My model sister (hello, size -2) and her mate, Brazilian Tatoo Guy asked me out to lunch today. Given that I'm in Atwater Village, and they're in Westwood/Sawtelle, we decided to meet up somewhere in the middle at M. Cafe de Chaya at La Brea and Melrose. Of course, they're the healthy people, so they chose the place, since I didn't know any veggie/vegan/macro/raw/etc. kind of place in my area (ok, so I do, but I didn't want to go). Given that I've heard some amazing things about the food at both Chaya Brasserie and Chaya Venice, I thought this might be interesting. Since puppy-white-boy had the day off from his butchering job, I took him along. I do admit though, I did tell him to take a look at the menu on the website before we went just to make sure that he could find something that was appetizing sounding -- while puppy-white boy is making huge strides on his palate (he'll try just about anything without complaint), he's just not used to the whole vegie-macro-designer-sprout-model diet, so I thought I'd make sure he was ok with it all.
Basically, the mantra at M. Cafe is:
M Café de Chaya introduces Contemporary Macrobiotic Cuisine — featuring balanced, nutritious, creative cooking which can be enjoyed daily by everyone, not just vegetarians or people with dietary restrictions. Building on the foundation of Michio Kushi, our chefs prepare each item fresh daily, using only the finest ingredients without any refined sugars, eggs, dairy, red meat or poultry.
Not exactly Motor City food fare like Puppy's used to.
We get there, and yes, it's a cafe... Order at a counter (most of the food is pre-prepped and wrapped for easy egress), and if you can, sit down and eat once they plate the food for you. I got a Falafel and Hummus wrap with a side of Sesame Soba noodles, and puppy-white-boy got the panini provencale with a side of Chickpeas with Red Rice (I ordered that when I was told that the sandwich came with a side), we both had a couple OJ's, and I had an extra side of Spicy Tuna Rolls. With tip, it's a whopping $40. This food might be designery and healthy, but it sure ain't cheap!!! Damn!
Food comes... it's ok. I mean, the ingredients are all great and it tasted fine. That being said, I don't know if it was the sticker shock, but I really didn't much think that the flavors were great. Like they were trying so hard to make something macrobiotic and good for you that they forgot that the food itself had to more tasty at the prices they're commanding. Don't get me wrong, I love falafel and hummus -- you'll even see a hummus recipe of my own in the archives -- but for close to $12 with a side, I've had much better variants for much less. Maybe it's because the falafel was cold? Who knows? There was just something missing.
The soba side that I had was fine. Bland, but fine. The same sesame oil tossed cold soba salad you can get anywhere at a chi-chi deli.
The Panini Provencale was ok. It's a panini of "seasonal grilled vegetables, arugula, balsamic vinaigrette, pesto aioli and creamy tofu cheese on our house baked focaccia, grilled hot & crisp to order." Asked to describe it, Puppy thinks for a long while, says, "Ok... it was flavorful, but just not satisfying." Aha! See I was right! He added, "the chickpea salad was much better."
I think my sister got it right. She ordered the Bi-Bim Bop Rice Bowl. A bowl of brown rice topped with pan fried tofu, veggies, sprouts, shiitakes, etc, and served with a Kotchu-Jyan-ish sweet and spicy miso sauce. I had a bite and I think if I were to go back, I would try this for myself instead.
If you're into the whole vegamacro thing, I guess this is good. Since I don't though, the fact that it's healthy doesn't give it the right to not satisfy me (I don't eat to get full, I eat to enjoy), especially when it costs as much as it does. Give me less healthy full flavored food any day of the week. I'd rather enjoy mo good food in moderation than live on this kind of food only. Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating that one eat a cheeseburger for every meal, but don't get on my case if I choose to every now and then.
All in all... why does healthy food have to be so bleh? I went vegan for a week while my daughter was here (she's vegan), and I was able to come up with some pretty good stuff. Don't just call a place "macrobiotic" and set up a pretty space in a nice neighborhood and expect me to love it. Make real good food that also healthy? Great!!!
Yeah sure, I'll try this place again... if I'm stuck with a bunch of vegamacros and I don't know where else to go. Otherwise... give me my full flavored good food. And... I'll take the falafel from the Israeli take out down the street next time.
M. Cafe de Chaya
7119 Melrose Ave. (@ Detroit)
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323-525-0588
Happy Eating!
