Ecopolitan/Julie's birthday

Julie's birthday dinner at the raw food restaurant

http://www.ecopolitan.com/healthyfood/the-restaurant

was a really nice night out.

Jason, Nathan, Alex, Joshua, Ian, and Uncle Lee came along. The food is really amazing, none of it is heated, its entirely raw, but the presentation, and taste was really very good. I think the boys, confirmed self avowed carnevors were impressed.

I'm not sure I could accomplish more than smoothies or vitamin rich gruel, but the chefs at Ecopolitan are really brilliant.

Jason ordered a salad, and the waitress demured, "Oh playing it safe huh?"
Aside from this gentle chide, the waitress, whose name I wish I had, was very helpful. It's obvious she is accustomed to guiding people through the menu, and
the possibilities. We were a very large group for the small dining area, which is
a living room, and dining room of a very old wood beam house typical of that part of Minneapolis. We made a reservation, and if you go there with more than 4 people, a reservation is a good idea.

I had a tostado with flax shells

Two flaxseed-sunflower shells with lentil “taco meat”,
greens, marinated mushrooms, onion, olives, cilantro,
cashew “sour cream,” & hot sauce. Served with salsa
& guacamole. I added the cashew cheese sauce
Julie had
GREEN BURRITO 12.50
A collard leaf wrap with curried hummus, lentil “taco
meat”, fresh vegetables, sunflower seeds, sprouts, & hot
sauce. Served with salsa & guacamole

I sampled this, and it was so spicy and good! The collard wrap
was really intriguing. I think I'd have this on another visit.

Ian had


SPICY THAI NOODLES 13.75
Coconut curry sauce on zucchini, carrot, & daikon radish
noodles with bell pepper, pineapple, cilantro, almonds, &
coconut flakes. Served on house-dressed greens.

This appeared to be the biggest portion served, it looked great
but I did not sample it.

Jason and Lee

BABY GREENS & SEEDS SALAD 8.75
Baby greens, celery, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame
seeds, & cashew “ranch” dressing.

Alex had


ECO-SAUSAGE PIZZA 14
Macadamia-cashew “cheese”, walnut eco-sausage, bell
pepper, marinated mushrooms, onion, & ginger marinara
sauce.

Josh had

MARINARA PASTA 13.50
Sweet sun-dried tomato marinara sauce on zucchini noodles
with strawberries, red onion, olives, walnuts, & fresh
herbs. Served on balsamic-vinaigrette-dressed spinach.

Nathan had

HUMMUS PLATE 10.75
Hummus, tomato, cucumber, olives, sprouts, & dates.
Served on house-dressed greens with flax crackers.

The boys had various smoothies, tea, and ginger shots.
I think everyone was impressed by the presentation, and taste,
and weren't just saying that because it was Julie's birthday.

We had a sorbet that was fantastic, and sampled their apple pie
and cookies. All that was kind of sweet. The Sorbet was amazing,
and greedily gobbled down with long spoons.

I don't think Julie's boys were converted cavavores, but they didn't balk at the food either. The building is an old very large house at 2409
Lyndale South. Jason commented that it was a cool kind of house he'd really
like. Always the nay sayer, I said I'd seen too many episodes of This Old House
and as soon as you scratch the surface of an old barn like that, the inspectors
and the bills follow, and financial hemoraging ensues. Parking is a problem.
Parking is premium on the street, made more challenging by the snow still piled
up. So if you do find a place to park on the street, you'll have to scale the mounds,
and skate across icy spots. There is a parking lot on the south side of the building
that accomodates about 10 cars, but getting in and out, especially now with the
residue of the winter is a challenge. There are stairs down from the lot, then back up to the front entrance, and no handicap access I could see.

It was nice to have everyone share the experience, but Julie and I both laughed
at the damages. It wasn't horrendous considering there were 8 of us, and we sampled
a lot we probably wouldn't had it not been so new. All in all it was a good night.