Slow Food

August 4

Today I went to the Slow Food garden at Civic Centre. This is a special garden to promote the Slow Food and local buying movement, and all the results will be donated to the local food bank. There are seats made from haystacks and I enjoyed sitting in this special vegetable garden with the Civic Centre on one side and the other side is the UN Building area. It seemed like a unique and peaceful place in the heart of the city and the hustle bustle of it all, and it was interesting to see the looks of people and conversations that arose from people either being in it or peering into the garden from the outside..."My mother used to grow that" "I think that's kale." That's great in that it serves as a point of discussion. I love that, the same with the monthly ZenKitchen dinners when I hear that people were discussing what they were eating, what what was what, etc. That delights me and one of the reasons I started the concept of the dinners at communal tables.

I ate dinner at Cafe Gratitude (www.cafegratitude.com), the raw food restaurant which has grown tremendously in San Francisco in locations, there are now five in all, and popularity. It's actually not far from the apartment, another one of those finds when I go running in different directions each morning. This is my third time there and it's incredible what they do with raw food, with raw food being food that is not heated above 116 degrees Celsius so there is actually quite a lot they can do with dehydrators and such. The food is also organic and they support local farmers, sustainable agriculture and environmentally friendly projects.

I usually quite enjoy the food. This time I had the special enchilada plate of the day and then a lemon meringue pie. Though, I have to admit that I still have mixed feelings about the approach and environment in the restaurant. Every dish is labelled and starts with "I am something" like the enchilada special is called "I am elated" and the pie is called "I am amazing". The atmosphere is relaxed and everyone is very friendly.

Tonight the waitress looked me straight in the eyes and asked me the question of the day they ask each customer. Today's question was "What are you letting go of today?", which I was taken back by at first and said "money", and we both chuckled. While I was waiting for my food, there was announcement that they would hold a Cafe Gratitude tradition, which is 1 minute of spontaneous laughing. I'm all for this, but I was tired and my eyes rolled up a bit because I felt I had to do this. I joined in at first but I didn't feel like it anymore so I stopped in relief. So, get the picture? You either love it, hate it, or are caught by surprise and roll your eyes when you get the chance as I had done. I'm glad that I went, the food was great, but I'm not sure that I'm that fond of the concept. But I encourage you to go if you're in the area and experience it for your self. It's certainly something you have never seen before, the atmosphere and the food, and something to write home about.