Pure Food and Wine

I finally went to the infamous Pure Food and Wine restaurant in NYC last night, owned by the illustrious and sexy Sarma Melngailis.  I know that many of you have been dying to go so let me tell you ahead of time… the food was simply amazing!  Dhru planned and hosted the event, and ordered almost every appetizer and dessert on the menu.  We all rotated the dishes and took turns eating a little bit of everything… ohh so good!

My main meal was the Zucchini and Roma Tomato Lasagna, which has a sun-dried tomato sauce, pignoli ricotta, and basil-pistachio pesto sauce.  I was so satisfied with this meal that if it was all I ate I would have been content.  And who says you can’t get full on raw food?  Here are the appetizers and desserts I tried…

Appetizers:
Caesar Salad with Pignoli Parmesan: romaine lettuce hearts, nori
Marinated Shiitake and Avocado Sushi Rolls: pink pickled ginger, cucumber, dulse
Spicy Thai Lettuce Wraps with Tamarind Chile Sauce: pea shoots, mango, cabbage
Creamy Cauliflower Samosas with Banana Tamarind Sauce: mango chutney, garam masala and mint
Crimini Mushroom Hazelnut Crostinis: tarragon béarnaise, choucroute, pomegranate reduction

Desserts:
Chocolate Molten Lava Cake: mocha mousse, chocolate sauce, vanilla pink peppercorn ice cream
Tiramisu: coffee sake almond ladyfinger-layers with vanilla cream
Pecan Layer Cake: candy cap mousse, ginger mace anglaise, caramel, pear sorbet
Classic Sundae: chocolate and vanilla ice cream, cherry framboise, bananas, candied almonds.  (this was by far the best dessert I have ever had, raw or not)

And to top it all off, I went with an all-star crew.  This group was put together by the WLIR “Dinner with the boys” contest:  

Dhrumil from Welikeitraw.com, the top hip raw food spot on the web, with great NYC coverage, and creative genius behind Dboost.com.

Anthony from Rawmodel.com, setting the stage for the raw lifestyle as a model, and an amazing blogger… ladies take notice!

Glen from Catchahealthyhabit.com, certified holistic health counselor and mentor for IIN in NYC, and organizer for the CT Rawfood Meetup group.

Michael Simmons, author of The Student Success Manifesto and CEO of Extreme Entrepreneurship Education Corporation.

Nancy Cuervo, the wonderful winner of the Welikeitraw.com “Dinner with the boys” contest!  Thanks for coming Nancy, we really enjoyed having you.

NYC Chocolate Fundraiser

From there we shot off to the David Wolfe chocolate charity dance party for the non-profit Fruit Tree Planting Foundation.  This was one chocolaty night; there were literally dozens of trays piled high with chocolate being served to guests.  The chocolate high was definitely flowing… but surprisingly enough I think there was actually too much, because at the end of the night people were declining chocolate, and there was trays piled on tables and bars everywhere with tons of un-touched chocolate.  (Thanks Glen for the plastic bags)

 
Hurray! I was chosen as the “Best Raw Food Blog” of the week by Rawfoodrightnow.com, a wonderful site designed for raw foodists, by Heidi and Justin Ohlander.  Simply put they capture some of the best recipes, reviews, and cover news from all the raw food community.  Be sure to check them out!