get a sense of all the L.A. you’d get to see.

The Big Parade isn’t a grueling marathon-esque event, since it’ll be broken up by, among other things, a paddleboat traverse of Echo Park Lake. The walking pace will be gentle enough for anyone to join — though there will be a lot of stairclimbing. The walk will be punctuated at various points by a marching band, games, and other shenanigans.

Dan Koeppel, the stair-climbing enthusiast who organized The Big Parade and, incidentally, the author of Banana, calls the event a “community participation walk/event/performance.” A core group of 10 or so walkers will do the entire event, with at least 50 more joining the walk for anywhere between 5 minutes to a day or more. He invites all to join — and especially invites community groups to get involved, telling the walkers about themselves as well as becoming part of the walk itself.

Why walk? Writes Dan in the event FAQ:

The short answer is that Los Angeles is a beautiful place to walk, and I wanted to find a way to express that. There’s a lot of effort put into “proving” how walkable Los Angeles is. What I hope is that this is a second-generation journey; proof has already been provided, and by gathering people from across the city and exploring together, we will celebrate something that has been evident from the start: that L.A. is best seen, experienced, and navigated – not just for fun, but as a day-to-day practice – on foot.

I’m planning to join the Sunday portion of the walk — which will hopefully end with a party in Beachwood (Dan’s still looking for a location — email him if you’ve got one!). What about you? If you’re interested, you can RSVP on the Facebook page — though really, you can just show up at a spot of your choice by following the highly regimented schedule online. If you want to camp, though, you’ll need to either commit to walking the whole thing or volunteering to be part of the support crew — and get approval.

Have bad knees but want to be part of the walk anyway? Follow @BigParadeLA on Twitter. Don’t live in L.A.? Organize a Big Parade in your town –

7 Comments

>> Support Trash for Teaching, an eco-nonprofit that upcycles discarded stuff into educational materials and projects. Trash for Teaching’s benefit event Let’s Talk Trash, which’ll feature appetizers and half-priced drinks, happens Thurs., June 25 from 6 pm – 9 pm at Rush Street, 9546 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Cover: $20, all of which goes to Trash for Teaching programs. RSVP to kathy@trashforteaching.org.

>> This month’s Car Free Fridays event will “spotlight roads we want prioritized in the Bike Plan, painted with Sharrows in and around Silverlake and Echo Park,” according to the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition. Meet at 8 am at Sunset Junction at the corner of Sandborn and Sunset on Friday, June 26, 8 am.

>> NorthEast Trees will have a Tree Planting & Community Day of Service — plus a citrus tree adoption for L.A. residents — on Sat., June 27, from 8 am – 1 pm at 850 N. Mission St., Los Angeles. Contact Simran at simran@northeasttrees.org for more info. Update: Mayor Villaraigosa will be a-planting here.

>> Diverted Destruction 2, a second annual recycled art show, will have its opening reception on Sat., June 27 from 7 pm – 11 pm at The Loft at Liz’s, 453 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles.

>> A second green exhibit’s happening Saturday: Conservation photographer Robert McGinley’s exhibit “Topography, Light and Magic” will feature photographs of threatened wetlands, woodlands, farmland and prairies — with sales from the exhibit benefiting Heal the Bay and Santa Monica Baykeeper. The opening reception happens Sat., June 27 from 6 pm – 9 pm at Blue Seven Gallery, 3129 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.

>> Get ready for the Los Angeles Business Council 3rd Annual Sustainability Summit (PDF). Dubbed “Building a Green Economy, Transportation & Innovation,” speakers this year include U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa, and leaders from LA DWP, Metro, and green companies. It all happens on Mon., June 29, from 7:30 am – 3 pm in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium at The Getty. Register online. Cost: $135 – $300 per ticket.

Image via theloftatlizs.com

2 Comments

Have old, fancy jewelry you never wear — maybe because it’s broken and can’t be fixed? Try recycling it — and making some money while you’re at it.

Just take your jewelry — if it’s unplated platinum, 10K 14K 18K 22K gold, or sterling silver — to Liza Shtromberg Studio in Silver Lake. The store will take your discards, test the purity of the metal, send the pieces to a local plant for recycling — then give you back 100% of the recycling proceeds as a store credit.

The process takes about 2 – 3 weeks, and the money you can expect depends on the amount and quality of what you bring in plus the market price for gold and silver that day.

The store also recently got a new line of jewelry designed by Liza Shtromberg (below) that, according to the store, is “made out of 40% post-consumer eco-resin” that’s also biodegradable. I wasn’t, however, able to get from the store any more information about what exact materials these things are made out of or under what conditions they’re biodegradable. The woman behind the counter was very nice about setting out the jewelry to photograph, but looked at me funny when I asked for details, and just said the store’s unwilling to reveal the manufacturer of their “eco-resin.” (I didn’t ask for the name of the manufacturer)

Since Liza Shtromberg’s also the owner of All Shades of Green, I’d like to take the store at its word — but you really will have to just take the store at its word about the “eco-resin” — which’ll be unsatisfying for eco-fashionistas who prefer companies that back up their product claims with more tangible proof.

Liza Shtromberg Studio. 2120 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles. 323.913.1444.

Update, 5/18/09: Eco Chick recycled jewelry for the eco chic

5 Comments

All Shades of Green‘s a true one-stop-shop for all things green on the east side. The Silver Lake store has the practical stuff like green cleaners, the eco-motivational stuff like composters, shower timers, and books, and the less essential stuff but still fun stuff like jewelry, makeup, purses, and eco-lube from Good Clean Love.

There’s a card section, a kids’ toys selection, racks of organic clothes, and a pretty impressive collection of eco-friendly shoes! And of course, there’s fair trade, organic chocolate.

All Shades of Green also has a design center that helps people green their homes and offices. Natalie Freidberg, general manager of the store, said that she’s especially been focused on helping people save money by making eco-friendly energy-efficiency changes around the house.

I ran into Natalie again earlier this week at Blankspaces — who said that All Shades of Green’s owner’d evidently been peeved about a post I’d written about the store’s eco class series. All I did was point out that the classes were very similar to — but much more expensive than — those taught at eco-nonprofit Sustainable Works! Facts are facts –

Of course, Sustainable Works is a nonprofit that gets funding from the City of Santa Monica, which is why the classes are held on the westside and cost only $25 for a 6-week series of clases ($50 for City of L.A. residents) — compared to All Shades of Green’s $40 per class fee. If eastsiders who don’t want to burn fossil fuels to come to the west side would like more affordable classes near them, Angelenos can try to get their city to fund similar programs — whether by expanding Sustainable Works or by subsidizing All Shades of Green’s classes — by contacting their councilmembers.

All Shades of Green. 3038 Rowena Ave., Los Angeles. 323.665.7454.

Update, 4/21/09: All Shades of Green Liza Shtromberg’s Jewelry Studio wants to recycle your unwanted jewelry

3 Comments