Raw food restaurant makes going green a pleasure

Tag：Pine Nut Kernels
There are no smells of cooking. There is no sizzle from the kitchen. Grezzo, in the North End, is a raw food restaurant (and vegan, and mostly organic) - no ingredient here ever gets warmer than 112 degrees, the temperature at which enzymes are said to be destroyed. The raw food diet is heavy on fruits, vegetables, nuts, sprouts, and seaweed - "living" foods - and adherents claim it brings substantial benefits for health and well-being. Where the diet may once have seemed solely for hippies and Californians, it has gained traction in the mainstream. A Whole Foods display recently showcased five books on the subject; the "Today" show, "The Tyra Banks Show," and "Celebrity Fit Club" have all featured raw food guru Alissa Cohen, the author of "Living on Live Food" and the woman who opened Grezzo in February. (She also has a Bravo cooking show, "Alissa Live," in the works.) The cozy-verging-on-cramped restaurant, with pumpkin-orange walls that feature giant paintings of vegetables, is located in the former Sage space. The restaurant's name is Italian - it means "raw" - and it does serve pasta of a sort: papaya pappardelle; gnocchi made from nuts and dressed with "creamy rawmesan," a faux cheese sauce made from more nuts. Still, when Grezzo opened, it seemed a stretch for the North End, an area that draws those in search of piping hot noodle dishes topped with grated realmesan. Parking here is notoriously scant, and raw food is destination dining. (There are also raw food restaurants in Beverly and Lowell, so maybe that's where the cars go.) Nonetheless, on each visit, Grezzo is busy. Perhaps the sushi craze has opened people's minds. Maguro: the gateway raw food. Indeed, many of the diners appear to be converts. There are the two young women deep in conversation about the raw lifestyle, health, weight, and life's challenges. "Don't hate that it's bad, think about it and send love to it," one says supportively to the other. "I love that!" her friend exclaims happily. There's the woman talking to a waitress at a corner table. "I'm not even supposed to be here," she says. "I should have died, but then I started eating raw." The waitress says, "I told Alissa in the kitchen, and she started crying." (Each time I ate at Grezzo, someone was talking passionately about the diet, and someone was talking about crying - the emotions here can be as raw as the food.) The servers, too, are drinking the Kool-Aid - or, more accurately, the delicious and refreshing non-alcoholic mojito: fresh lime juice, mint, and agave over kombucha and ice (there's uninteresting organic wine offered, one red and one white, but a full list is coming soon). The staff members are excellent advertisements for their product - they exude serenity, have glowing skin, and smile unflaggingly. "She's just so happy," a cynical diner marvels each time our waitress comes by.