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raw and cooked from cru in silverlake
10November 21st, 2008cru, LA restaurantsUPDATE 6/15/10: since reading this post, i have found that many of cru’s menu items are not vegan because they contain honey (including the deep green salad). please check out cru’s menu online to see which items are safe to eat.
cru is a vegan, mostly raw restaurant that i’ve been wanting to check out for quite some time. my little hipster omnivore friends go on and on about it at the office, and recently it got quite a glowing review on to live and eat in la. so last weekend, i finally decided to go check out cru for myself and see what everyone was raving about. oh, and i found out: simple, fresh, organic fare that’s bursting with tons of flavor.
deep green salad: marinated kale with avocado, tomatoes, sprouts and sunflower seeds in a chili lime dressing. $10
i went to cru, like everywhere else, with my husband…and he opted for the deep green salad. it was a mix of delicious kale, vegetables and seeds all tossed in a light and refreshing dressing. i would say this salad was pretty much perfect. not sure how they do it at cru, but they really concentrate on packing tons of flavor into each dish. most salads, even the tasty ones, are pretty boring and nondescript…the deep green salad at cru though, had a life of its own. when i tried it, i was tasting flavors i never knew existed.
i decided to get something off the cooked menu. i know, i know…lame of me, but i wasn’t in the mood for raw! i can’t find exactly what i ordered on the online menu, but it was an amazing mix of sauteed spinach, onion, squash, sauerkraut and mixed greens atop a bed of steaming quinoa. it was INSANE.
awesome cooked entree.
like the salad, the cooked bowl was just going crazy with deliciousness. i was bombarded with so many new and exciting tastes, i seriously can’t wait to go back to cru and see what else they have to offer. the quinoa wasn’t the least bit boring either, they cooked it with something that gave it an incredible silky texture that soaked up all the vegetables’ flavors.
we also split a glass of freshly made juice that was pretty invigorating.
spinach cucumber apple ginger juice. $6
it was a rather strange flavor combo, but it ended up being divine. light and made with fresh ingredients, the juice had a distinct ginger flavor that was tasty, but didn’t overpower the fruits and vegetables.
after two scrumptious and ostensibly healthy meals, we decided to splurge and split a piece of cru’s famous raw chocolate truffle cake.
chocolate truffle cake. $8
dude, this truffle cake was crazy. it didn’t taste or feel like you’d expect from looking at it. when it arrived at our table, i shoved my fork in it to grab a bite, and the fork just got stuck. breaking off each piece was kind of a chore. this isn’t your normal cake, think of it like a huge, thick, firm piece of pure chocolate. that being said, it soooo good. even my husband held his own and ate up half of the cake, and he usually can’t compete with my sweet tooth.
man, oh man, that cake was so rich! i loved it, but i highly doubt i will be able to justify ordering it again any time soon. i can only take that decadence once every so often.
on top of having insanely yummy food, cru was also quite pleasant and comfortable. i’d read on yelp that the place was absolutely tiny, so we decided to go for lunch (which they only offer on friday and saturday), in order to miss the dinner crowd. when we were there, the place was nearly empty. i would definitely recommend hitting them up during their lunch hours if you wanna bypass the craziness. plus, i’m pretty sure they give you a discount at lunch time. our meal seemed really cheap compared to the prices on the menu. maybe they just thought we were awesome, though…that wouldn’t surprise me.
so go get some cru. raw, cooked, drinks, desserts, it’s all off the chain.
Tags: cake, juice, kale, raw, salad, silverlake
10 responses to “raw and cooked from cru in silverlake” 
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The one and only time we went there I was amazed at how large the portions were, that’s generally not the case at raw restaurants. I had the Pesto Ravioli which was great and my GF had one of the large salads which looked like a trough when it arrived. It’s by far the best raw restaurant I’ve been to and is really deserving of a second visit.
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I know, their prices are super fare. Don’t be afraid of dinner there either, it’s really nice and cozy and dark and romantic. We went on a busy Saturday night when the streets were filled with people but were able to just walk right in and get a table. Oh, and you are not at all lame for trying one of the cooked dishes… that part of the menu is as tempting as the raw stuff!
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biliji November 21st, 2008 at 15:08
I’m fiending for that cake! ESPECIALLY after you described the consistency!
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I haven’t been there in a while, but if they’ve still got the raw mushroom raviolis I’d very much recommend them! The “pasta” is made from jicima which is sliced impossibly thin. Amazing.
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that juice is pretty expensive, but i’m pretty sure i would’ve ordered it! i don’t have a juicer, so i buy juice like crazy. the apple in it sounds really nice and sweet. i really want to drink that sucker!
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miss anthrope November 24th, 2008 at 19:48
kevin: i totally gotta go back and try out more stuff, like the ravioli. i can’t believe this is only my first time.
foodeater: good to know. i will def check out the dinner scene sometime soon.
biliji: that cake was awesome. i will hook ya up sometime.
brigette b: it’s on. people keep raving about that, i think that’s what i will try next.
lisa: you have NO idea. def worth a trip to cali. :p
joanna: the juice was pricey as hell, but totally worth it if you are in to that kind of thing.
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Everyone must try the cashew cheese and fig pate on the appetizer menu. The pumpkin seed and walnut chorizo is also excellent if you like-a the spiiice.
The pizza is pretty good, as are the marinara ravioli, and I recently had a special entree with a Korean twist that was incredible. Honestly I have not tried any of the cooked dishes because I’m too infatuated with the raw menu.
This is a winner for upscale food, and the place is very pretty. It is BYO wine only and they don’t have proper stemware, which bugs, so we don’t bring anything awesome (and I don’t want to be that freak who brings her own wine glasses). It’s also mighty small so I doubt it would be do-able for a party larger than four. Service is all over the map – good one time, inattentive the next, then good again. The servers know the menu well, though, and you can tell they are jazzed about the food they serve. They don’t say things like “this dish is very popular…” like you hear in a lot of places.
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Cru is on restaurant.com and offering a $25 gift certificate for $10!!! Check it out. I’ve been to Cru once and really loved it! I can’t wait to go back. Thanks for the heads up on the raw cake!!
Kevin November 21st, 2008 at 11:05