Roxanne Klein is back, and she’s got a package of cold, raw food for you.
Food enthusiasts may remember Klein from her trendy Marin County eatery, Roxanne’s, famed far and wide for its raw-food menu: pad thai made from strips of young coconut instead of noodles, “cheese” made from pine nuts and nutritional yeast. Nothing heated over 118 degrees Fahrenheit, which is supposed to preserve enzymes in the food. Or something. I always zone out when people start presenting their wackadoo ideas about nutrition.
After an extremely splashy opening in 2001—Roxanne’s husband, Michael Klein, was a technology zillionaire who hung around with a hemp-draped Woody Harrelson and members of the Grateful Dead—the eatery closed in 2004, with San Francisco Chronicle columnist GraceAnn Walden at first reporting that the closure was due to declining restaurant sales, and later repeating Roxanne Klein’s claim that the restaurant was a casualty in an ugly divorce battle with Michael (how could two people so clearly compatible in the yoga studio grow so far apart in real life? But I digress).
Now, a few years later, Roxanne says she’s reunited with Michael and back pimping raw food. As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, in mid-January Bay Area supermarkets will begin hawking a line of raw snacks, desserts, and main courses.
Staples from the old Roxanne’s to Go have been reformulated for commercial production. … Look for sprouted bread sandwiches with ‘hummus’ and vegetables, trail mixes, dried fruit blends and Rox Kreme ice cream (vanilla malt and chocolate) made from almond milk and young coconut.
She’s come up with some new products, including a sliceable mozzarella made from nut milk.
Color me uninterested. You know what tastes just like ice cream, and is really great? Ice cream. I’ve had some of those dehydrated-grains “crackers” that raw-foodists like to claim taste delicious, and personally, I’ll stick to rosemary Triscuits. But hey, maybe other people will want to eat something that comes with quotes around it. Some “cheese” with your “hummus”? Lucky thing Roxanne doesn’t need my money.
I don’t get it — why “hummus?” What’s cooked in hummus?
I think– “hummus” because she must use something other than chickpeas? Or can you soak chickpeas for 10000 years and get them to “cook” on their own? who knows. As for Joyce, it’s kind of harsh to write about something with the only purpose of tearing it down. I am not too convinced of the merits of “ice cream” either, but were I reviewing Roxanne’s To Go, I might try actually tasting something in the line first.
Why not just make Raw Ice Cream?
The last paragraph is rather harsh considering the writer hasn’t tried any of the stuff that’s being rolled out (and this is from someone who loves her icecream) I have eaten some pretty amazing raw food – when done right, it’s pretty neat. Seems like Triscuits are a safe bet instead of something new.
Joyce here. I have tried a heaping helping of raw food, yes, even food from Roxanne’s. Not a fan. Cheese tastes better than “cheese,” crackers made from cooked grains taste better than fake dehydrated cracker-like things. That’s my opinion. You can have yours as well, fine by me. Since the science behind raw food has been pretty definitely debunked, it all seems quite silly and eminently mockable to me. Again, you can form your own opinion. PS Have you tried the rosemary triscuits? They’re awesome.
Oh, I love rosemary triscuits. I’m just saying I like good raw food as well (and “normal” food like cheese, icecream, etc.). The way the article was written it did not seem like you tried any of the new Roxanne products. Just playing devil’s advocate.
Oh, I love rosemary triscuits. I’m just saying I like good raw food as well (and “normal” food like cheese, icecream, etc.). The way the article was written it did not seem like you tried any of the new Roxanne products. Just playing devil’s advocate. Thanks for clarifying.
I started working at Roxanne’s To Go when it opened. Never having tasted any raw food prior to this experience I was a skeptic. I have to tell you this is amazing stuff! You need to really be good in the kitchen to make raw food taste good. It is all about the proper seasoning and thinking outside the box. There was very little I wouldn’t eat. And let me tell you the ice cream was so delicious! My favorite was the broccoli salad. If she brings this to Whole Foods I suggest you give it a try!