Raw Dining in Minneapolis: the Ecopolitan

Tonight I walked into the Ecopolitan restaurant to be greeted by what can only be described as the aroma of REAL food. It's the smell that's only and always found in health food stores, and there never was a better case for aromatherapy than this. The Ecopolitan is a raw-food restaurant located a few miles south of downtown Minneapolis, a restaurant created from a renovated and classically-styled duplex. It's a little small for a restaurant and there are a couple of seats in the place that are tucked into what were once hallways. I can imagine there must be nights when the wait for seating would be fairly long as there's really only enough to fit, perhaps, 36 people at most.

Despite the limited seating, not a single thing about the restaurant failed to please. The focus of the restaurant is on good, healthy food and minimized impact - that is, a reduction of waste. The food is 100% vegan and organic, and although personally I don't advocate pure vegan diets for everyone, the food here can be TRUSTED. It's a feeling you don't get at a typical establishment, and it's a great change of pace.

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Raw Milk in Minneapolis

Image via Wikipedia

Update, June 2010: Kalisch Farms is not an option for buying raw milk products.

Just a quick review of the Kalisch family farm, a Minneapolis-based CSA where you can get raw, organic milk products, eggs, vegetables (in season), meat, and more. My brother found this farm somewhere, but I have found their link on the Raw Milk Locator page on RealMilk.com as well.

My first reaction, which was as of this writing a few months ago, to finding the website was to scour their site for offered products, read about their farm and user reviews, and to check out the pictures of happy cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, goats, and other animals in their "Pictures from the Farm" album.

If sometime I get the chance, I'd love to take this fact-finding a bit further and actually go visit the farm, to see it in person, as I believe that to be an important part of the Psychic Lunch idea: knowing what you eat. Until then, the photos and other users opinions were enough for me to try them out, and I'm glad I did.

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