Monday, June 16, 2008

Mmmmmacrobiotic!

M Café de Chaya boasts "contemporary macrobiotic cuisine."
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In M Café's words, this means "balanced, nutritious, creative cooking which can be enjoyed daily by everyone, not just vegetarians or people with dietary restriction." This food is prepared "fresh daily, using only the finest ingredients without any refined sugars, eggs, dairy, red meat or poultry."

In my words, this means "food that requires braving Melrose Avenue, where it is impossible to find a place to park in under 30 minutes because there is a pinkberry next door and Pink's Hot Dogs around the corner, as well as 167 different parking restrictions, but is still delicious and sort of worth it, even though it's a tad overpriced for what it is."

I had the pleasure of trying M Café with my new friend insomniac, who is currently in the midst of 30 days of eating according to Michael Pollan's mantra, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." M Café was perfect for her plan!

insomniac had the California Club Sandwich ($11.25), which was a triple-decker of savory tempeh “bacon,” lettuce, tomato, avocado, carrots, sprouts, and soy-mayo on house-baked multi-grain & seed bread. It looked really beautiful, and she said it was delish.
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I opted for the Grilled Tuna Burger ($14.25), which was seared ahi
glazed with teriyaki sauce and garnished with sliced avocado, pickled red onions, daikon sprouts, spicy yuzu mayo, and fresh shiso leaf served on a house-baked whole wheat bun. 'Twas excellent.
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Both of our meals included a choice of a side dish. I had the wasabi sweet potatoes, which were quite tasty. I really enjoyed my meal and my company. The food was so fresh, and I felt good after I ate it. And
insomniac is just as smart, witty, and charming in real life as she is online. Quite the delightful meal!

16 comments:

  1. Wow, the food looks great, and I am jealous of your GTG with insomniac!

    Thanks for explaining macrobiotic-- I have heard Gwyneth talk about it, but I never looked up what it actually is.

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  2. you met insominac [sic]!

    i've always wondered about that place but just passed it right on by for pinkberry. tater doesn't usually do meat substitutes, except for soyrizo. tempeh and seitan and the like? fuhgeddaboutit!

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  3. your tuna burger looks DELISH. damn you, weemo, for making me hungry at the random times!

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  4. I love tuna burgers!

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  5. I had lunch at the new Culver City location last week. The meal was awesome but the cupcake I took home? Atrocious! I made all my co-workers taste it and we agreed that it was the WORST. CUPCAKE. EVER. I've had vegan pastries that were delicious, but that was not one of them.

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  6. I'm with tater...no fake meats for mee, but your tuna sandwich looks super tasty!

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  7. Next time you should head over to the new one in Culver City and let me know so we can do lunch!!!

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  8. Ah, it was fun... good times indeed! And now I'm starving...

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  9. yum! will try it when i feel like braving the parking ;)

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  10. Lucky ladies! I bet that was a great convo. Over some delish-looking food. I'm still a little wary of tempeh. I don't think my tummy likes tempeh.

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  11. just looking at that first picture.. i'd say it take about 2 1/2 hrs to pick out something on that menu

    (but i also had the same anxiety going to Jamba Juice for the first time when I was in San Fran)

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  12. Damn that sandwich looks good. Tell me again why I'm reading your blog just before lunch?

    I should know better.

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  13. We used to live right by the M cafe spot on Melrose. We frequented it quite often. Love that place!

    The falafel wrap is quite scrumptious too.

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  14. Looks delish. . . And reminds me that I wanted to see if you would like to go to Jollibee with me sometime. I passed one on Beverly on my way back from Lawry's Monday and I am intriqued. . . I think their faire should nicely counteract the healthfulness of your macrobiotic meal at M Cafe.

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  15. this place looks far too healthy for me. i think i'll just crash your GTG with glam at jollibee instead. i've always wanted to try it out.

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