REAL RAW ORGANICS
3406 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, Md.
Hours: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday; 11-5 p.m. Friday-Sunday
Menu: http://www.realraworganics.com/menu.html
Suitable for: Vegans, vegetarians, omnivores
During our beach vacation last week, LeeLee and I were, as usual, on a mission to find new and exciting restaurants and cafes. Little did we know that one was operating not five blocks from our hotel – and offering up an incredibly veg-friendly menu, to boot!
When it comes to veggie delicacies, Real Raw Organics runs the gamut from acai bowls to yogurt parfaits to tempeh-based tacos to a vegan Reuben, for crying out loud. And a rotating flavor of kombucha on tap to wash it all down! (In the mood for a coffee instead? They’ve got that too, as well as jars of kombucha if you’re not into the flavor of the day.)
Though we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, the cafe is, in a word, adorable. Bright flowers adorn the beds out front, and the crisp white converted house beckons hungry beachgoers. Walk inside and spy a couple of café tables right inside the door – there are two more tables on the patio, with umbrellas to shade you from the sun’s bright rays. Grab a menu, fastened to a clipboard, and peruse your options carefully.
Then step right up and order. A word of caution: The kitchen can get backed-up during busy times, so bring a bit of patience, and know that your wait will be rewarded. On this particular day we were rewarded, in fact, with a BBQ jackfruit sandwich and a tempeh Reuben, and as soon as we took a bite, our 20-minute wait was forgotten.
The jackfruit was marinated to perfection in a sweet, tangy barbecue sauce, served atop a bun and festooned with cole slaw. I’ve always had a difficult time getting my own jackfruit to taste like the pulled pork everybody says it’s supposed to mimic, but Real Raw Organics didn’t have the same problem. The fruit was tender and meaty, and the bun added a heft to the dish that resonated with both of us.
The tempeh Reuben, for its part, was the quintessential sandwich, lacking nothing right down to the Thousand Island dressing slathered across the bread. The tempeh was wonderfully nutty, fusing beautifully with the generous heaping of sauerkraut that was nestled atop it, and the Ezekiel bread gave a hardy crunch to the whole spread. I liked it so much I ordered a second one the next day, when we stopped back in – and again, I wasn’t disappointed in anything but its absence once I’d devoured it.
LeeLee and I ended up visiting the café twice during our five-day stay – not unheard-of for us, but also pretty rare. (We generally do the same thing at The Café in Key West.) But the sandwiches and other offerings were well worth the double visit! And we’re already looking forward to our next trip to Ocean City – and our next taste of Real Raw Organics.