Celebrating an all-natural lifestyle

Choosing Raw Interview + Giveaway: Sarma Melngailis of New York City’s Pure Food and Wine

(Erica Michelsen)

Boy, do I have a treat for you guys tonight!

Few New York City institutions are more cherished than the neighborhood restaurant. Most everyone has one: a beloved dining spot downstairs or around the corner that they can depend on. This restaurant is rarely adored for its cuisine; if anything, most neighborhood restaurants are fairly average. They’re likely to be a run-of-the-mill French bistro, or a tiny Italian spot with ten tables, or a diner that happens to be open late. What keeps us coming back to these restaurants again and again is not the food, per se, but the reliability. We may never credit our neighborhood restaurant with the best meal we ever had, or the most innovative, but we can count on it for consistency: we know what it offers, what we’re going to get (because most of us have a favorite dish on the menu) and we know that it will be good.

Truth be told, most restaurants are the same to me: high-end or modest, Italian or French, innovative or traditional, there’s a good chance I’m going to be ordering a giant salad and some steamed, grilled, or sautéed vegetables (maybe with a nice vegan sauce or dressing). This doesn’t sadden me: I don’t expect restaurants to carry an abundance of raw, vegan food. Raw vegans are a tiny part of the New York dining population (and an even smaller part of the national one), and there’s no reason why restaurants can or should cater directly to us. Sure, I think that restaurants should try harder to come up with innovative meals without animal proteins, and I believe they should begin waking up about local, organic, whole foods (some already are are). But I don’t expect all restaurants, especially modest neighborhood mainstays, to accommodate me to perfection.

Still, restaurant dining is a huge part of New York City culture. And it does sometimes feel like a secret language I don’t speak: all this worship of certain chefs and dining spots, this excitement about trying the latest branch of the Momofuku empire or the latest steakhouse, this ardor for flipping through New York  Magazine each week and eying new spots to savor. Thankfully, though, there is one part of the restaurant culture that I don’t have to miss out on. Within the last few years, I’ve found my own neighborhood restaurant—it just doesn’t happen to be in my residential neighborhood!

Pure Food and Wine, a mere three blocks from my office, is everything to me that a neighborhood restaurant should be. It’s inviting. It’s fun. It’s friendly. It’s reliable; I can count on Pure for the same consistency and quality that most people attribute to their neighborhood favorites. And best of all, it’s vegan. And raw. What more could a girl ask for??

(Ryu Kodama)

Unlike other neighborhood restaurants, Pure Food and Wine is notable for its cuisine. And I can say with assurance that I have had both the best and most innovative meals of my life there.

I like to preach the gospel of simplicity on this blog, and rightly so; I think that keeping food preparation simple is an integral part of success with a raw lifestyle. That said, I am no different from any other restaurant diner in wanting the occasional dazzling entrée or elaborate dessert—something I couldn’t, and wouldn’t, make at home. And this is where Pure comes in. It’s the place I can take family and friends to show them the true potential of vegan dining, or to prove that raw cuisine, like any other cuisine, is a blank canvas for culinary artistry.

So Pure has become for me a classier, more exciting version of what the neighborhood restaurant is for most people: on the one hand, it’s where I go when I want to be stunned with innovative raw cuisine. On the other, it’s the place I go when the thought of throwing dinner together seems like a drag; a place where I can smile and greet the wait staff by name; a place where I can always rely on my favorite rotation of dishes. The takeaway spot, One Lucky Duck, has become my go-to spot for midday treats, a great place to meet clients, and a shopping destination for raw goodies (they stock everything from prepared foods to raw oils and nut butters to my favorite facial wash).

(Carina Salvi)

My adoration of Pure is only compounded by my admiration for its founder, businesswoman extraordinaire (and total raw hottie) Sarma Melngailis. Sarma is a powerhouse: an entrepreneur (she is the founder, CEO, and proud mother of One Lucky Duck), a restaurateur (the co-founder and owner of Pure), and talented writer (the co-author of Raw Food Real World and author of Living Raw Food). If that isn’t enough, Sarma is also a blogger, a huge presence in the raw community, and a living, breathing embodiment of that ubiquitous “glow.” How Sarma manages to balance all of these tasks is beyond me; all I can say is that she does balance them, with her spirits and her glow intact!

