A Review Of Minneapolis' Ecopolitan Raw Food Restaurant

Raw cashew "cheese" log rolled in sun dried tomatoes.

A variety of juices.

Root vegetable "rawioli" with cashew cheese filling.

Macadamia Alfredo pasta on zucchini noodles.

Lasagna plate with sun dried tomato sauce and veggies.

Eco-sausage pizza (front) and red avocado pizza (back).

Flaxseed tostada with lentil "taco meat".

Raw vegan coconut cream pie

Ecopolitan, More than a Raw Food Restaurant

I got to visit Ecopolitan raw food restaurant last week while visiting my daughter in Minneapolis. Thinking it was just a restaurant, I was quite surprised to find that it is more of a "wellness" center. They also offer spa treatments, have an oxygen bar, a natural home and body goods shop and an Eco-healing center. In fact, I was a little bit put off by a giant sign offering colonic hydrotherapy while on my way to eat lunch! That aside, my daughter and her boyfriend joined me and my husband for a giant meal that spanned the menu.

The Menu

The menu is pretty typical for a raw food restaurant with appetizers, raw soups and salads and many heavier entrées centered around raw nut cheeses and sprouted grain crusts. What is a bit different is that they offer raw breakfasts. Here are some of the dishes we ordered:

* The "Raw cashew cheese log" ($8) is a great appetizer. The log is rolled in sun-dried tomatoes, olives and fresh basil and covered with balsamic onions and served with flax crackers.

* The juices are good but unremarkable. We ordered a 12 ounce ginger lemonade, cool cucumber and sweet beet, each for $6.50. The smaller 8 ounce glasses are $4.75.

* The "Ravioli" is my favorite dish ($11.75). The ravioli is made from very thinly sliced raw beets and filled with cashew cheese. The tomato sauce is made with fresh ginger which gives it a delightful spicy flavor. The dish is served on fresh greens.

* The "Macadamia Alfredo pasta" ($14.50) is pricey but everyone seemed to enjoy it. Unlike traditional Alfredo sauce, this one is very light. Besides zucchini noodles, it also contains bell peppers, marinated mushrooms, pine nuts and fresh herbs.

* The "Lasagna plate" ($13.50) is my least favorite dish. It contains layers of sun-dried tomato sauce and cashew cheese layered with some veggies. Although the flavors are good, I did not enjoy the dish because the layers were mushy and have absolutely no texture.

* We ordered two different pizza's. The "Eco-sausage pizza" ($14/ $8 half order) is made of walnut sausage, bell pepper, marinated mushrooms, onions and ginger marinara sauce on a buckwheat-herb crust. This is a good raw pizza but it doesn't compare to my favorite raw sausage pizza from Quintessence in New York City. The "Raw Avocado pizza" ($13/ $7.50 half order) has the same crust with olive tapenade, avocado, zucchini, marinated mushrooms, pine nuts and cilantro. Everyone enjoyed the pizzas!

* The "Flaxseed Tostada" ($13) has a sunflower shell filled with lentil taco meat, fresh veggies, sunflower seeds, sprouts and hot sauce and is covered with cashew sour cream. It is a tasty dish but not as good as the others.

* Dessert was a "Coconut Cream pie" ($6). This is a delicious pie with a crust made from coconut flakes and dates and a filling of coconut flesh, coconut oil and more coconut flakes. Even though this dessert must be extremely high in fat, it tastes remarkably light.

All in all, we enjoyed the meal. It was a nice restaurant with friendly service and a good selection of food items. I think the dishes were a bit pricey but as anyone who prepares raw food knows, the ingredients to make these dishes can be very expensive.