Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The business luncheon crashers


I have to confess on behave of my two accomplices. Dea (dealivinglotus), Rawbin and yours truly crashed a raw business deal yesterday and enjoyed every last delicious moment of it. Being bad never tasted so good :-)

We didn't actually plan on imposing; the opportunity just sort of fell into our laps (or in this case, onto our table, into our hot little hands, through our lips, over our gums ... look out tummy, here it comes).

Okay, now I really need to explain. Let's back up a bit. Rawbin and I met up with Dea (who is visiting from Italy) at Java Green yesterday for lunch. We were excited to check out some of D.J.'s raw additions to his menu.

Dea did a little sampling with the raw salad trio and raw bread sticks. If I remember correctly, she selected the kale salad (which was really quite attractive for a kale salad), a cucumber radish combination and a cold kimchi soup. She washed it all down with a spicy green juice and fresh coconut water (the coconut was cracked open right before serving; you can't get much fresher than that).

Rawbin also quenched her thirst with a spicy green juice and young thai coconut, which contained a hefty serving of coconut meat (she shared some of it with me. Yum!). As for her order, she had kimchi, marinated mushrooms, some kind of seaweed salad and sliced avocado.

I had hoped to get either a raw sundae or milkshake (I had the green tea one in mind). Oh, who am I kidding? I would've ordered the sundae as a meal and the shake as my beverage.

Unfortunately, there was no raw ice cream that day (bummer), so I opted for a spinach and flax salad, and a raw virgin pina colada instead. Some higher power must have known what was about to happen next (I needed to save some room).

Nic from NaturalZing joined our lunch date with her spicy green juice (feeling a little left out, I thought to myself, "hey, why didn't I order that?"). I was impressed with how content she was with her juice, not yet craving a solid meal this early in the day (it was around 12:30 or quite possibly 1 p.m. by that time). I, on the other hand, was ready to dig in.

After the lunch rush, D.J. also pulled up a chair to visit, as well as discuss some things with Nic. Here's where the business luncheon came to us. I guess we weren't being so naughty after all (but it's much more fun when you pretend you're in the wrong).

As part of Java Green's new raw side of things, D.J. was meeting with Nic to purchase some convenient raw snacks to sell at the cafe and ingredients for making the raw dishes on the menu. He already had some items from the Raw Makery (he was nice enough to let us try a couple cookies on the house), but was looking to expand his offerings.

The best part about this meeting was the taste-testing. Nic brought a nice selection of products for D.J. to sample as part of the decision making process. And, since he wasn't about to polish off all that merchandise himself, he shared the love, passing the now open packages around the table to anyone willing to take a bite (or two, or three).

We were like an instant focus group, all lending our opinions and wanting to be heard. Some favorite items included the Gone Nuts maple walnuts and the Wild Bars, of which I was already a fan (thanks Jeff from NaturalZing for introducing these high-quality on-the-go snacks to me). Don't be surprised if you find them soon at Java Green.

Speaking of Java Green, we also threw out some ideas for new raw menu items, while D.J. discussed the possibility of opening an entirely raw location in the future. I've got my fingers crossed for that one.

What better way to celebrate than with this Gnosis Chocolate bar, also sold at Java Green. Vanessa, the creator of this treat, really did a good job with this one. Although it started to melt in the warm weather, we managed to savor its supercharged flavors, having an excuse to finish off the whole thing (like it was going to make it home okay in the summer heat).

Yikes, I'm starting to lose track of the length of this post, just as I did with the time yesterday. Who would've thought we'd stay at Java Green for three hours? And, we still needed to run to Whole Foods before calling it a day. Did I make it to our usual Tuesday dinner at Matthew's mom and dad's house? Stay tuned to find out :-)

12 comments:

Penni said...

Awwwwwww....I'm a little misty eyed! I'm so happy to get to see real life pics of Dea with you all! What a wonderful lunch. DJ is the only person I've met, but I look forward to the day when I can rendezvous with you all!!

Lunch sounds so yummy and I'll cross my fingers too for DJ to open a totally raw place in the near future!

Deika Elmi said...

We are all so beautiful,
what happened to modesty?
Oh well, its gone :)
You can tell when people are vegan high raw,they have a glow, they look happy and they are attractive. You, rawbin,nic and dj definately have it going on. It was so nice to meet you and I had so much fun thanks for the company,the help (w/groceries) and everything. Much love xo Dea

Jenny said...

you are all completely radiant and glowing. . . how much fun!!!
I've met DJ and he's so fantastic, the rest of you are on my list of people I'd love to hang with someday. . .
How ARE you? You sound like you're having a lovely summer, wonderful to catch up on your days and I'm looking forward to heading to the city for a week (work and play combined!). . . but before I go, I'll be spending as many hours as I can at our family's house on the ocean picking BLUEBERRIES. . . have you read Jacob Blueberries for Sal???? A must.

I'm looking forward to munching fresh "unpopcorn" while curling up with some movies or my delicious books of late during these chilly and fogged-in evenings. . . thanks for the reminder!
xoxo Jenny

HiHoRosie said...

everyone looks so happy and healthy and the food is mouthwaterng! wish I could've been there!

shannonmarie said...

Penni, we wished you were there, too. We're your ears burning? Don't worry; all comments were good.

Dea, you don't have to be modest when you look like that. You are positively glowing. I'm going to miss you.

Jenny, I have a feeling we will meet someday. All is well, but busy. It's so nice to hear from you.

No, I haven't read that to Jacob, but I like the suggestion. He loves blueberries :-)

Rosie, we would've loved to have you there.

RawBin said...

Thanks Shannon, you always sum it up so nicely! I had such fun, and it's nice to see it explained while I'm still reflecting on it!

shannonmarie said...

You're welcome Rawbin. Thanks for taking me along on this adventure. Hope to see you Saturday :-)

Debbie Young said...

What ?? Rawbin without her horse?? I did not know it was her! You are all lovely glowing gals and one dude..wish I could hang with you too!
love deb

shannonmarie said...

I know it's hard to believe, but sometimes she leaves the horse at home. Maybe you can meet up with us sometime. It would be fun.

Debbie Young said...

I would love that!
I am in Pasadena California...
deb

shannonmarie said...

I'd love to go there someday :-)

Unknown said...

This business luncheon looks super interesting. I can never imagine a business party to be so good and fun. Thanks for photos. Well, I am planning to host annual office event at corporate event venues San Francisco and would like to organize team building indoor games too. If you have suggestions, please share.