514 Santa Monica Blvd, t. 310/451-7544, f. 310/451-7154
414 N. La Cienega, near the Beverly Center
Real Food Daily Web Site w/ Menu and More!
The above web site has directions, menus, even recipes -- check it out!
Yes, it's over the hill. BUT, even in this crazed land, free parking can be had, especially on weekends or at night, and then you can walk to the Third Street Promenade afterwards... We park around Santa Monica and 7th, about a block or two from the restaurant, although we'll park as far away as Arizona or even Wilshire to avoid paying exhorbitant parking rates (besides, after your meal you could probably use a walk anyway -- especially if you go in for dessert, which of course you should).
Real Food Daily is casual, unairconditioned (not a problem because of its location), and very nicely decorated with light wood, high ceilings (accommodating a small upstairs eating area -- there is not a ton of seating), and generally attracts Itinerate West-siders (tousled but ridiculously attractive thin Gap commercial material) and young hip hitchhiker types who look like they just dropped into town. They let us in anyway. There can be a wait -- especially if your group is over 2 people strong. We haven't waited long as a pair -- maybe 10 minutes (they don't take reservations except for large parties of people). If you have a wait, be sure to check out the adjoining store -- lots of funny new age books, plus nice candles, incense, music and some extremely alien colon-cleansing kits that still scare me a bit (but they claim lots of people buy them).
Real Food Daily is pretty hard-core veggie, accommodating dieters, vegans, and macrobiotics. The food is dairy-, sugar-, preservative- and pesticide-free; everything is made fresh daily and all the food is low in fat and salt and generally everything bad for you. That being said, a lot of it is still GOOD. A warning though, the menu of this restaurant is not huge, and I would not recommend taking just anyone there without perusing the menu closely first. Your steak-eatin' cousin Bob will run screaming from this sort of place.
If you try nothing else at this restaurant, try the miso soup and bread. It's definitely the best miso soup ever, filled with vegetables and a goodly amount of salt. The bread (get the three-grain corn!) is so dense and moist, and comes with a variety of spreads -- the carrot butter and tahini miso are wonderful...(this and a juice would make a meal, but wait! --)
We decided that because of the above, the best idea for first timers is the half-size Real Food Bargain ($9.75). By the time you get the Miso ($3.75), the bread ($1.45), and the spread ($.50), you're almost at $6. The Real Food bargain includes the soup, the bread, the spread, and a HUGE plate of grains, beans, sea veggies, salad, veggies and dressing -- you can and probably will take some home. Choose the rice over the millet, the beans are always perfectly cooked and wonderful (and a good source of fiber and protein). The sea vegetables are just okay for my taste -- they resemble sea water a bit too closely, but there isn't enough there to worry and who knows, you might even like it. The greens are usually kale, or a likewise leafy green vitamin-loaded veggie you turned your nose up on as a kid -- Real Food Daily is a good place to reacquaint yourself with greens, because they are consistently well cooked and tasty, as are the vegetables. We recommend the Peanut and the House dressings.
At the end of the meal you almost feel self-righteous because this is about the healthiest combination of food on the planet, and it does taste that way -- the food is tasty, but you don't feel like you're getting away with anything. Which is okay, because they have dessert. I'm getting there.
I also recommend perusing the specials -- I had a veggie pot pie with rice pilaf and summer squash that was wonderful -- the crust on the pie was thick, wheaty and delicious and although healthy (i.e. not greasy) tasting, it satisfied my (constant) urge for comfort food.
The juices here are all worth trying (I always get apple; Steven always gets carrot), and if you're on a diet drinking one of these always helps fill you up nicely.
Dessert -- you thought I forgot huh? Never. I'd get the carrot cake -- it's cinnamony with a nice frosting thing going on -- but is made with no sugar and astonishingly, for carrot cake especially -- is low in fat! But tasty and moist. How DO they do it? We also tried the tofu cheesecake, which is a bit flan-like, a little lemony, and a little weird... but the fresh fruit atop was good and we liked it. The coconut creme cake (made with tofu, of course) with chocolate sauce was wonderful (and is their bestselling dessert). We still have to try them but the cookies looked promising as well (any place that makes good bread, as a rule will have good cake and good cookies too). Steven liked the Tofu Whip, but I thought it was a bit too much, and at $.75 it was not worth it. He disagrees. One thumb up and one thumb down, a minor disagreement, resolved by his eating it all.
This is the kind of place where an ardent vegetarian or serious dieter can be happy.. the food is excellently prepared (and if you walk to the back of the restaurant, you can see the wide-open, nothing-to-hide kitchen), but like I said at the top, I wouldn't recommend taking just anyone here because it might be too much for a non-vegetarian/serious meat and junk food eater. UPDATE: (2/2002) RFD has been working on their menu and has come up with a few really great new things -- their veggie burger is new and improved and wonderful. The lentil and walnut pate was a hit even with staunch carnivores we've since forced into a meal there. And finally, the TV dinner (tempeh meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy and veggies) has been added to the menu instead of being a special all the time. Another dish we've had omnivores try with great success...