(Don't miss part one of this trip!)
Before leaving Dallas on Memorial Day, Matt and I stopped at Bliss Raw Café & Elixir Bar for lunch. After the rawesome experience at 105 Degrees a couple days prior, I was excited to feed my body some more raw goodness.
We found Bliss Café on a busy street in north Dallas, next to a shack-like Mexican joint and across the street from a drive-thru liquor store (oh, Texas). It’s teeny! It also turns out they have no indoor seating, but luckily their patio is shaded and well-ventilated, so the hot day didn’t interfere with our meal at all.
We had to try some of their namesake elixirs, so I ordered the sampler trio, consisting of 2-oz. pours of three of their bestsellers. The Chocolate Bliss ("raw cacao superfood power blend, vanilla agave, tocotrienols, cacao butter, and orange oil") was thin, almost chocolate-milk-like, and had a deep, rich chocolate flavor. The Paradise Lemonade ("goji berry-aloe lemonade with superfood pizzazz") was fascinating; tart and fruity from the goji with a sour tang from the aloe. This one was Matt’s favorite. The Hemp Horchata ("hempseed and cinnamon silky delight") was creamy and smooth with just the right amount of spice. I thought the latter would be a sure bet for my favorite (I looove horchata!), but in the end, I couldn’t decide which I liked best.
Matt got the Bliss Burger, a sunflower seed patty served on an onion “bun” with lettuce, tomato, onion, and avocado. He enjoyed it more than he expected to, especially with the raw ketchup and "mayo" it came with.
I got the Cowboy Rawko Tacos, dehydrated corn tortillas with chipotle-sunflower seed "beans," guacamole, nacho cheeze, sour kream, pico de gallo, and sides of salsa verde and salsa roja.
Is that gorgeous, or what?! In my excitement, I neglected to ask them to hold the lettuce. If you read this blog with any regularity, you’ll know that I do not eat lettuce, salad, greens, or leaves of any kind. Can’t stand any of it; don’t ask me why. (I realize I may be the only salad-hating vegan out there!) But these tacos, with their pliable shells, piquant "bean" filling, and tasty toppings, were so good that I set aside my hatred for all things leafy and green and just dug in. Matt almost fell out of his chair when he saw me eat a forkful of lettuce, and insisted on documenting the unprecedented occasion by taking a photo.
I stepped outside to take a couple pics while Matt relaxed at the table.
For dessert, we had their raw cheezecake of the day, which happened to be raspberry. It was still a little frosty when it arrived at our table, but considering the sky-high temperature outside, we relished those first icy bites. The berry-cashew filling melted on our tongues and offered sweet respite from the heat of the day, while the tender date-walnut crust provided a pleasantly chewy complement. It was a cooling, refreshing end to a wonderful, summery raw meal.
Considering I snacked on raw cashews and apple slices during the car ride that afternoon, and we swung back by 105 Degrees for dinner that evening, I ate almost completely raw that entire day. Do I need to rename this blog "Almost Raw"?! Not yet, but who’s to say where the future will take me.
If you like this, you might also like...
Raw revelry at 105 Degrees
Dallas 2008 and 2009
All my other travels!
Posts
Bliss is the right would from the looks of it!
ReplyDeletethose elixirs sound so yummy! what fun :)
ReplyDeleteJust before you commented on how gorgeous the meals were, I was thinking 'Raw food is so pretty! It's like the [insert favourite token pretty celebrity] of the Food-World Hollywood!
ReplyDeleteAnd that dessert... cheesecake is something I'm occasionally helpless in the face of, so a raw cheezecake sounds o-mazing.
landanimal—Throw in some some singing birds or dancing flowers and the picture would've been complete :]
ReplyDeleteFit&40—I expected them to basically be glorified smoothies, but they actually were thin and elixir-like.
Hannah—Haha, indeed. Are there food beauty pageants? If not, there should be. Let's start the first International Food Hottie Contest.
All of your eats look amazing! Glad you're having fun in Dallas!
ReplyDeleteI agree - this recipe looks appropriately named. Looks like a lot of food. I bet that was filling. I can NOT imagine not eating greens. I love 'em. But since we're into vegan confessions of hated veggies...I can't stand raw tomatoes. I promised myself I would work on it this summer, but I can't seem to bring myself to eat them. I'm going to keep trying...
ReplyDeleteHad no idea this place even existed in Dallas; so definitely on my required meal out list for next time I am in town!
ReplyDeleteTracy—Thanks; Dallas is one of my favorite places to go for a weekend trip :]
ReplyDeleteMarly—It was a very filling meal, yet I didn't feel uncomfortably stuffed afterward, which is always nice. I hear you on the tomatoes...they have to be really spectacular for me to enjoy them raw.
tasteofbeirut—You'll have to report back to me after you eat there!
You did not just use “rawesome” in a blog post…no wait…you did. That place looks really good. Wish I'd known about it before my San Antonio trip.
ReplyDeleteWow that's sad I never tried this place while around those parts. The tacos looked amazing. Oh and I do have a vegan friend who hates most fruits and vegetables so your not alone :)
ReplyDeleteOh, you're too kind! I've never thought of entering a beauty pageant, but if you really do think I'm an international food hottie... :D :D
ReplyDeleteBrett—I sure did! No shame ;]
ReplyDeleteEric—Whew, good to know I'm not alone there! I definitely recommend trying this place next time you're in the Dallas area.
Hannah—But of course! We'll just cover you head-to-toe in whatever you deem to be the world's finest chocolate, put you in front of the judges, and the competition will end right then and there. They'll see no point in going on after that. :P
That yellow drink was rawdiculously good! (see what I did there :)
ReplyDeleteActually, everything there was better than expected. The "burger" was pretty decent. But what struck me the most were the condiments. The red stuff and the white goop were really tasty. If it's not known already, I hate white creamy things, except for ice cream and whip cream. Otherwise, hate hate detest and more hate for white creamy things. Cream cheese, mayonnaise, cottage cheese, etc. My point: this was the first white creamy thing I have liked in a long while.
And since I don't like cream cheese, it would naturally follow that I dislike cheese cake... which is the case. Fortunately, I didn't let that bias stop me from having this "cheese cake". It was as advertised. (I almost said "de-lish" but that would be just a bit too metro.)
In summation, I can now get down with some of this raw stuff (though not all).
Yours truly,
Amber's boyfriend