Prana Cafe

Sunday, January 31, 2010 at 01:54 PM | Posted by caroloc

292 Centre Street
Newton Corner, MA 02458

by Rachel Weiner

Atmosphere:
Taylor and Philippe, husband and wife co-owners of Prana Café, also own four yoga studios, and to me, their café mirrors the simplicity and meditative monotones you hope for in a yoga studio. It is spacious, soothing with its pastel color palette, and the energy of the place truly gives one room to breathe, to slow down.  Yet, despite its fairly large size and soothing color scheme, Prana Café feels very un-crowded even with a full house, making it a little cold, and it has too much of a Starbucks or Panera vibe for a dinner spot.  For lunch and breakfast, Prana Café has the perfect energy and look, but it has the potential to transform into something lively and romantic during its dinner hours, and it doesn’t commit. More candlelight or some soft, organic linens on the tables would make it cozier, I think, along with some slow jazz playing in the background – they have the right idea with their low-lit, plush “Kid’s Corner,” a very special and unique feature of Prana.

“You never see this kind of thing when you go out to eat, right?” Taylor said, excitedly, before requesting a photograph of the cute and cozy nook, that houses a TV (the noise somehow doesn’t make its way into the main seating area of the restaurant), fuzzy rugs and chairs, and a selection of toys. Taylor’s three children lounged inside as if they were at home.

On each of the tables are little clear signs that have handwritten quotations slipped inside. Taylor says she changes these often and they come from her own collection of inspirational quotations; for me they were a bit of the coziness I desired.

For breakfast and lunch guests, or after-yoga guests from Taylor and Philippe’s next-door studio, there is a counter at which to order, and a refrigerator with “to-go” items like their granola (sprouted and dehydrated grains) and yogurt (made entirely from nuts) which looked delicious that I will have to return to try. They also sell some of their non-refrigerated goods, like flax seed crackers and kale chips, and this shelf sits next to a lounge-y area on the opposite side of the restaurant, a la Starbucks, once again.

Appetizers:
Since we ate alongside the owners, we allowed them to choose the menu items they wanted us to try. Although I had been there before and have had many experiences with raw food vegan dining, Taylor made sure that we knew “raw food vegan” did not just equal salads and that anything you can eat cook, you can recreate in a raw food and vegan way. This certainly got me excited to see how certain menu items, like the crepes, came out looking and feeling crepe-like while still maintaining the labels of “raw” and “vegan.”

Taylor and Philippe ordered a ton of food – much more than I would normally have ordered on my own, which I found a bit odd. Does eating raw food mean you need to eat more to be full?

“The food is hearty but not heavy,” they said, explaining that the life force, or the Prana (hence the name of the café) in the food isn’t destroyed by cooking, so everything they put into their bodies has the maximum amount of nutritive value. They can eat and eat and feel full of energy, creativity and focus, and still stay lean, Taylor said.

As we waited for our first dish to arrive – a cucumber, avocado and dill soup, the soup du jour that evening ($6/$9)– Philippe told us how much better he feels having been a 100% raw food vegan for the past five years. He acknowledged that it wasn’t about being 100%, however, that just increasing the amount of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc, in anyone’s diet is incredibly beneficial.

“It’s not about restriction, but abundance,” both husband and wife agreed. They continued to explain that they believe people generally overeat because a lot of what goes into our bodies is nutritionally empty, if we’re not eating raw. 

Then the first course arrived: a chilled, creamy green soup with chunks of avocado floating on top. The texture was velvety and certainly creamy and very luxurious.  I’m not a huge fan of dill, so that flavor was a bit too much for me, but I absolutely adore avocado, so this balanced out the dish for me. Obviously as a raw food joint, a hot bowl of soup would be difficult to come by, but there is still something so comforting about warm soup on a cold winter’s day that was missed by the chilled soup. I imagine myself sipping on this green, creamy dish in July with some fresh strawberries and cream for dessert.

Next, came out a large spinach salad ($8/$13), with paper-thin beets and “goat cheese” made from nuts sprinkled throughout. All of this was drizzled with a raw balsamic vinaigrette that tasted just like a very good balsamic dressing at any downtown restaurant.  This was a fantastic salad, and one Taylor had been happily munching on when we arrived that evening. I normally dislike beets, but these were sliced so thin, I could really appreciate the sweetness of them without focusing on all the other earthy flavors that usually ruin beets for me. Since all of their ingredients are as organic as the season allows, everything in the salad was fresh, bright, and inviting and the nut cheese on the salad was so tangy and cool.

