Yorkville is full of patios, pastas, cheap sushi, and nice cars that seem to drive nowhere except in a constant loop. I’m a fan of the salad bar at Whole Foods, but don’t you dare think about putting a hard-boiled egg or beans in your bowl of mixed kale. Priced by weight, you will be surprised by how easy it is to purchase a $30 salad. There is another option in the neighbourhood. I stumbled upon Rawlicious by accident. It used to be a bakery… so, you know what I was really in search of.
On the quieter side of Cumberland Street — close to Yonge Street — Rawlicious is a narrow restaurant offering raw, vegan, and organic options. The smoothies and juices fuel a steady stream of people taking their liquid to go. Were you about to stop reading because I used the words “raw” and “vegan?” Not all of the menu options are healthy — some are just pure decadent. The Oreo Cookie Crunch smoothie ($8.00) combines almond milk, vanilla cardamom ice cream, cacao nibs, and agave. Perhaps it’s better described as a milkshake without the milk.
An order of Nori Rolls ($7.00) allows vegans to enjoy a sushi-like appetizer full of alfalfa sprouts (lots of them), and other raw vegetables rolled into six tiny bites. The Pad Thai ($15) is similar to non-raw, non-vegan Pad Thai only by name. It’s a great, light and filling entrée but don’t expect it to taste like your usual plate of ketchup-laden, sweet noodles. The dish at Rawlicious is made of zucchini and kelp noodles — mostly zucchini the day I was there — shredded romaine lettuce, some carrots and peppers with cashews on top. There’s a nice Thai sauce and the zucchini cleverly disguised in noodle form allow you the satisfying slurping action without the carb bloat. Also…noodles made from vegetables. Double win, right? Other entrée options include raw pizza, tacos, a mock chicken salad sandwich and pasta Bolognese (also made with zucchini noodles.)
After all this food and feeling so great and healthy, it would appear I deserve dessert. Obviously. Brownies, sundaes, and cashew-based cheesecake are all available but one of the more popular snacks is the Superfood Cookie ($2.25), an energy cookie made with nuts, seeds, bananas, currants, and enough good stuff for my server to boast that the cookie contains 13 ingredients. Some of which are foreign to my body, but surely good for my insides.
Follow Rawlicious on Twitter: @IFeelRawlicious
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