By Abigail Lewis
When you enter the front door at the new Café Gratitude on Larchmont, the symbolic mural extending the length of one wall seems to invite you into an orchard to share the experience of the burgeoning life therein. The painting practically begs for a photo, and fortunately I’d brought my trusty digital. It was early enough in the evening that there were just a few diners’ heads in the frame, and I had a pretty clear shot.
But wait! One of those heads is striding toward me with a gathering storm on his face, in spite of which even I, who have the worst celebrity-radar, recognize his piercing blue eyes.
“Ma’am,” announces Jake Gyllenhaal, “We’re just trying to enjoy our dinner here.”
The star is notoriously health-conscious, so it should be no surprise to find him at this new bastion of vegan delights, just not in my camera frame. And as the evening progresses and every table fills on a Monday night, it’s clear that Café Gratitude, open just three weeks, is already basking in L.A. appreciation.
An offshoot of seven Bay-area restaurants with the same name and lineage, the new Larchmont village location is a first in several ways: first in SoCal, first in an architecturally designed space, and first with an updated menu. Keeping it in the family, it’s managed by 28-year-old Cary Mosier, youngest of the five organic food-purveying offspring of the founders—Matthew and Terces Engelhart, with the support of stepbrother Ryland Engelhart.
Mosier took time out of his typical 16-hour day to explain Café Gratitude’s core philosophy of building community and interacting with food in way that supports both people and the land. Beyond that, he envisions it as a kind of “school of transformation” for the staff, 10 of whom not only work, but live together. Lanky and almost bookish but for the “Be love” tattoo on his arm, Mosier deftly hosts, directs, serves food, wipes tables and probably even washes windows (of which there are many). 
The most striking thing about the restaurant, other than the delicious fare, is the naming of the dishes, which are all positive affirmations. For example, we started with “I Am Adventurous,” the daily soup that this day was a mouth-warming live Thai coconut curry, delicately brightened with jalapeno and abundant with avocado chunks and cucumber slivers.
Freeman Land, our endearing and efficient server, repeated the affirmation as he placed each item in front of us, saying in this case, “You are adventurous.” So every dish brings a heartfelt reaffirmation. Since we truly are what we eat, it adds another enlivening dimension to the nurturance.
Perhaps my favorite entrée—“I Am Elated”—was a live spinach tortilla filled with sprouted seeds, topped with spicy mole and cashew sour cream. How could it be this delicious without corn or cooking? 
I perhaps should have been a little less “Trusting” of a squash and onion tamale, but “I Am Extraordinary” lived up to its name: a BLT panini crafted with maple coconut “bacon,” it was pure heaven.
There was a lot of heat in our menu choices, so we settled our tastebuds with the “I Am Grateful” bowl: grains with black beans, shredded kale and garlic-tahini sauce. The cost of this hearty bowl? By donation. It was created to give those without means access to organic vegan food. Donations to date have ranged from one cent to $100.
Green salad was a variety of super-fresh leafies with a tangy oil and vinegar dressing; and a dash of chipotle gave creamy cole slaw, that vegan restaurant staple, a new zing.
For dessert we shared a rich, dense tiramisu and buoyant key lime pie, and found it impossible to say which we preferred, though I was surprised there was no fresh fruit confection offered.
The restaurant serves a multitude of juices, smoothies and milkshakes, along with a few carefully chosen beers and wines, but we were “Refreshed” with a lemon juice, agave and sparkling water mix. And “I Am Precious” rooibos tea served in a French press that smoothed its earthy tones was a perfect finish.
Everything served at Café Gratitude is 100 percent organic and vegan, so it’s safe for almost any food sensitivity. It was such a relief for my niece, Emily, that she sighed, “I’m so happy, but here’s the problem: I am now not going to want to eat food from any place else but here.”
However dark and chaotic the headlines may be, Mosier reports a mostly positive response to Café Gratitude’s affirmations. Customers here are appreciative or at least playful; more accepting, he says, than diners in the Bay area. Does this mean we’re less cynical? More ready to embrace a positive vision? Of course we are! We’re L.A.! And for that, we’re grateful.
Café Gratitude, 639 Larchmont Blvd., LA 90004. 323.580.6383. Open every day, 11am–10pm serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. cafegratitude.com
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