San Francisco Chronicle, 10/31/01: Marin girds its loins for living foods

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Marin girds its loins for 'living foods'

By GraceAnn Walden

San Francisco Chronicle

October 31, 2001

 

Can you imagine a restaurant with no stoves, no ovens, no grill, not

even a microwave? That's the kind of place Roxanne's will be when

it opens in Larkspur in December.

 

The 65-seat restaurant, at 320 Magnolia Ave. (near King Street),

will feature foods that are not " cooked " in traditional ways.

 

Owners Roxanne and Michael Klein call their concept " living

foods. " . That means that food served at Roxanne's will not reach an

internal temperature of more than 115 degrees. According to

executive chef-owner Roxanne Klein, temperatures above that destroy

the food's natural enzymes, and that means that people have to use

their own enzymes for digestion, depleting their own supply. Klien

claims that since she started eating living foods exclusively she

hasn't been sick and has lots of energy.

 

The ideal of " living foods " has been a theme in the health-food

arena for some time. In 1995, a restaurant called Raw Living Foods

opened in the Inner Sunset, featuring sun-baked pizzas. The

restaurant closed after a short run.

 

Klein will use food processors and dehydrators to prepare dishes

like organic nut butter-based terrines, fresh corn polenta with wild

mushrooms, samosas and crepes. No meat, fish, poultry or dairy

items will be used. Appetizers will be $6-$8; entrees $12-$18