Macrobiotic Eating at M. Cafe de Chaya

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!

Hummus, a mi moda

I like hummus. It's one of those things that I like to keep around along with some pita bread or pita chips to munch on while I idle away in front of the TV or computer. I know that it's readily available these days in most supermarkets in a variety of flavors, but I decided that I needed to try making my own. Really. As long as you have some key ingredients, it's actually not that difficult, and you can flavor it as you see fit. So here's my home-made version of Hummus, and with one little change (the lemon confit I added), it's a very traditional hummus. Change it, add more things into it, or even change the kind of beans you use (edamame works great for this, and it's so pretty!)

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Hummus with Lemon Confit

1 1/2 cans of Chick Peas (ok, use fresh and soaked peas if you have the patience)
3/4 cup of Tahini (white sesame paste available at your local Middle Eastern market or Trader Joe's or Whole Paycheck, er, Whole Foods)
10 slices Lemon Confit* with some of its oil
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
Peeled Garlic (start with 3, then ramp up if you like it more garlicky)
Sea Salt
Cayenne
Smoked Paprika
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Boil drained chick peas in a pot of salted water for about 20 minutes. They should be very soft at this point. Set aside.

In a food processor, add the tahini, lemon confit slices (remove the rind from half of them), lemon juice, and some of the oil from the lemon confit. Puree over high heat until it's incorporated together. Pass the chick peas thought the fine setting of a food mill into a bowl. If you're lazy, just add the beans into the food processor and buzz with the tahini mixture. Mix everything together, and thin out with the water you boiled the beans in until it reaches the consistency you like. Season with sea salt to taste, and then sprinkle the cayenne and paprika over the top. Drizzle the olive oil on top as well.

Serve with warm pita bread wedges.

Lemon Confit

5 lemons, thinly and evenly sliced, preferably with a mandoline
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Shallots, finely diced
5 Garlic cloves, finely diced
Sea Salt

Arrange a single layer of lemon slices in a non-reactive storage vessel that has a lid. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and then top with a layer of shallots and garlic. Repeat this process until all the components are used. Pour olive oil over top until the top layer of the lemons are just covered in oil. Cover and refrigerate. The lemon confit will be usable after about three days, and will keep for about a month or two in the fridge. When needed, just let sit on the counter until the oil becomes liquid again, and remove lemon slices as needed. The oil will also be fragrant and nice for use in sauces and dressings, or even to saute with.

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In about 30 minutes of little work, you have wonderfully rich home-made hummus. It'll make you not want to buy the prepackaged stuff again... It's also great with a good rich Feta cheese (I love the Garden of Eden brand Israeli feta they sell at TJ's -- it's so buttery and rich without being overly salty).

Something easy and oh my... VEGAN. Shout out to my girl Shelby on that one. :X

Happy Cooking!