Live Organic Food Bar
by: Hannah Koh
264 Dupont Street
(north east corner of Dupont and Spadina)
Toronto, Ontario
416-515-2002 opportunists the free watch kiss kiss bang bang in divx goodfellas divx download
download anacondas the hunt for the blood orchid divx
As any good meatitarian will tell you, there’s almost nothing as unappealing as the thought of an entire meal without a single piece of meat. So when my girlfriends and I decided that our next foodie destination would be Live Food Bar (vegan), my initial reaction was one of mild skepticism, mixed with a healthy dose of optimism… unfortunately the optimism only lasted about two minutes into my conversation with a vegetarian friend, who had already tried (and loved) the food:
“Okay, so…no meat. But if I don’t like it, I can just get something with cheese, right?” (I’m a firm believer that cheese will right any wrongs in any food-related situation)
“Hannah, it’s a VEGAN restaurant. No meat, no cheese, no anything having to do with animals”
“(pause) Oh. Right…”
Considering the fact that all of us regularly consume far more cheese than is healthy for us (not to mention ribs, fish, and other decidedly non-vegan fare), the only explanation that I could come up with as to why we were trying Live Food Bar, was the desire to try something new and find out, once and for all, if modern vegan food was all that it is talked up to be. After all, with epidemics such as Mad Cow Disease and Avian Flu popping up in parts of the world, and the increasing number of studies proving how bad meat is for you, it seemed that vegetarianism and veganism were on the rise.
As a good foodie, it is our duty to embrace any culinary adventure, no matter how unpalatable it sounded. We decided to stop by for a late dinner on a weeknight and were seated immediately at a large table, despite the warnings about the small location often being full.
The menu was fairly limited, but easy to read, with full explanations and definitions for different stages of food, nutrients, health benefits etc, listed clearly along the bottom of each page, as well as throughout each section. They even had items listed as “nf” (nut free) and “gf” (gluten free), the latter of which was very helpful, since one of my dinner companions has Celiac’s, and is usually very limited in her food choices when dining out. The menu focused on raw options, but also had a healthy dose of cooked foods, for those who were perhaps looking for a more “traditional” food experience. All the items came with detailed descriptions. For anything we needed more clarification on, our lovely server was more than happy to answer, or ask the chefs for us.
After ordering a round of organic beer/wine and “Heaven and Earth” sangria (which is perhaps the best sangria I have ever had), we finally decided to try a little bit of everything. A couple of our favourites: the Wild Mushroom and Barley Risotto, and the Avocado Tempura.
We then moved on to a variety of mains: there were a couple of orders of the Raw Special of the Day - zucchini pasta with pesto sauce and walnut “meatballs”; Big Bowl salad; and the Rejuvenation Bowl. I decided that, despite my initial misgivings, I wanted everything on the menu, and went for the gold with the Raw Combo which included a small portion of each of the raw mains: The Un-Stir Fry; Canadian Pizza, Eh: Winter Lasagna; and the aforementioned Raw Special.
While I wasn’t sure what I thought about everything being completely raw (and devoid of cheese), I found myself pleasantly surprised by how flavourful everything tasted. The textures were slightly different than what I was used to (more grainy than creamy), but the overall taste was very clean and fresh. Even after the vast amounts of food, we followed up with dessert, and found ourselves stuffed to the gills; Completely sated, but not overwhelmed like we normally would be after our usual cooked-food destinations.
We left at 10pm when the restaurant closed, and vowed to go back to try the rest of the menu.
Converted to vegetarianism? Not just yet. But I’ll definitely be giving Live Food Bar another chance to convert me.
Author: 
Publisher-Creator Mikhail Saavedra began life down by the deepest tip of southern Latin America. He started life with a deep curiosity for all things, with music and books being at the forefront, a curious child by all accounts. As he grew and opened his eyes to the world, he developed a sense of justice and dignity in part as a reaction to growing up in a military dictatorship. Alas, this did not fill him with fear or cynicism but a more rebellious spirit, which led him to being incredibly popular at the principal’s office and the local riot police department….
Then came Canada and it was here that he was able to formulate his deep desire to learn about the world, with Toronto being the kind of multicultural soup that could engage his need to know and embrace. It started with writing, then moved on to what became Toronto’s first Latin Alternative radio show, followed by an all-English show in the same vein. It was this desire to find the true “crossover” among people, which led him to the concept of “Alternavox”
He is a lover of wine, good food, Neruda, Eduardo Galeano, rebel music, revolutionaries, dancing, family and beautiful people. Believes that kindness in this much too cynical world is revolutionary, that you are a better person when able to give a little without asking for the change and that on the same token you should laugh at yourself and the madness surrounding you as often as possible as you set out to change the world bit by bit. 