Next, three appetizers came out at once: an avocado sushi roll with sweet plum topping ($8), a Vietnamese spring roll, ($7) and winter squash and hazelnut ravioli with a citrus infused almond sauce ($10).  Everything was beautifully presented and so colorful! Even the most die-hard meat eater would be enticed to take a bite.

The Avocado Roll was my favorite of these dishes that came out. The texture and flavor of a non-raw sushi roll was spot on, and the sweet plum sauce was somehow reminiscent of fish with its pink color and soft texture.  My dining partner and I gobbled these up with delight.

The Vietnamese Spring Roll was filled with various greens and had a very strong herbal flavor that didn’t strike a chord with me. They were visually appealing, but my palate is certainly unaccustomed to eating a lot of raw herbs all in one bite.

The Winter Squash Ravioli were also good, but again, one of my favorite foods in winter are warm squash raviolis, preferably homemade. These had a good, sweet flavor, but the texture of the ravioli skins didn’t remind me at all of non-raw ravioli. They were nutty and a little sweet, which was perfect, but then the citrus in the sauce drowned out the subtle hazelnut flavor.  Again, however, they were visually appealing and very colorful, and while the texture didn’t remind of the non-raw version of this dish, the texture was chewy and they were enjoyable to bite into.

Entrees:
Next, came two entrées. Taylor had chosen the Brazil nut and almond encrusted portabella mushrooms ($18) and the spinach crepes with cashew cream sauce ($15).  I bit into the crepes first. The texture of the dough was dry and crumbly, more like a homemade tortilla than a crepe, but the flavor was intensely spinach-y and very good. These were filled with a tasty assortment of mushrooms and this was a very earthy and wintery tasting dish, even despite its lack of heat.  This was one of my favorites of the evening and really filled me up!

The Portabella Mushroom was presented as if it were a steak, and served with a parsnip whip and a side of cauliflower.  Portabella mushrooms are always good and this was prepared very well, however, my fellow diner and I both thought the star of this dish was the parsnip whip. I’ve seen this at several “fine dining” restaurants and loved that it followed this trend of using the under-utilized vegetable, and the flavor was intense and mellow at the same time.

Dessert:
Finally, it was time for dessert and Taylor ordered us three: the chocolate torte ($10), the cheesecake ($9—flavor changes) and a bowl of ice cream, with a scoop of cinnamon and a scoop of coffee ($9).

The verdict is still out for me about eating solely raw food for my main meal, but I could eat raw desserts every day. As I’ve mentioned before, I am not generally a dessert person, but the raw chocolate torte at Prana is so intense and gooey, it was absolutely perfect. Instead of all the milk, butter and sugar that clouds that richness of chocolate, this raw torte really allowed the chocolate to shine, and all of the fantastic benefits of chocolate weren’t masked by any additions or cooking.

The cheesecake left a little to be desired for me. It was a very light texture and felt more like a cream pie than a cheesecake. It was also very sweet and a little too intensely vanilla flavored for me, but I tend to be picky about my desserts.

The ice creams were definitely my favorite dessert. I generally really dislike ice cream, and it’s usually too sweet and heavy to follow a big meal. This, however, was richly flavored and just as creamy as regular ice cream, but didn’t feel heavy in my stomach. The sundae was served with walnuts and bananas and the whole thing felt so decadent.  If someone hadn’t told me this was raw, I would have thought I was eating regular dairy ice cream. It was exactly the same in texture, richness and flavor, without filling me up beyond capacity.  Definitely a job well-done!

Assessment:
Prana Café is quite an experience and Taylor and Philippe are very kind folks. Anyone who is in for a culinary adventure or wants to try something new should definitely check out Prana. I highly recommend the desserts, for any sweets lover who is looking for a healthier alternative, and I definitely will be living here over the summer, when my tastes tend towards raw fruits and vegetables anyway. The presentation of their food is stunning, but I would love to see it look a little cozier for the nighttime crowd, while keeping the laid back café look for breakfast and lunch, two meals I will definitely be returning to try at Prana Café.  The food is intriguing, tasty, and creative and it’s always great to try something new!

Address: 292 Centre Street, Newton Corner, MA 02458
Phone: 617.527.7726
Website: http://pranaraw.com; http://thepranacafe.com; http://super-mom.com
Cuisine: Raw Food Vegan
Price:  $6 to $18 (kids menu available)
Hours: Sun, Mon, Wed & Thurs: 7am-9pm; Fri & Sat: 7am-10pm; closed Tuesdays
Features: Take out refrigerator; lounge area, kids corner
Recommendations: ice cream, chocolate torte, spinach salad
Public Transit and Parking: Street parking, On the T: 71 and 59 bus stop right outside
Reservations: only for large parties or special functions
Payment Options: All major credit cards