I love food. Wait. Strike that. I LOVE food. And no trip home to the fam is complete without shopping for it, cooking it, ordering it, and eating food. Lots of food. On my recent trip to Seattle my mother introduced me to Chaco Canyon Organic Café. Located on the corner of 12th Avenue and 50th Street in Seattle’s university district this café represents the best of the Seattle lifestyle in food form. As the name states, the ingredients are organic (the restaurant itself is USDA certified organic), and the menu is vegan (the exceptions being dairy milk as an option for smoothies and coffee drinks). They even offer raw vegan dishes, such as the blueberry cheesecake I sampled (okay, I ate half of a slice, but to me that’s a sample).
Sustainability and responsibility are also hallmarks of Chaco Canyon. They use stainless steel beverage cups instead of breakable glass or plastic. Their dishes and furniture are second hand. The walls are filled with denim, repurposed as insulation. As I sat there eating my pesto melt sandwich (cilantro and pumpkin seed pesto, alfalfa sprouts, tomato, vegan mozzarella, and marinated red onion on ciabatta) I wondered if my corner of South Carolina offers any restaurants with a similar menu or philosophy. I simply have to find out. Downtown perhaps? If I find anything I will certainly try it out.
As I mentioned, I ordered the pesto melt sandwich. I also sampled the hummus and cucumber sandwich, the Tai peanut grain bowl, and (ahem) a few desserts. They also offer freshly made juices. I tried the Belly Rub, made with apple juice, lemon, mint, ginger and fennel. Everything I ate was wonderful. Those of you living in the Seattle area owe it to yourselves to try Chaco Canyon. The food is great, the desserts are scrumptious (and that is not a word I use in everyday conversation), the atmosphere is relaxed, and you can be happy knowing that your money is supporting a local business that cares about more than the bottom line.
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