Peace Pies

REVIEW #4

When Steve and I told our boys that the next stop down the 101 is a raw vegan restaurant, I realized we lost them at the word “raw”.  Our youngest just stared at me waiting for me to speak English.  The other one started stuttering, ” wh wh why?  Why?  WHY don’t they cook their food???”.  After explaining to them that nutrients are destroyed when food is heated, I quickly understood that tonight’s dinner would be without the kids.  Fine by us- they would have taken the peace out of our pie anyway!

I had a preconceived notion as to what this raw, organic cafe would be like, and I wasn’t far off.  I grew up with hippie parents.  We ate at Good For Your Heart in LA.  Neil Young and Bob Dylan were constants on the stereo.  And the leafy greens growing in our yard, well, they weren’t for salad.  I was ready for this place. I got this.

Peace Pies is off the beaten path from 101, so you really have to want to go there to be able to find it.  It has a cute patio and cozy inside seating as many of these darling places along the 101 have.  We were greeted by friends following this blog, and we all ordered different things to share.

They have an apothecary of unusual healthy take out food.  I’m pretty sure that no one can ever really have too much hempnola, am I right?

Our Pesto Stuffed Tomatoes came out first, and they were beautiful!  They got mixed reviews from our crew, some thinking they were too bland.  Honestly, I liked them very much. I ordered the Mystical Mushroom Quesadilla with walnut meat.  It came on a house made coconut wrap.  Again, the meal looked like it came from a 5 star restaurant.  It was quite tasty. The kale chips were the bomb! Yowza!  More please!!

 

I started thinking.  If they aren’t cooking their food with heat, are they really even cooking at all?  Aren’t they just assembling?  I think the chef is really just a brilliant assembler.  So is he still a chef? Do you have to cook food with heat to be a chef? Hmm. Next was the Loving Lasagna.

By this point I was cocky.  There was no reason to be frightened, this raw stuff was actually really good! Sure, some if sounds a bit out there, with hemp based this and cashew cheese that.  But it all tasted great. That is until…..Mushroom Stroganoff.   It wasn’t fair, my guard was down.  It wasn’t a good moment. I took a huge fork full of kelp noodles and once in my mouth, there was no going back.  This was WRONG!  My mind was screaming, “RETREAT!  RETREAT!” but there was nothing I could do but chew.  And chew.  And chew those vile “noodles”.  The “Alfredo sauce” was nothing more than a milky liquid that the “noodles” were swimming in.

“Quick, someone pass me something good to get rid of the kelp that is poisoning my taste buds!”.  I was passed the Magical Mango Curry Wrap, and life was good again. Let’s be honest, I went straight for more of those kale chips!

Meanwhile I watched in horror when the woman at the next table over was served the Mushroom Stroganoff!  Should I warn her?  OMG, what do I do?  Do I have a moral obligation to stop this before it happens?  Sure, I was able to finish my bite, but I’m pretty positive her first bite is coming straight back up and I am in regurgitating proximity!  I ducked my head and waited for the inevitable kelp shower.  But it didn’t happen.  I carefully looked up to see what was going on, and this lady was going in for a second bite of that kelp-tastrophe!  Could she actually like it?

After eating so healthfully for dinner, I thought we deserved a little dessert and chose their cinnamon rolls.

Considering how stunning the rest of their food looked, these tiny little things fell short visually.  They actually looked rather sad sitting in their plastic take out box.  I took a small bite and that was enough.  Under no stretch of my imagination did I envision cinnamon rolls.  They tasted like carob protein excuses.  Not what I was hoping for dessert.

Be prepared folks, for your peace will come at a price here. With all of the organic ingredients, and feelings of health you are left with, it’s probably worth the price for peace.  Upon check out, the waitress asked if everything tasted ok and I was honest.  Most was very good, some not so much.  Not only did they take the Stroganoff off the bill, a slice of Strawberry Pie was given to us on our way out, no charge.  Nice touch Peace Pie Peeps!

Bottom Line:  The food is beautiful, most of it is surprisingly delicious and the staff was attentive and nice as pie.  But look, this place isn’t for everyone.  Would I bring my conservative meat and potato eating father here?  No.  Would my yoga teaching, health nut mother like it?  Yes, she would.   If you love someone, please come in and buy them a box of kale chips.  Yah, yah, I make my own too.  But nothing like these.  Trust me here.

It is not easy making organic, vegan, gluten-free and soy-free food look and taste good.  I give high kudos to Peace Pies for doing such a great job with something so difficult. But I do like some heat with my food.  To melt the non-cashew cheese.

Peace (pie) out!

Due to extreme Mother’s Day brunching, we will postpone Mozy Cafe until next Sunday, May 21st-  628 N. Coast HWY 101