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
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.