Recently, this very busy lady was kind enough to agree to answer a few of my burning questions for you very lucky Choosing Raw readers. I was curious about Sarma’s experience as a businesswoman, her thoughts on the raw lifestyle, and her personal faves on the Pure menu. And I was thrilled with her answers. I love what Sarma has to say about the pressures of being a businessperson (though the scope of my business is much smaller than hers, I can relate!). And I think you’re all going to love what Sarma has to say about her raw lifestyle.

When I began Choosing Raw, my goal was to present the raw lifestyle in a welcoming voice, without espousing absolutes or judgments. This is the voice Sarma speaks with, and I hope you’ll all enjoy it!!

1)   I know that you covered the details of your raw transition in Raw Food, Real World, but could you recap the basics for us? What inspired you to try the raw lifestyle, and why did you continue?

I first heard about raw in the summer of 2003. I was reluctantly brought to a small raw café thinking it was going to completely suck. I was bummed out that we weren’t going to the fancy new Jean-Georges restaurant instead. Everything changed in that dinner. The philosophy/rationale (whatever you’d call it) behind eating raw was being explained to me while I was eating (a lot) of yummy food that was so much better than I thought it was going to be, and I felt really good—a noticeable contrast vs. the heavy, want-to-take-a-nap-now feeling that I normally felt after a big restaurant dinner. I was completely intrigued and excited. After that I read as much as I could about raw food while on what I thought was going to be a two-week raw food experiment. I figured it would be hard to endure, that I’d be going crazy wanting a hamburger, chicken, cheese and bread. I didn’t want any of those things, and I felt so amazing in a way I didn’t even know was possible. After only a few days I realized the experiment had become a permanent shift.

2)      A lot of food bloggers lately seem to feel pressured to “go raw” overnight or more quickly than they’re really ready for. Which is why I think they might find it comforting to hear that you don’t flash around the “100% raw” label; you, like me, make room for some cooked foods in your diet, right? What’s the balance that works for you?

I don’t really look for a specific balance of raw vs. cooked. When I’m working in a regular routine I’m usually eating all raw all the time. Admittedly it’s incredibly easy for me when I have my restaurant, our juice bar/takeaway, and One Lucky Duck snacks available whenever I want. But then when I come home and my boyfriend happens to have been inspired at the greenmarket by fresh beets and decided he was going to make a huge pot of borscht, then, I’ll eat a bowl of borscht. (It was really good by the way—full of beets, potatoes, carrots, cannellini beans, cabbage, yum). But then I did feel like I wanted to take a nap immediately. Maybe that ended up being half of what I ate that day. So then I was only half raw. I just never think about percentages, or looking for a balance. I love food, and I like trying other foods and flavors.

And I love nice restaurants. I’m busy so I don’t go out a lot, but if I end up in a really nice restaurant that uses good ingredients, I’ll try just about anything. It just depends whether it feels worth it to me. In Tokyo I was taken to probably one of the best sushi places in that whole city. I ate whatever the chef put in front of me, including teeny whole squids. Eiw. (But it actually tasted really good, once I didn’t have to look at it anymore). There are probably some vegans that would be appalled at what I eat once in a while… but it’s only once in a while.

Otherwise, my diversions are usually still vegan at least. Sometimes I get these odd crazy cravings for chickpeas. I can’t get chickpeas out of my brain. So, I’ll get a can of organic chick peas, dump it into a bowl and toss it with macadamia oil (my favorite), lime juice, and sea salt. Or, put them in a salad. Black beans too. If beans and chickpeas are my diversions from raw, I don’t think that’s anything to worry about. What makes me feel deprived is if I have to go too long without a green shake, or a green juice. I love green shakes (there’s a recipe on my blog and in Living Raw Food) and I love eating mostly raw most of the time!

