M Cafe de Chaya - Los Angeles - TravBuddy

If you've ever been curious about trying macrobiotic food, this is the place to go! Macrobiotics is a complicated Japanese philosophy in which foods are characterized as yin or yang, all land animals, refined sugars, eggs, and dairy are eliminated from the diet, and the effects are supposedly very healing for the body and spirit. Even if you're not a strict macro, the food is still tasty and exciting!
We had the Gado Gado salad ($10.50), which consists of organic greens, crunchy cabbage, tempeh (fermented compressed soybeans), lemongrass, lime, and a yummy peanut dressing. I've never been a fan of tempeh, but this Indonesian-inspired salad was delicious nonetheless.
The soba salad was fine, but nothing special. It had soba noodles, vegetables, and Japanese soba sauce... something I could make from leftovers at home! It was one of the deli case items, which you can order in S, M, or L sizes. The portions are generous so the S size was plenty.
We also had a few pieces of sushi: inari "football" sushi topped with shiitake mushroom (a bit heavy and sweet), a Garden roll consisting of avocado, cucumber, chives, carrot, umeboshi, and shiso leaf (so refreshing!!), and a spicy tuna roll (fresh tasting sashimi).

Have fun ordering the more unique dishes! Ordinary dishes such as miso soup or tempura are available, but you can get them at any Japanese restaurant. Next time, I want to try their homemade veggie burger called "The Big Macro." We were too full to try their desserts, but they look absolutely delicious. You can feel good about eating them too, since they contain no dairy, eggs, or refined sugars!

The only thing that would prevent me from going back is the "trendy LA" vibe I get from the customers. Ugh. Get over yourselves! And parking is difficult, and the Pinkberry next door makes things more insane.

Ironically, this health haven is located right behind Pink's hot dogs. I guess you could let the angel or devil on your shoulders decide where to eat.