Gustavo wrote about a planned raw-foods restaurants located directly across from Weekly favorite Memphis at the Santora in January. This weekend the place opened.
It is, indeed a raw-food restaurant, the kind that does not heat its food above 118 degrees Fahrenheit. You should know this because this temperature is also where OC's other raw-foods restaurant, 118 Degrees, takes its name.
See also:
- Downtown Santa Ana Dining Rumors: Raw Restaurant? Diner? High-End Mexi? And Another High-End Mexi?
- Hipster Trifecta Of Eats Now Open In Downtown Anaheim
- No. 32: Mac 'n' Cheese at Chapter One: The Modern Local
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Au Naturaw's website does not yet have menu to peruse (you can go to its Facebook site to see a slew of pictures of what the food is like), but it does mention its full name (“Au Naturaw Herban Garden Eatery”) along with its mission statement. Also on the website are Virginia Woolf and Shakespeare quotes, a photo of a happy goat in a garden and a snapshot of Marchell Williams, the owner and chef.
It should also be mentioned that Williams appears to have made a comment a few months ago on Gustavo's post in response to a remark about raw-foods being a fad. She wrote:
Forgive my preaching but, Gustavo if you're eatin carnitas on a regular basis you do need to get your cholesterol check -up! Au Naturaw is proud to be bringing the 50,000 year old “food fad” to “Santana.” However, “fad” is quite politically incorrect now that it is associated with environmental, social, and medicinal justice. There is a REVOLUTION/ EVOLUTION currently in progress and healthy foods are in demand. We embrace your scepticism and hope to fill your mouths with a pleasant surprise!
Au Naturaw Herban Garden Eatery, 206-A North Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92701, 714-227-3944
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Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.