I've waxed mildly poetic about Tampa's raw/vegan restaurant Grass Roots (the miso soup is worth a visit all by itself). I was less enthusiastic about Veggie Magic, a Sarasota raw food shop involving raw ambassador and amateur filmmaker Jenna Norwood. Hey, I support amping up everyone's consumption of raw fruits and veggies, but on the whole I find this particular dietary fetish — no food cooked over 105-115 degrees, no flesh, no dairy — to be philosophically and scientifically flawed. More importantly, most of the "cuisine" created by raw chefs runs the gamut from blah to blecch.
That's not stopping raw food impressario and culinary hottie Matthew Kenney from transplanting himself from progressive New York City to the most dreadful city in Florida. Yep, he's opening a raw restaurant in Orlando called Cafe 118 (referring to the max temperature it's food will reach). The place isn't open yet, but the website already features a link for anyone interested in franchise opportunities. Before you jump on the burgeoning raw food bandwagon and start shelling out your uncooked dough, be forewarned that one of the reasons Kenney may be expanding out of his home base in NYC involves litigation and bankruptcy relating to some of his previous businesses. Whatever, Florida is all about second chances, right?
This article appears in May 28 – Jun 3, 2008.