Being the open-minded girl I am, I gave raw food another try. This time, I stopped by Cru, a raw vegan restaurant formerly called Jade Cafe, in Silverlake.

Now more raw-wary, I got a dish that’d make more sense as an uncooked entree. I mean, I know a “regular” bento box usually includes some cooked stuff, but Cru’s Bento Box sounded largely like a salad: fresh greens, avocado, cucumbers, carrots, bok choi, and spicy marinated mushrooms.

After decimating the mushrooms and cucumbers — both of which were marinated in spicy tangy sesamy-seedy sauces — I realized that perhaps I was supposed to mix the whole thing up, bibimbap style, to get a lil taste of marinade with each bite. As it was, I then had to finish my meal by nibbling on dry sprouts.

But overall, it was a pretty good salad, mainly because it was just different from the regular green salad with ranch sauce fare. I really liked the marinaded mushrooms and cucumbers, is what I’m saying.

What really warmed me up on Cru’s raw food was the dessert. I ordered the Raspberry Chocolate Crepes with Gelato. I have no idea what the crepe part of the dish was made of, but the raspberries were fresh, the chocolate sauce deep and rich, and the gelato — I had strawberry, because they were out of raspberry — was tart and refreshing without being too sweet. Delicious without the buttery guilt of regular crepes.

The downside: My teeth felt weirdly coated with some odd, organic substance post-meal. Not sure what caused that; I’m guessing it was some strange veggie ingredient included in the vegan gelato.

Cru. 1521 Griffith Park Blvd. Los Angeles. 323.667.1551. Wed. – Mon., 12 pm to 10 pm.

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