3)      It goes without saying—or at least, it will come as no surprise to any of my blog readers—that I consider Pure Food and Wine the absolute epitome of fine dining. Part of what I love about Pure is that, unlike some other vegan or healthy restaurants, it feels like a sexy, elegant, urban dining experience. Could you say a few words about the ethos of the restaurant, and how it has grown?

Well, you said it nicely that the restaurant feels sexy and elegant. That’s what we’ve always been going for, in addition to really comfortable and warm. I like having high service standards, but delivered in a friendly way. I want everyone to feel extremely welcome and for that reason we actually don’t hire many raw/vegans (if any at all!). I’d like to get people who otherwise wouldn’t visit this sort of restaurant to come and so I especially don’t ever want anyone to come in and feel judged, or different. I’ve always wanted it to be this way and I think that’s stayed the same. What I see having grown is that more and more people coming in have already heard of raw food and know of the restaurant before—that’s nice.

(Ryu Kodama)

4)      Raw Food, Real World, is a classic in my own cookbook library, so I’m thrilled to dig into Living Raw Food. Could you say a few words about how the new book differs from the last? How has your culinary approach changed since you wrote the first book?

Like the first book, the new book is full of recipes from Pure Food and Wine, but this time they’re divided in two sections: easier recipes for which you don’t need as much time and equipment, and more ambitious recipes that require a bit more planning. The recipes come almost entirely from the staff at the restaurant, so it’s less a reflection of my own culinary approach vs. the restaurant’s culinary development. At this point we have more than enough recipes for a third book and I’d love to do a dessert book too.

Aside from the recipes, Raw Food Real World is more of a beginner’s perspective. My co-author and I described how we felt after our overnight transition from eating absolutely everything to eating only (or, mostly only) raw plant foods. This time I wrote the book alone, and it’s more about what it’s been like for me after five years on mostly raw (now it’s been six, but it was five at the time I wrote it). I also really wanted to address some of the more common questions I’ve been asked over the years, which includes issues related to emotional detox and people’s struggle to “stick with it”.

5)      As a book editor (my other, non-blogging life!), I really relish the intelligence and clarity you bring to your writing. I’ve also noticed that the new book is much more of a book, and less of a cookbook, than the first. How was it being a bit more visible as a narrator this time around?

To the extent that this book is a lot more personal, it was definitely nerve-wracking to put out. I kept thinking maybe I was sharing too much, or putting forth some kind of less than desirable impression, or worst of all just that no one would care. But then I just figure, F-it, as long as it’s honest then there’s nothing really to regret. My publisher wouldn’t like to know I’m saying this, but the cover makes me really squeamish! It looks too sales-y to me—like I’m pitching a Hawaiian vacation with that cocktail in my hand! I’m not good at posing for photos. Candid photos feel much more genuine. I love my publisher but we definitely fought over the cover and since they have ultimate control, they win. [Editor's honest note: Yeeeah. We publishers need to work on our book cover savvy.]

But back to the writing… I was really happy that they let me write what I wanted without censoring it, even when I wrote goofy things. I really want to write another book that has no recipes—I’ve been writing it in my head for a long time. I can let our chefs put out more recipe books, and I’ll write this other one. I just need to find the time!

6)      As a restaurateur, a writer, and a small business owner (One Lucky Duck), you are quite an entrepreneur. How do you balance all of your projects without losing your mind? What are some of the pressures that come with being at the helm of so many incredible organizations?

Sometimes I do lose my mind. I probably ought to meditate and do yoga and all that. Instead I just keep letting my mind run and run until it overloads and crashes, and then I’ll have to spend half a day (usually a Sunday) in broken down mode. This happens once in a while! I’d prefer if I could go lie on a beach once in a while, but for now this is how it goes. It’s okay. I think almost all people that have built really big businesses (and I plan for mine to be really big!) will say that there was a period of time where it’s all about survival and pushing forward with every ounce of effort. At some point we’ll reach a cruising altitude and then hopefully I can step back a bit, take more time to relax (which of course will only make me more focused and productive) and be able to create the things I want to create.

