Whole Life Times: M Café de Chaya

October 2005 | Taste Buds

M Café de Chaya

Macrobiotics for Gourmands

by Eliza Thomas

The child of dedicated health-o-holics, I spent my youth choking down the kind of dreck that made early “health food” infamous. Along with countless sprout, root and yeast mashes, I swallowed a healthy dose of diehard eating ethos that haunts me to this day—namely, the belief that “healthy” is always nobly at odds with “tasty.”

But now I’m all grown up and living in LA, a city that huffily insists on having its vegan chocolate cake and eating it too (even if it means spending extra time at the gym). The incomparable fare at the four-month-old M Café de Chaya, newest sibling of Chaya Venice and Chaya Brasserie, is a product of LA’s admirable unwillingness to compromise. Yes, everything at this macrobiotic café is supremely healthy. But with a head chef who sharpened his knives under the tutelage of macrobiotic guru Michio Kushi before going on to tie his apron strings in Gwyneth Paltrow’s kitchen as her personal chef, M Café de Chaya just doesn’t do sacrifice. In other words, healthy food has never looked or tasted this good.

So it’s no surprise that, despite the manager’s claim that “lunches are busiest,” the Friday night I arrived to dine with a friend, the café was bustling. Happily, the line to order at the register moves briskly, and—in addition to the sleek décor and beautiful-people watching—there are plenty of luscious treats lining the walls and stacked behind the glass deli case to busy your attention.

For an elegant grab and go, bento boxes beckon, heavy with a hunk of marinated salmon and inari sushi, or meat-free with tofu steak and veggie rolls ($12 and up). An enticing selection of pre-made salads, sandwiches or wraps like the “Madras Tempeh,” whole wheat lavash bursting with masala-baked tempeh, brown basmati rice, toasted almonds, raisins, frizzled onions and crisp veggies with curried soy yogurt dressing ($8.95, served with choice of deli salad) would also inject a little gourmet into the average lunch break.

For those with more time to linger, the kitchen takes no prisoners. Soups, like lotus root and sweet corn chowder with applewood-smoked dulse and chives, are exceptional, and vary with the season ($3.25 cup, $4.75 bowl). Salads are artfully meal-worthy; try the “The M Chopped,” a fresh hodgepodge of mixed greens, hearts of romaine, avocado, cucumber, chickpeas, herb-baked tofu, scallions, umeboshi pickled radishes, carrots, beets, tamari-roasted almonds, crumbled tempeh “bacon” and tofu-peppercorn ranch dressing ($8.95).

When considering the rice bowls ($8.75-12.95), keep in mind that in addition to eschewing dairy, eggs, meat, refined sugars and processed foods, macrobiotic cooks take their brown rice very seriously. The M Café de Chaya’s is a premium organic heirloom varietal grown under strict macro conditions at Santa Cruz’ Koda Farms. Buy some to take home, or try it in a dish like the “Bi-Bim Bop,” with marinated pan-fried tofu, Korean-style vegetables, spicy miso sauce and house-made kim chee ($8.75).

Other standouts include the grilled tuna burger ($11.95), “California Club” ($8.95), or panini ($9.25-9.50), all served on fragrant variations of hearty house-baked bread. Organic fries are liberally seasoned and heavenly with house-made “macro-ketchup” (a blend of beets, carrots and onions, remarkably tomato-free).

And finally, desserts. Cookies, cakes, pies, truffles, breakfast goodies and more, lovingly compiled by the café’s chef de patisserie—you vegans are going to flip. Each one more transcendent then the last, and all made with no eggs, dairy or refined cane sugar. It’s a suitable end to an otherwise astonishing meal.

M Café de Chaya, 7119 Melrose Ave., just west of La Brea. Open breakfast, lunch and dinner, 9am to 9pm, daily. Wine and beer served. Call 323.525.0588 or visit mcafedechaya.com.

Recommend this page to a friend

Top Ten pages recommended to friends: