Cafe Gratitude. Vegan Un-Cookery At Its Best

Who dares admit love of nut pate? Sprouted almond milk cravings? Dehydrated cracker affections? Irish Moss set dairy-less "custard" fixations?

Who holds the secrets to these strange and wondrous fruit, nut and vegetable creations, more delicious than one would care to exclaim?

Cafe Gratitude has lured me into its raw vegan net, read my review on KQED here.

Comments

[Anne]

The raw food movement is absolutely fascinating -- very reminiscent of the Biologic diet described in TC Boyle's wondrous "Road to Wellville." I spent a few months raw and wound up seriously anemic. To live raw involves a devotion to food prep which makes kashrut seem simple. I just couldn't hack it -- but I LOVE the food. I've had fairly good meals at NYC's Quintessence and at SD's raw restaurant, Cilantro Live.

[Shani]

i'll jump in b/c ...i love cafe gratitude..! yeah its pricey..but its
also amazing and introduces new ideas for better diets...
b/c i'm poor, i walk a Gratitude employee's dog 3 time a week, and
cause she's poor, she gives me a $20 gratitude card..it works out.. b/
c its the only place for wheatgrass in the mission. (that i know about?)

i do feel mixed feelings on gentrification ..first guess, is yeah for
sure it is. then when i'm in there i think yeah, again but then, I
have also seen local neighbors getting wheatgrass shots too ..and
tons of my friends work there and they give food to local films i've
been on..SO even if i've got my own class issues..

cafe gratitude is one of those mixed baggies..i mean, it seems like
we're all gentrifiers right about now..not to say it is okay by any
means, it's just, myself, as a white, degree holding individual who
is dirt poor, i am still a gentrifier, if i move into the places i
can afford in SF..it's my skin color and my degree that helps the
landlords...ya know?

but wheatgrass is good for us all!! so what do we do???

[Jes M.]

Oddly, while I agree with some of the ideals of Cafe Gratitude I don't need affirmations when I get my coffee in the morning. I am far to crabby for that kind of cheery smiley crap when I'm pre-caffeine. My friend wants to open a cafe across from Cafe Gratitude in the cruddy old empty storefront and call it Cafe Attitude.
But that's besides the point. The thing that scares me about Cafe Gratitude is it's cult-like structure. It has been said that if you do not uphold all of the beliefs of the owners, one of which is Woody Harrelson who is a "silent owner", you will be fired. These beliefs go far beyond your normal everyday "the customer is always right" kind of shit, although they are not listed on their website and I do not know them by heart.
But this is what the owners have written about themselves.

[Ann Wilson]

Hi Shuna,
Here's a poem I just wrote. I'm glad here's a bed for me. I'll be there May 28-31. Love, ann

Maybe it was something you said
Or did I only think I heard it,
I was fragile
It could have been anything
I wanted, wanted, wanted
Kisses are never free

I left and then walked
Where was I
Did I even see the dawn
Or was it nightfall that I missed

The sky wasn’t there but
When I looked closely
I saw your reflection

[Terces]

Thanks so much for all that is shared here and expecially to Shuna for writing about us. We know we are a bit querky, cause it just isn't normal business practice to have work be a place where you practice staying connected to the grandest expression of who you truly are, and we love to opportunity to provide just that! We completely appreciate all the barriers people are breaking down to be so affirmative towards themselves and others, after all, why not?

[Farmer G]

I am curious to know whether the vegan and other "health conscious" restaurants are also petroleum conscious. In other words, do the owners/chefs at these restaurants track where their food comes from and how much fossil fuel is consumed in order to bring so called "fresh" produce to their establishments. It would behoove all environmentally sensitive gourmands to make it a priority to check that their food comes strickly from local sources and is seasonally appropriate. Otherwise we are all just hypocrites.

[g]

Cafe Gratitude is a front for a cult-ish MLM scam called Landmark Education.

If you know what EST is/was you know what Landmark is. It's the same thing. The history is well reported in the current issue of Mother Jones.

And there's another article in The East Bay Express [sfl] about Cafe Gratitude's managerial policies regarding the organization.

"sometimes the biggest lies
are most easily disguised
dressed up like the road to glory"

Hello g., et al. While I know about Cafe Gratitude's affiliation to EST and Landmark, I still think the food is something amazing unto itself. All hyperlinks were inserted by me. Thank you for your thoughts. ~ Shuna