Not surprisingly, my cookie breakfast didn’t hold my appetite at bay for very long. When halftime of the first round of football games hit, Kyle and I headed to lunch.
I had to show Kyle the menu for this place before he agreed to go because the name of the restaurant really scared him. I’ll admit, Caravan of Dreams is on the moon goddess fairy dream weaver end of the hippie spectrum…but the food makes up for the “out there” nature of the name.
They offer a variety of vegan and raw courses, but somehow we ended up ordering mostly raw. No complaints on my end.
I will say, however, that Kyle makes a good point in how misleading it is when menus note certain dishes as “live.” Without me to explain that that means the dish is raw, he said he wouldn’t have known. He thinks it should be something that diners are made aware of when ordering and I can definitely see his point.
It must be hard for a server at a vegan or raw restaurant, having to guess if the customers are familiar with the cuisine or not. I mean, you don’t want to presume they know what everything is and then have them be disappointed with their food; but on the other hand, you don’t want to explain what nut pate is to someone who has been eating a raw diet for years either. Tough situation to navigate.
In any event, we started with an Almond Hummus appetizer to share. As per the menu, it was (live) and came with crudités and chia chips. The dip was really really really good and the chips were even better. I wish they had held the veggies altogether and just given us chia chips. Both Kyle and I were equally obsessed with this appetizer.
For our entrees, we decided to get two meals to split. Bottom line? I was too indecisive and begged Kyle to share two things with me.
First up, the Pizzetta (live) with a pumpkin seed crust, sun-dried tomato marinara, pesto, house-cultured kefir cashew cheese, arugula, avocado, heirloom cherry tomatoes, olives and cremini mushrooms. Hot dayam!
Ok, I have to be honest here. I thought this tasted JUST like pizza. The marinara was spot on, and the pumpkin seed crust (while a bit hard to eat like real pizza) was definitely reminiscent of those classic Italian flavors. I could have bathed in the cashew cheese too. While the rest of the greens on top were pretty whatever, I thought the addition of avocado was genius. I loved it. Caravan of Dreams certainly knows how to make a zesty and savory raw cracker/crust.
The second meal we got was the Caesar Avocado with romaine, avocado, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, croutons and Caesar dressing.
Another winner! The dressing was perfection. I can say with 99% certainty, if they had poured it over rancid cabbage I would have still adored it.
This was one of our top meals of the trip. There wasn’t a bad thing to say about anything, and the staff was SO friendly. All in all, a very pleasant meal.
How do you feel about menus noting raw vs. live? Or being specific about what raw/vegan cuisine actually is (or isn’t).
In my country, it is much more common to use the “live” label than “raw”. All those meals look so delicious, I love how there´s so much avocado in all the meals you eat 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed your experience at Caravan. When I was there the food was terrible, but maybe that was just a fluke since everything you ordered looks amazing!
yum yum glad you enjoyed all the food! it all looks great!
tough question on what to do about labels. we struggled with that when we first started our bakery at farmers markets. we did not want to scare people with the words raw or live foods, but we did not want to lie to our customers. and then we would have those customers who wanted to see those words to verify that they were eating raw foods. ugh it was a battle of how much wording to do. that is why we try to show people that raw foods is not scary and can actually taste great 🙂
i love caravan of dreams! you’ll have to go there for brunch sometime!! GREAT food, especially the french toast!
I have never actually dined at a restaurant with raw or live food but I prefer the term raw. Live makes me think of living creatures, especially creepy crawlies like worms and such! lol.
That pizzetta looks amazing. Though, I may be biased because you could put a whole avocado on anything and I’d adore it!
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Honestly, the only people who are going to know about raw or live are going to ask the difference to the server, probably. Or be able to tell from the menu……….Love Caravan, they are open late!!! Pizza looks great. Some of their raw stuff left me wanting more, as some was not exceptional and too pricey for what it was. They have such a large menu that it seems kind of hit or miss. But in general, the place is open late and has a ton of food. And always have a good raw dessert!
That pizzetta! holy crap. I wish I could find a raw foods place near me. I want to try something like that. I still haven’t been to a raw foods restaurant. boo.
Oh my that pizza looks out of this world! Very very tempting! 😀 Was the portion size quite generous? It looks like there’s half a giant avocado on there! (Which is a very very good thing in my book, lol!) Yeah, I know what Kyle means about the name, it sounds a bit airy fairy and strange…but that’s another restaurant I’ve always wanted to hit up. It’s great that you guys got to visit so many amazing restaurants in such a short and sweet visit- you really did a foodie tour!
I like knowing what is raw and what is on a menu – it helps me choose what to eat. Although sometimes seeing “raw” can be a bit intimidating too…like, wow, what is that going to be like?! 😉 I love raw food though…and I;ve never really thought about “live” being misleading. I’ve always cottoned on to what it meant. So I will sit on the fence in that debate, lol! 🙂
xyx
mmm can’t wait to try this place! I have yet to check it out. I see your point about the menu labels. Maybe they should include a little glossary of terms at the beginning or end so that those who don’t know what “live” or “raw” means will understand…..
I want that pizzette!!!