Gorilla Food
436 Richards Street
Vancouver, BC
In a burger chain ad, a couple is eating there and, while she is having a salad, he is having a burger and calls himself a “meatatarian” (“It is a personal choice!”). I don’t think I would go to that extreme; in fact, I won’t go to either extreme. But, once in a while, having a completely vegetarian meal is not a bad thing. But how about a completely raw meal? That is the premise of Gorilla Food.
Again, I have had vegetarian meals and with some creative use of some ingredients, you won’t even miss the meat. However, when the food is raw, that creates a completely whole different set of problem. How do you mix some of the flavours? What about Mallard Reaction that makes food really tasty?
The truth is that I was not sure what to order. I mean, other than salads, I can’t think of almost anything that I would eat completely raw! But, looking at the menu, I must admit they were quite creative on one side while stretching the truth a little bit on the other. For example, they have “pizza” and “burgers”. But, hey, I am willing to try almost anything! And, to start…
Their Strawberry Fields blended smoothie, which is made of bananas, strawberries, hempseeds and orange juice. I would assume it had milk as well (despite, technically, pasteurised milk is heated). Now, before anybody starts giggling, yes, that’s hempseed, from the Cannabis genus, the same as genus of the plant where marijuana is made. And, no, I am not “high” while writing this post, OK? 
I could taste the banana, no problem at all; however, I can’t say the same about the rest of the ingredients. Still, I could say it was not a straight banana smoothie. I think this would be a smoothie I could easily drink. And now, as for the “main”…
I chose a veggie burger, which is made with different seed/nuts, like walnuts, sunflower seeds and hempseeds (among others). I will admit something: it did not taste like such and had some meat patty-like texture. Other veggies, well, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, shredded radish and so on. The “bun”, while techincally the lettuce was supposed to be the bun replacement, it came served with two cookie like wafers. In a way, I did not miss the meat in the meal; however, there is a big caveat: it was not that filling.
Overall, it was an interesting experience. Would I come back again? Probably but not in a while. Sure, I did not miss the meat but the fact that I had to rely on the smoothie as a filler was a distraction at the same time. If I was eating this daily, I think I would have to eat at least 5 meals a day… And, finally, to finish my visit, I had a dark raw chocolate fudge, which was good but slightly gritty. I mean, it is not the same when you can’t conche it…
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An ex boyfriend and I once went to a raw, vegan restaurant and he pretty much felt the same way – that it wasn’t very satisfying. It might’ve been the ambiance of the restaurant, too (since it was cold, plastic furniture and NO ONE was talking), but I do want to give a raw vegan restaurant another try. It’s definitely interesting!
I’m with you Pearl. I’ve had my fair share of vegan and vegetarian dishes but would still like to hit up a raw restaurant and try it. I think, if done family style, it would be neat to sample the majority of options and see how it all compares.
Pearl, not sure if I should add a comment rule not to allow references to ex’s… ^_^;;;
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