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| - As someone who will eat almost anything (which in principle includes anything vegan and organic, as well as meats galore), I was intrigued when I was invited by a friend to lunch at Belmonte Raw. I have never been exposed to the world of vegetarian raw food, so here goes.
The Leslieville location is a storefront for their shipping empire of cleansing juices, though they also serve a very limited menu of veggie/vegan grubs here. Within the narrow yet comfortably contemporary and woody space is enough seating to accommodate a handful of people. It's really more of a takeout joint format, though the jubilant staff will bring food to your table.
I tried one of their juices, which sadly I do not remember what, but it was fresh and dense like a smoothie. What I do remember more is the $14 collard wrap. A green collard serving as the wrap wrapper, filled with finely chopped purple cabbage, carrots, and a bunch of other stuff, tied with a line of twine to complete the great presentation. Felt like I was eating a salad within a salad--it was basically a salad in the form of a wrap. Surprisingly it held together well, tasted lovely good and fresh, packed full of many great veggie flavours.
It was very enjoyable as I ate and watched the regular hoards of yoga chicks and yuppie vegan-types walk in. I felt full and happy enough for a couple blocks' walk, maybe even felt cleansed, until I desperately walked into nearby Jim's Restaurant for a burger to finally shut my stomach up.
The folks at Belmonte Raw clearly put a lot of passion in the stuff they make, as expressed in my wrap. But it is kind of steep on the wallet. And as Randy from Trailer Park Boys puts it, A Man's Gotta Eat.
{TTC: take any Queen streetcar to Carlaw or Pape}
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