Alohaaaa!!! So this is the inaugural blog for Raw Aloha. A blog about all things raw in Oahu, Hawaii...adventures in raw feasting, our harvests of local raw food, exciting culinary experiments, and kitchen gossip from Licious Dishes, the Raw Vegan kitchen/deli/take-out spot that Evan and Ferrin 'cut up' at...and by cut up I mean, food process, mandoline, julienne, blend the heck out of, and chop, slice, dice, mince, et. al. There's no spot like Hawaii for tropical delicacies, so expect to find Noni and Ulu and Durian on the menu here. This is also such a freaking great place to be for farmers markets and good local farm fresh produce. And then there's the culture. Traditionally we've got a lot of meat here in Hawaii. A lot of diabetics, and a lot of fried foods with sweet breads and starchy taro root meals. How does a vegan survive? Carefully and meticulously. Evan and I have taken on a different path here though. Compromise. The fact is there are some vitamins, some enzymes, some molecules in meat that you can't find in plants, and if you're taking vitamin supplements, you're actually eating meat extract--from liver, from kidney, etc. So on this blog we're also gonna think about and look deeply at the Paleo diet, and how values for sustainable, healthy, raw organic meat, go hand in hand with the values of the raw foodist movement. It's all about the search for optimum health. And balance. If your body needs to strike a balance between raw and warm foods, have no fear. We'll be looking at ancient balanced nutritional health systems like Ayerveda, Chinese Medicine, as well as more modern theories like Macrobiotic eating, when it's time to find that kind of balance. Mahalo for dropping by! Hope you enjoy.

My Picks: The Raw and Green Biz Side of San Francisco

So, what with Evan and the gang all heading for San Francisco for the Wise Traditions Conference very soon, I thought it my duty to mention my own personal rundown of raw and/or vegan-related places to see in SF...Especially since I'm recently moved from the Bay Area to Honolulu.

Raw Spots..

1. RAW ENERGY 2050 Addison Street, Berkeley (decent basic raw juice bar in the heart of Berkeley)
   
2. Cafe Gratitude (raw restaurant, fabulous, I will post more on this later...) In SF... 2400 Harrison Street (@20th Street) Hours: 9 am to 10 pm 1336 9th Ave, (@ Irving) Hours: 10 am to 10 pm In Berkeley...1730 Shattuck Ave (@ Virginia) Hours: 10 am to 10 pm
   
3. Alive! 1972 Lombard St., San Francisco (raw restaurant I heard good things about but never got around to visiting--hmm, research material!!)
   
4. Rainbow Grocery (a main attraction for organically, health food minded people, this market has a cornocopia of bulk choices..from varieties of black, red, brown and jasmine rice, to ecclectic seaweeds, tea, herbs, fresh olives, tofu, miso, dried fruits, agave, barley malt, umeboshi, shampoo, soap, and on and on) 1745 Folsom St, San Francisco.
5. Berkeley Bowl (a Berkeley institution, similar to Rainbow) 2020 Oregon St, Berkeley
   
6. Samovar Tea Lounge (really lovely owner, this lounge is friendly and warm, with russian, japanese, american, chinese, indian, moorish, and english tea services. last time i visited, the owner gave me and three others that sat at the bar a free lecture on teas, and had us drunk on various green and jasmine variety japanese teas by the time we left. yes, i said drunk. on tea. russian tea served from a real silver samovar. One of America's Hottest Tea Houses. Try the raw honey comb, chinese morning jook...and for the non-raw, non-vegan friends...russian tea eggs, or devonshire clotted cream with scones. ) 730 Howard St(at the Moscone Center), San Francisco
7. Ten Ren Tea Co. (So lovely, to walk in and sample tiny cups of steaming hot, quality tea. Right in the heart of Chinatown too. The blossoming teas are my favorite!) 949 Grant Ave, San Francisco
8. Jeffrey's Natural Pet Foods (I've never been here, but I thought Evan might visit it, since it specializes in raw meat diets for pets ;)) 3809 18th St, San Francisco

Green Buisnesses

1. Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave.,Oakland (zero waste buisness that's into sustainable farming and hard core recycling)
   
2. Nabalom Bakery (co-opt, worker-owned bakery, with a really nice vibe, and lots of communal-household people working there...there is a fine art to the work of bread making) 2708 Russell St, Berkeley
   
3. Elephant Pharmacy (check out the always free always interesting and holistic health related workshops and lectures on everything from Kundalini yoga to Macrobiotic eating) 1607 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley
   

Spots for our Vegetarian/Vegan Friends...

1. Jay's Cheesesteak. 3285 21st St (mission), San Francisco (excellent all-vegetarian seitan cheesesteak sandwiches, try the garlic version, yummm)
2. La Copa Loca- Artisian Geletaria, 22nd St. and Capp Street, San Francisco (been known to carry a durian gelato, but whatever is in season is what they have, lots of tropical and unusual flavors, which is saying a lot for a SF gelateria, since they all have lots of wonderful flavors)
3. Gelato Naia - 2106 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley (try the whole grains, yogurt or plum gelato, so yum)
4. Cafe Ethiopia 878 Valencia St.(Mission District), San Francisco (my favorite ethiopian restaurant in the Bay, though there's another nice one in the Haight, this one is great to bring a group to, and the Injera is perfect!)
5. Pakwan 3182 16th St, San Francisco (cheap, homey, bustling, cafeteria style pick-up, indian food with the sweetest staff, all you can drink chai, and serve yourself chutneys, another perk of this place is the 16th st. nightlife views you get out the windows--a lively spot)
6. People's Park (landmark park in Berkeley, where people got together and made a park out of vacant land, and later fought land developers to keep it public, these days it's known for Food Not Bombs free lunches) 2556 Haste St, Berkeley
7. Golden Buddha Vegetarian Restaurant (mmm faux meat, from shrimp, to shumai, to ribs, to duck, this place has it all for vegetarian/vegan creative, chinese-style faux meat) Neighborhood: Inner Richmond 832 Clement St (between 10th Ave & 9th Ave)
8. Ananda Fuara -1298 Market St (at 9th)- (a guru-led group, ananda fuara serves great vegetarian and vegan samosas, wraps, and juices, for cheap prices. It also has that wierd cult-y atmosphere, overly happy, permasmile servers and glowy colors to everything, an odd stop)
9. Papalote-Mexican Grille (mm, in a word, soyrizo) 3409 24th Street Boogaloo's (Double mm, vegetarian sawmill gravy and biscuits!! Something not everyone knows about SF is that it is a city that's big on Brunches, especially Saturday morning brunches, and
10. Boogaloo's is the place to be, check out the ARC art on the walls, especially nice signs and such..I also like the building it's in, an old converted pharmacy building in the mission) 3296 22nd St, San Francisco
11. La Taqueria (great selection of salsa frescas, a typically amazing mission burrito, and mexican style fresh watermelon juice) 2889 Mission St (Mission and 25th), San Francisco.
    

Have Fun Guys!!