I hear the question all the time: "Don't you miss eating out at restaurants " My answer is always, "No. I prefer the fresher organic foods I can create for myself in my own home. I can pay the same amount for better food if I stay at home to eat." It's true, too. I don't miss eating out at restaurants. Sometimes I miss the convenience of someone else doing my food prep and cleaning up afterward, but as far as the actual food that I consume, I prefer the foods we eat at home. Besides, when you eat out as a raw foodist, your choices are limited to only a salad if you live in an area with no raw food restaurants.

Sometime last year, as a treat for Jim, we went to a restaurant. I got a huge salad that I used to love when I ate cooked foods at that particular restaurant. I remembered the greens were always dark, the onions were nice and flavorful, and the dressing was a simple oil and vinegar with salt. Well, after consuming only fresh foods in our home for quite some time, the salad that I used to think tasted so great now seemed to be lifeless and limp. It wasn't enjoyable to eat, and I sure didn't like paying so much for a nonorganic salad that didn't even taste good to me. So, we didn't eat out again after that.

Now, however, things have changed a bit. A new restaurant has opened in Pittsburgh and they have some raw food items on their menu!

Take the time to meet...

Maggie's Mercantile!

Maggie's Mercantile has been around for quite a few years. Recently they opened a small deli-type restaurant in Oakland, right near the Carnegie Museums that KDcat and I frequently visit. I heard rumors for some time that they were going to be opening up a small restaurant that would be serving raw foods, and I was overjoyed to find out that the rumor was true!

They've hired a raw chef, Matt Miller, who's helping Maggie's expand its menu to include all kinds of raw dishes! We stopped by the restaurant this past weekend, to see what it was like and to get a bite to eat (of course!). Jim ordered a vegetable juice, KDcat ordered spinach pie (cooked), and I ordered the nori wrap. The two individuals working at the restaurant were very sweet. However, it's obvious that the restaurant has only recently opened (sometime within the past few weeks, I believe), because they weren't sure about the ingredients and didn't know how to work the juicer (but, I helped them). With a bit more time and experience, it looks like it's going to be a great place to frequent!

It's a nice looking restaurant, with a nice feeling to it. Jim enjoyed the juice, KDcat passed the spinach pie to her Daddy to eat (she's picky with spinach pie), and I thought the nori wrap tasted great (the filling tasted a bit cooked, but I trust that the chef is just very talented in preparing delicious raw foods). It would be fantastic if there were more raw food items to choose from on the menu, but even one raw dish that isn't a salad is a huge reason for celebration! I think I'm going to like eating out again.

We're going to go back, I'm sure, to see how the restaurant progresses. I hope the place does well and that the raw food menu grows to a point where there seems to be too many choices to make! Maggie's Mercantile is a fresh, raw-friendly restaurant. If you are in the area, think about stopping by to support their efforts to bring fresh foods to the public.