Thought Crudessence was the only sit-down raw restaurant in the city? Not anymore. The new kid on the block is small luncheonnette (well, 9am-5pm Monday to Friday) Le Bouddha d’Cuisine in Place Ville-Marie. That’s part of the winding strip of underground malls near the metros Mcgill and Peel. I went on a bit of an adventure to find it, almost giving up before stumbling miraculously onto it at the entrance of Place Ville-Marie coming from who knows which other ‘place’ in that underground maze.

It’s basically the only really healthy and place down there. Sure you can get a juice from a selection of chain juice bars, but it won’t be organic and it probably won’t be blended with love. Know what WAS blended with love? My ‘Le Grand Vert’ juice (parsley, spinach, cucumber, apple, celery and swiss chard – $5.25) and the filling of my raw quiche (sprouted buckwheatand walnut crust with spinach, cashew, nutritional yeast, and basil essential oil filling – $8.50).

The quiche comes with a side salad of greens with spiralized carrots and beets and a creamy, sweet (too sweet) watered down almond butter vinaigrette and is pre-made and ready-to-eat at one of the handful of tables off the busy mall pathway, or “pour emporter” (to go, for anglos). The essential oil makes it VERY bitter and honestly I’ll never get this again myself, but there’s something kind of addictive about the bitterness and there’s a bit of a sweet aftertaste from the cashews I think. Plus, the quiche filling itself is creamy and rich, so combined with the chewy texture of the crust you’ll probably get into it by the end.

But there’s pizza, too, so if the sight of a very green piece of quiche turns you off, go with that instead. $8.75 gets you a walnut, hemp seed and flaxseed crust spread with cashew hummus and topped with raw fennel (bland, sadly), zucchini (watery…), and tomato (fine). They’d be better roasted. Yes, I just wrote that. No, I take it back; they’d be better DEHYDRATED! I love raw food but these raw veggies on pizza just didn’t do it for me. The olives almost made up for it, but it seems more like a Mideastern flat bread than a pizza. The pizzas at Crudessence, however, are spectacular. There’s no fake cheese on the Bouddha d’Cuisine versions, but the best part is the hummus. Unlike the quiche, it’s very sweet. Maybe too sweet. Maybe I’m just a curmudgeon and never satisfied…

The desserts looked incredible, but the most jaw-dropping homemade chocolate cake ($4.95 – called “Souvenir d’enfance” or “childhood memory”) wasn’t gluten-free or raw. A multi-tiered wonder, it was made with spelt flour, I think, and moka vegan cream and with 70% chocolate icing. My mom never made a cake like that…Not that I’m complaining. Spelt would have made my 5 year old tongue sad, but only if I’d known what I was eating I suppose.

There were, however, two almost raw pies the day I went – keylime and lemon ($4.95 each). Made with an almond, pistachio and maple syrup crust (okay, not raw) and a whole lot of avocado and agave, they’re cheaper than the Crudessence versions, and slightly more generous portions. These things generally cost a fortunate to make, after all.

They also do spelt waffles some days, tofu chocolate mousse (VERY MUCH not raw), and a delicious sounding lassi (blended Indian-style drink traditionally made with yogurt) I’d drink for dessert of pineapple, Brazil nut milk and star anise ($5.25 for a small).

The rest of the juice menu is a little different than your a-ver-age banana-strawberry-mango options. The ‘Limelight’ calls for cucumber, celery, mint and lime, while the Avocalada features (yup) avocado, pineapple, coconut water and lime (both $5.25 for 9 oz.).There are also the standard additions – maca (it’s not caffeine but it still keeps me up at night, but so does tea for goodness sake, and raw cacao, so you’ll probably be fine), hemp protein powder, mesquite (for…um, caffeine-free energy, I guess is the best way to describe it), gingko biloba (for…um, libido-style energy or whatever kind of happy energy you need without the caffein crash)

So I mentioned that the quiche and pizza were in ready-to-go packaging, right? That usually means plastic but here it’s at least biodegradable. I guess it’s not worth it for them to use actual plates since they have so few seats and most people want their food to go anyway. The mall is for people who want a quick lunch, not a business-style outing. Can you imagine some executives coming to this less than ten seat hole-in-the-wall of a mall take-out shop for a corporate lunch? I think accounting would laugh at the name “Le Bouddha d’Cuisine” on the bill when someone tried to submit it as a business expense: “(1) What’s Up, Doc? Juice – $5.25; (1) swiss chard spring roll – $8.25; (1) Tofu ‘mimosa’ deviled egg – $6.95.

The cooked dishes are 1 soup, 1 rice salad (with BBQ tempeh), and the items above with spelt and maple syrup. The rest of the raw dishes include corn tacos ($8.50) with flax and red pepper, plus sunflower, sundried tomato and coriander paste, and a tomato, mango, and coconut sour cream salsa; lasagna ($9.25), that spring roll I mentioned with swiss chard, cabbage, carrot, mango, coriander, basil, mint, and tamarind dipping sauce. In summer there’s a raw soup (often gazpacho) and there are sometimes raw baklava for dessert.

Hurray for more raw in the city! Even though I didn’t love everything, I was glad I could get a filling, healthy meal in the downtown area, and in a mall! Not that I frequent malls, but lots of people do, and I’d go out of my way to come back here for sure. The two owners were SO friendly and there’s already a loyal clientele. If I could eat corn I’d try the tacos next. Be warned that there’s nutritional yeast in a lot of things – all the cheese replacements – so if you have a problem with it ask in advance.

Eat here! Fill your stomach with beautiful food.

Le Bouddha d’Cuisine

514.419-1808

www.lebouddhadcuisine.com

When: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm

Where: Place Ville-Marie (in the underground – enter from McGill or Peel metros, or Ste-Catherine Street. Good luck!)

How Much: $11 (without a juice, with tax and tip) – $17 (with a juice or dessert including tax and tip)