I think the biggest pressure comes from knowing so many people rely on you. Not that I want to, but I can’t decide to flake out and move to Hawaii. There are 70 (or so) people working for me. They’re all amazing. But I can’t let them, or anyone else, down. There’s a lot to take care of, a lot at stake, and hence, quite a bit of pressure. I try not to think about that part and just keep moving along. I’m kind of a perfectionist, so when I look at things I see what’s not right, and what needs fixing, updating, etc. Even at other restaurants, if there’s a typo on the menu I’ll spot it right away. I also know what we have planned, so when I look at oneluckyduck.com it’s hard for me to see all the things that aren’t there yet, that aren’t the way I’d like them to be. But I’m guessing it’ll always be like this. And it makes it really fun and satisfying when we make progress.

7)      OK. The question I’ve been dying to ask you! What are some of your favorite recipes from the new book? And what are some classic items on the Pure menu that have stood the test of time?

From the easier side of the book, I love the Heirloom Tomato, Fennel, and Avocado Pressed Salad with Caper Dressing, Pistachio, and Mint. A lot of my favorite flavors in one dish. It’s good to make for a dinner party.

I also love the super-easy Chia Pudding—it really couldn’t possibly be easier, it’s like the raw equivalent of jello pudding where you just stir the liquid in and wait fifteen minutes. Since there’s a recipe called My Favorite Greens Shake, that’s definitely another one I love.

From the more ambitious side of the book, I love the Black Trumpet Mushroom Napoleon with Caramelized Shallots, Herbed Cashew Cream and Apricot-Riesling Sauce. That’s not written on the menu at the restaurant right now, but we have the same thing in little mini bite sized tarts that you usually get if you order the tasting menu and I always order them to start when I have business dinners there. I also absolutely love the Falafel and Tabouleh which is still (and always will be) on our takeaway menu. Also, the Mint Sundae. Unless you don’t like mint, it’s hard not to love that one. [Hi again. Um, this is very true.]

The lasagna is the most classic menu item… specifically, the Zucchini and Tomato Lasagna with Pine Nut Ricotta, Sun Dried Tomato Sauce and Basil Pistashio Pesto [This is the dish that converted my Mom to raw food enthusiasm!]. The Tamales are also a popular dish, also in the first book, and also still on the menu now. And finally, you know my favorite thing from the takeaway is the Mallomar (though not in the book) … yummy. That and mint chocolate chip ice cream. OK… now I’m really hungry!

* * *

Thank you, Sarma, for giving New York the wonderful institution that is Pure. And thank you for giving me the neighborhood restaurant I never had.

I don’t doubt that Sarma’s musings will inspire so many of you — if only to make some raw ice cream! And to help you in that effort, Sarma has very generously agreed to share a copy of Living Raw Food with one lucky reader! So here’s the deal: respond to this post with a comment about one thing you took away from Sarma’s fabulous interview. I’ll announce the winner two weeks from today, on August 23rd. Good luck to you all!

I also have the winner of my last giveaway to announce! A brand new copy of Born to Run goes to #22: Lorena. I’ll be in touch, Lorena, about sending you the book!

And thanks, as always, for stopping by. May you all enjoy a visit to Pure someday — the sooner, the better!

xo

P.S. Everyone head over to my pal Chocolate Covered Katie’s blog to read my guest post on veggie pasta!

Raw Food and Wreckage

So then this happened:

Wait, wait. Let’s back it up a bit.

One of the many fun benefits of blogging is entrance into a community. Choosing Raw has allowed me to connect with so many incredible men and women, in and out of the blogosphere. In the last week, I’ve been lucky enough to spend some quality time with a few bloggers who have become friends in the real world, as it were. On Saturday, I headed over to my favorite culinary mecca, Pure Food and Wine, for dinner with two such friends, Diana and Katherine. Dinner at Pure is always delightful, but it’s even more fun with newcomers to the restaurant! I got to watch as Diana and Katherine experienced the asparagus sushi (one of my stanbys):

Summer mache salad (a nice addition to the summer menu):

And trumpet mushroom scallops (which taste so much like regular scallops that I find them borderline-creepy, but are salvaged by a delicious truffle “mousse”):

For the first time. With lots of help from me

And then came our entrees. Both ladies got Pure’s classic lasagna:

While I decided to be hopelessly boring and get my signature salad (greens, dulse, avocado, tomato, cucumber, carrots, argon lemon vinaigrette) and guacamole:

And no dinner at Pure would be complete without the mint sundae with three spoons:

It was a lovely evening, and even lovelier company.

