Raw Food in South Florida

There are a few types of restaurants that are virtually impossible to find here in Miami-Dade County, including: (1) a Chinese restaurant featuring a tank filled with swimming seafood that diners can eat, not just watch, and (2) any place with genuine Ipswich fried clams. Sadly real New England fried clams are not to be found at the Fish House. If they were, though, I suspect they'd be prepared just right, because the rest of the place's fried seafood is. Forget heavy egg-and-crumb coatings and exploding beer batters that result in a plate of seafood that's more starch than protein. The shrimp, scallops, calamari, mussels, and mahi-mahi nuggets in a $15.99 fried combo platter were all simply dusted in flour that cooked up crisp, light, and nearly greaseless. There is, however, no sea in this seafood establishment. The place is not located on the ocean - or a lake or a canal or even next to a swimming pool. Most seafood can be ordered fried as well as blackened, grilled, or with scampi butter, creole, Portobello, or Parmesan sauces. The last three did not seem treatments necessary to inflict on fish so fresh. Most entrées come with two sides, of which remarkably crisp coleslaw and a small but varied house salad (with a perky caesar-style dressing) were the winners, thanks to freshness and tasty housemade dressings. Even the tartar and cocktail sauces that accompanied the seafood were homemade. Actually, they would have gone great with some fried belly clams. But Fish House's offerings are good enough to compensate for what it lacks.

Fresh First is Fort Lauderdale's first place to earn the recognition of "Great Kitchen" by National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), and it caters to diets and lifestyles of all shapes and sizes. Owned by mother/daughter team Mary and Francesca Siragusa, the restaurant offers a wide variety of organic fare ranging from vegan and vegetarian to wild caught fish to free-range chicken. Everything in the spot is gluten-, corn-, and peanut-free as well as non-GMO. The menu spans from meat-based dishes like the mushroom turkey burger with local mozzarella to raw zucchini puttanesca with sprouted garbanzo beans, sprouted lentils, cherry tomatoes, red pepper, kalamata olives, and scallions in a garlic lemon sauce. Vegan chocolate chip cookies for dessert!

Raw food continues to grow in popularity, even though its South Florida contingent is small. But Green Wave Café, a Plantation kitchen and organic market that serves raw, vegan lunches, may change that. Chef Lisa Valle takes wholesome, organic produce and creates a small menu that changes daily. Grab a seat at the wide orange tables or long countertop and Valle's delightful and knowledgeable staff will serve you fun, raw dishes such as lettuce wrap tacos with walnut and sun-dried tomato pate. The crisp lettuce, clean-tasting salsa, and accompanying cashew "cheese" sauce are flavorful without getting heavy. A hummus sandwich atop raw onion bread is a more of an acquired taste, as the thin bread made of onion and flax is chewy. Each plate costs $12 and includes daily-made soup, the only nonraw item on the menu (the vegetarian bean is remarkably bold and, well, meaty). Valle and crew teach free classes on raw food at night - a monthly schedule is posted on their website. Sign me up for the class on chocolate ice cream, a completely raw and vegan marvel that satisfies in ways few dairy-based custards can.