Deciding where to go to brunch on Easter Sunday with meat eaters, pescetarians, vegans, and gluten-free family members alike is definitely not an easy task. In fact, it’s nearly impossible as we found out. However, I had remembered seeing that Live was open on Easter Sunday, and I have been wanting to check out their brunch menu for a while. So with only some reluctancy from the meat eaters of the bunch, we headed to the raw restaurant.
Live’s brunch menu, though very high in raw options is not entirely raw. There is a large section of cooked vegan options as well, a long list of smoothies and much to my husband’s delight, a small section of brunch cocktails to choose from.
We arrived late due to some Easter-day parade traffic, but Nick’s family was happily sipping away at their fruit smoothies when we arrived. I started out with the Butterscotch ripple smoothie, with almond and coconut milk, banana, dates, vanilla, maca and lucuma. It was delicious- sweet but perfectly so, with an amazing complexity of flavors from the maca and lucuma. It was almost like dessert before brunch!
Already happy with my selection, I didn’t want to have to decide what other amazing raw delight I was going to indulge in- everything looked so good! I finally settled on the quiche, in a cashew/flax tart with basil cream, spinach, olives, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and cashew feta.
This dish, quite honestly blew me away. I’d never had anything like it. The basil “cream” filling was so flavorful in itself, but contrasted with the tangy toppings was out of this world. The crust was a little hard to crack into, but delicious nonetheless. I was even impressed with the side salad- much more than just your simple greens and viniagrette, the creamy dressing was flavorful and complemented my quiche perfectly. I happily cleaned my plate and, if I weren’t filled to the brim probably would have eaten more.
Nick ordered the raw Huevos, a corn/flax tortilla topped with “refried” sunflower seeds, avocado, salsa, cashew cheddar and sour cream. It looked incredible, and from the one bite I had it tasted just as delicious as it looked. But the bite was the only one I had because Nick gobbled it up in no time. How’s that for a former steak burrito-lover gobbling up a raw tortilla? It must be good.
Nick’s dad ordered the deli duo with a raw bagel (which he thought too hard to bite into), carrot “lox”, and sweet potato latkes which he enjoyed very much. It was his first time trying raw foods and I was happy to hear he enjoyed it!
Nick’s aunt ordered what must have been the most droolworthy item on the table- the waffles, gluten-free with a nutella-like hazelnut chocolate spread maple “cream”. She loved the chocolate spread (though thought there could be a little less of it) and enjoyed the cream as well. It looked so amazing I could see myself ordering that next time!
Everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals as well, and we all left full and happy, much to my delight. I was admittedly a little nervous about bringing Nick’s family to a raw restaurant, but Live delivered for sure. We were all not only pleased but incredibly satisfied with our meals. Though I have been a Live lover for a while now, I now know I would definitely bring family and friends back again!
When is the last time a restaurant surprised you?
xo
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Those waffles sound ridonk. I have to go back there!
I still need to go here! Looks incredible!!
We need to make a date to go!
I used to live at Dupont and St. George; I can’t believe I never dinned at Live, it sounds amazing!
It is amazing! You need to take the trip