Fast forward to last night. As you all know, Lindsay (the Happy Herbivore) is one of my favorite gals. So I couldn’t be more pleased that she has just moved back to her hometown and mine! In honor of her arrival, I had some of Lindsay’s and my mutual blogger friends over for cocktails last night. On the menu were my raw appetizer favorites. (You can expect recipes for all of the following within the next few days.) We had two kinds of jicama rolls. The first were stuffed with cucumber and carrot and served with an Asian dressing:

The second were stuffed with asaragus, yellow pepper, and cilantro, and served with an avocado cumin dressing:

I also served raw mini-pizzettes, which is a fancy way of saying zucchini rounds topped with my raw pizza cheese, basil, and an heirloom cherry tomato:

Crudites with my raw zucchini hummus:

And no meal at my place would be complete without guac:

In the midst of chatting and chewing, we were interrupted by a deafening rumble. I kid you not when I say that this sounded like an avalanche of sorts. I ran into the kitchen, certain that my shelves had collapsed, to find nothing amiss. Then I peered over to the bathroom and noticed some grime and dust peeking out from under the crack of the bathroom door.

Aha.

Upon opening the door, I found this:

Yes. That is a hole in my bathroom ceiling. A nice chunk of it collapsed, leaving chaos in its wake. Lord knows what my upstairs neighbors have been up to.

As unpleasant as this was, I have three things to be grateful for:

1)    My mother lives close by.
2)    I had much comfort in the form of my six lovely guests, who bolstered my spirits as I called my management company.
3)    No one happened to have been heeding nature’s call when this happened. Thank god.

So I’m camping out at my mom’s until my super can fix the damage. In the meantime, thank you Heather, Diana, Lindsay, Ashley, Elise, and Katherine for having shared this singular experience with me. I know we won’t soon forget it.

On that note, my friends, have a great day. And, um, watch your heads.

xo

A Pure Dinner

Hey guys!

Thanks for such an awesome response to Beam Green! I would love to have you NYC gals as guests, so please keep getting in touch if you’re interested!

I’m taking a break from a night of reading to recap my very fun dinner last night with Melissa and Liz — aka, the blogcelebrity Veggiegirl! Liz and I have corresponded and spoken before, but this was my first time meeting her in person, and it was great fun! She’s witty, sharp, sweet, and passionate about all things raw and vegan. The three of us went to Pure Food and Wine, where I got a simple dinner: a build-your-own salad with avocado and guacamole. (I know, I know, I am the world’s most boring woman. But I was in the mood!):

Variety came with the dessert selections, which ranged from Melissa’s gorgeous passion fruit tart:

To the complimentary strawberry shortcake (yum) for the table!

Here’s the three of us ladies outside (Me, Mel, and Liz):

Afterwards, Melissa and I went to 71 Irving for some tea and overdue girl talk. It was a really fun night, and a much needed interruption in a busy week.

I hope you’re all having wonderful Fridays. I’ll be back tomorrow with some recipe action, so stay tuned!

xo

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that Jacques Pepin blurbed one of the books I’m working on today. I don’t usually edit food/nutrition books — in fact, this is my only one — and I felt a little starstruck!

Pre-Bday Celebration at Pure

Happy Sunday!

As promised, I’m here with a full recap of what was a lovely pre-birthday celebration yesterday: first, a juice date with my buddy Kristen, and then a full blown dinner extravaganza at Pure!

