description/

Uninitiated diners may raise an eyebrow at a vegan raw-food restaurant--one where the ingredients are never heated above 104 degrees. But the ambitious, raw Japanese-Peruvian menu at this funky café could sway even the most ardent omnivores. Though not exactly ringers for the real thing, eclectic appetizers like the "Rockin' Roll"--a sushi revision with pulverized cauliflower standing in for rice, and a zingy filling made of jicama, avocado and mushrooms--were delicious in their own right. The same is true of entrées like the South American Tallarines a la Huancaina, a vegetal illusion of toothsome "pasta" (long thin strips of zucchini) tossed with mushrooms, spicy peppers, choclo {/I}(a large-kernel Peruvian corn) and a nut-based "cheese" sauce. Dessert also offered unusual thrills. Lucuma pudding was a rich blend of lucuma fruit (a Peruvian cultivar with a delicate caramel flavor), Irish moss, coconut and cacao.

Find more restaurants & bars at Time Out New York