Sia77
9 reviews
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February 15, 2010
A friend, who is vegetarian, and I decided to make a trip down to Chaco Canyon near the U-District in Seattle and use the coupon I had in my Chinook Book (Seattle’s eco-friendly coupon booklet). When we first walked in, it was such a nice surprise! The atmosphere was eclectic and sublime, hand-written signage on one side with cleverly pre-made signage on another. The menu list was belovedly long with all kinds of options from warm bowls to organic smoothies to raw dishes and desserts. I have eaten at another raw restaurant and it was small and quaint in so many ways, but this felt expansive and generous and the dessert case was screaming my name, especially with the words 'gluten-free' written on most of the items. Needless to say, I was ecstatic!
My friend ordered a quinoa bowl and I ordered the Cilantro Pesto Bowl. And of course, we had to have a little dessert. To start.
The nice fellow at the counter answered all my gluten-free questions (to which he provided a book full of the ingredients for each and every item) and gave me my chocolate coconut cupcake on its little plate, a little numbered flag, and we sat down.
We found water and silverware (biodegradable and washable kinds) along a little bar in the middle of the room, along with bus-yourself stations. We grabbed what we needed and headed to a little table in the back corner.
One thing we noticed was for the number of people in the room, it actually sounded quite, well, quiet. We shared the cupcake, which was fantastic – slightly crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy, like a brownie, on the inside with a giant helping of raw ‘buttercream’ coconut frosting - and waited for our bowls to be delivered.
A brief moment later, they were. My friend’s steaming bowl of veggies and quinoa glistened brightly with the faint aroma of nuttiness from the quinoa and tang from the tomato sauce. My beautiful green pesto bowl was filled to the brim with zucchini ‘noodles’ slathered in cilantro pesto deliciousness and speckled with black and white sesame seeds. It was really delicious with a clear zestiness to the pesto, a nice crunch of the raw zucchini and sesame seeds, and just the right amount of seasoning to inspire any palate. And as with all raw food – or so it seems – there was more than enough left over. I always seem to fill up quickly with raw foods feeling satisfied and healthy afterwards. I retrieved a couple of eco-friendly take-home containers from their counter and we bussed our table, gathered our belongings and left happy, full and ready to come back again.
Thank you, Chaco Canyon, for offering so many options in a pleasing atmosphere that inspired both of us to try more raw foods. As my body happily sang through the rest of the day, I contemplated where to find a mandolin so I would have the option to experiment and my own ‘noodles.’
Happy eating!
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