Thrive: Seattle Raw Food Restaurant Review

Personally, I don't like an array of overwhelming food choices on a menu, so needless to say, it was refreshing to find only three main dishes on Thrive's entree section. My last stint at trying to become a raw foodist left me so utterly disgusted at the thought of yet another self- prepared mushy, cold meal, that I was actually thrilled to come to this restaurant. It marked my first actual raw restaurant meal experience. I'm from Texas, and sad to say, there isn't even one raw restaurant in the entire state (to my knowledge)!

My friends and I ended up ordering all three of the entrees plus the nacho plate and splitting everything so we could all try the selections. I found out about this idea and have been a huge fan ever since, especially since I tend to have buyer's remorse every time someone else orders an appetizing looking dish during the waiter's 'big reveal.' Why don't they have pictures for every dish? I digress.

Of course the 'big reveal' at Thrive restaurant was full of color and looked undeniably fresh. I mean, it is raw, isn't it?I felt like a little bunny ready to get my chow on some fresh shredded carrots and purple cabbage that was part of the Teriyaki noodle plate, which by the way, was the absolute best dish of the bunch, hands down! We all agreed it was too good to be raw. (Sorry raw foodists!) We even asked the waitress what it was and where we could buy the noodles. Kelp noodles from Whole Foods, but of course.

Sad to say, they ran out of the nacho sauce, but they replaced it with hummus, which was delish. The flax crackers where pretty good as well, and it reminded me of just how fibrous raw food is. Probably the nuttiest, grainiest cracker you'll ever try. Must be good for digestion, I'm sure.

The Chili Con Marvelous was Au contraire. It reminded me of why I went off being raw. Too many spices, yup, and also, it's a texture thing. I guess when it comes to being raw, if I eat something and wish it was the real thing, that comparison just ruins it for me. That's what happened with the Chili Con Marvelous. Our die-hard carnivore had a hard time the entire meal. He was like, "Can we pass by someplace after this and get a real meal?" Ouch. I guess that's only to be expected from a die-hard carnivore.

The two omnivores, myself including, could pass on another meal. She loved the nutty almond ricotta on the Oh Pastadoro. The raw foodist can't stand anything made with zucchini so she passed on the Oh Pastadoro. By the end of the meal, we were all reaching for every bit of flax cracker left, probably since our palate enjoyed the crunch over the mush. It's all about texture, I tell you! We saved everything in to-go bags, felt full in that way that only raw foodists can associate with: full, satisfied but light and refreshed. Hmmm, maybe we felt like we were thriving??