Now Open! Dr. J’s Vibrant Cafe, Downtown

Jul 18, 2013

334 S Main St · Ste 1101 · Los Angeles, CA 90013 · Neighborhood: Downtown

Some days I crave a greasy, cheesy, bacon-topped meaty hamburger. Other days I channel my inner ~~diet conscious~~ ~~buddah,~~ ~~vegan,~~ rabbit and seek to salads and vegetables for solace from my hunger cravings. After a recent deep dish pizza, hotdog-laden, heavy (but delicious) food’cation in Chicago, I was looking for something milder to soothe my belly grumblings.

Cue Dr. J’s Vibrant Cafe.

I was invited to a special preview tasting of this new health-minded cafe located in the old bank district downtown, Los Angeles. Dr. J (Dr. Juliet Tien) is a renowned holistic health practitioner and author from Taiwan who believes that good health = happiness. Her newly opened café offers a health minded menu which follows 8 basic principles.

Are you up to the challenge? Read on for the Rx…

Dr. J supports a food regimen that follows strict principles of no sugar, dairy, wheat, yeast, alcohol, caffeine, nicotine or chemicals. Her 100% clean way of eating may sound like no fun, but it’s good for you (and surprisingly darn tasty too!). Think: Simple organic, macrobiotic ingredients that are easily accessible and digestible. In a nutshell, it’s just a straight up, healthy way of eating all the stuff we all should be eating anyways — it left me feeling satisfied and invigorated without the gluten bloat.

So, who can benefit from this way of clean eating? Everyone. Just a few days earlier, my brother (who has been struggling with trying to loose some pounds) was instructed by his doctor to stay free of the following foods: No sugar, No bread, No pasta, No rice, No potatoes… sound familiar? Turns out bingeing out on these types of foods can make us fat and in turn, make us feel sick.

Some of Dr. J’s menu items include slow cooked soups like Spring Sea Vegetable or Ginger Mustard Greens, fresh vegetables, tofu, kale and quinoa, raw food that undergoes a rigorous cleaning process with pure reverse osmosis water, and sandwiches made with Dr. J’s signature yeast-free “Pure Bread.” Yeah, this place isn’t messing around.

Sweets treats like Carob Brownies and Dr. J’s (rolled oats, sunflower seeds, and dates) Super Snacks are vegan, gluten-free and made from scratch, in-house.

Detoxifying is at the foundation of Dr. J’s herbal program. I’m down with their herbal teas and cleansing smoothies which are nourishing, healing and not to mention super tasty!

Never mind Café Gratitude or other “vegan”-type restaurants, Dr. J’s is healthy eating for the rest of us. The best part about her menu is that while it is focused on “real food,” you don’t have to be a practicing vegan to want to eat here.

I’ve been craving fried, sugary foods less and less these days and instead I end up seeking some healthier bites… you know, in between visits to The Pie Hole or Wurstkuche 🙂

Good thing there’s a place like Dr. J’s to bring me back to earth…