After waking up to a grayish morning jog, I was delighted when the clouds parted and I was able to meet up with Kristen – who’s in town for a nice long trip, and conveniently staying right near my apartment – for a juice date at one of my favorite vegan joints, Blossom. Blossom has a terrific juice menu, and while the fabulous manager, Craig, is always kind enough to make me my special blend (cucumber, spinach, celery, parsley, green apple and ginger), one wasn’t enough: Kristen and I also got the oh-so-delicious pink lady, which is a combo of apple, pear, pineapple, beet, and ginger. Here we are with our juices:

It was so delightful getting to know Kristen and her husband; I’ve read Kristen’s blog for a while now, and learned a great deal from her, and I’m happy to say that she’s every bit as sunny and sweet as she seems in print.

Later in the day, I headed downtown to my favorite dining destination, Pure Food and Wine, where Kristen was actually having drinks with another one of my favorite raw peeps, the wonderful Dhrumil of We Like it Raw. It was fun to catch up with Dhru, if briefly. Soon, my friends Cassie and Amy arrived, and it was time for us ladies to dig into what is one of the best meals I’ve ever had.

I do not throw superlatives around when it comes to restaurant dining. I’m sort of a kitchen snob: like Heather, I like to make the food I like on my own. As anathema as it may be for a New Yorker to dislike dining out, I really don’t love it. With the exception of a few restaurants, I often find that eating out means paying money to have disappointing, mini-sized salads or dishes that I know I could make more to my liking at home. Eating at Pure, though, is quite the opposite: I could never muster up the patience or time or expertise that goes into a meal prepared in the Pure kitchen, which is why I’m always thrilled to eat there. Last night, with its VIP service and amazing selection of food, was my best Pure experience to date!

We started with three appetizers. Cassie ordered the Caesar salad, which I love and have ordered many times:

Amy got the Spicy Thai Lettuce Wraps, which I also really love, and often make at home:

And I got to sample the incredible chili lime tortilla wraps. As they say in the blogosphere, holy yum! This was my first time tasting these (shockingly, since they’re stuffed with the same guacamole that I often devour at Pure’s takeaway spot), and it will not be my last! This might be habit-forming :

For our entrees, Cassie had the white corn tamales with raw cacao mole. Oddly, though this is many people’s favorite Pure dish, I have yet to fall in love, but it got rave reviews from Cassie and Amy.

Amy got the beet ravioli with pignoli cheese, which I made for Christmas dinner this year, to rave reviews from my Mom:

And I got my old standby, the asparagus sushi rolls:

Finally, dessert. As you all know, I’m not much of a dessert chef. So when I go out to eat, I tend to let the experts dazzle me. And dazzle they did. My birthday treat was Pure’s new strawberry shortcake Napoleon. It was a-m-a-z-i-n-g: I kid you not when I say that utterances of “this is the best thing I have ever eaten in my life” were being hurled around the table. Here I am, blowing out the candle:

And the staff at Pure was kind enough to bring us yet another incredible dessert: the peach cobbler with aged maple syrup and vanilla ice cream. This was also delicious.

This was one of those meals that reminds one of what restaurant dining at its very best can be. I love to keep it simple most of the time, but there’s nothing quite like a big, intricately and lovingly prepared meal, and I am so grateful to Sarma and her incredible staff of chefs and servers for this night. Here’s a shot of me and Cassie — before we were stuffed to the gills!

On the birthday agenda today:

A run/walk in the park
Movie (yes, I’m seeing The Hangover)
Manicures with friends
Massage for me (my yearly birthday treat to myself)
Birthday Dinner at Candle 79 with my wonderful Mom

I don’t put much stock into birthdays, on the whole: I’m not a person who frets about getting older, and for the most part, and organizing big parties has always struck me as a little stressful (not to mention a little lame at this age). I just use them as an excuse to pamper myself more than usual. But lately I do find myself devoting my birthdays to being grateful for all of the good things in my life, which seem to have accumulated by the year. This year is no exception: it’s brought me many new professional endeavors and many new friends—and I had a pretty rich professional life and incredible friendships already. Long story short? I have a lot to be thankful for.

Have a beautiful day, everyone!

xo

P.S. If you haven’t yet, please check out my guest post at Oh She Glows!

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