Gratitude
Lela and I watched our waitress came out with our ginger ale and coffee and try to find the recipients. I knew they were ours, but I've never been one to call out for my food. If someone else had ordered the exact same thing, the embarrassment would be unbearable!
She found her way over to our table and asked, "Who's courageous?"
I smiled and raised my hand.
"You're courageous!" she said, setting down my coffee. "And you're effervescent!" she said, setting Lela's ginger ale in front of her.
A mood for discovery on Saturday brought Lela and I to Cafe Gratitude for the first time. I'd first heard about it on The Well and had been eager to eat there ever since. Cafe Gratitude serves organic, raw, and "living" food, while enlightening their customers of their own self-worth and instilling them with gratitude for all that's good in their life. The latter is achieved greatly through their menu: The spring-roll appetizer dish is called "I Am Insightful." The pesto pizza is "I Am Sensational."
Lela ordered the Live Sun Burger ("I Am Cheerful") and I asked for the sampler plate ("I Am Abundant"). Our waitress smiled at us and said, "Great! You are cheerful, and you are abundant!"
How could you not love that?
Getting the same service we got there from any other restaurant would have been startlingly bad; it took several minutes for anyone to notice we'd come in the door and the waitresses didn't seem to have any idea where food was going once it came out of the kitchen. Yet at Cafe Gratitude it was all part of the charming experience. The staff was friendly, the food was delicious, and the quiet garden (except for occasional rumblings of the streetcars) was a delightful break from the noisier restaurants with weary waitresses. Our servers never acted as if being friendly was just another cheesy part of getting customers to come back.
The time for dessert came and the chocolate mousse sounded especially good to me. "I think we're feeling Magnificent," I told our waitress.
"You all are magnificent!"
So was the mousse. We left feeling incredibly grateful for being able to live in San Francisco.
She found her way over to our table and asked, "Who's courageous?"
I smiled and raised my hand.
"You're courageous!" she said, setting down my coffee. "And you're effervescent!" she said, setting Lela's ginger ale in front of her.
A mood for discovery on Saturday brought Lela and I to Cafe Gratitude for the first time. I'd first heard about it on The Well and had been eager to eat there ever since. Cafe Gratitude serves organic, raw, and "living" food, while enlightening their customers of their own self-worth and instilling them with gratitude for all that's good in their life. The latter is achieved greatly through their menu: The spring-roll appetizer dish is called "I Am Insightful." The pesto pizza is "I Am Sensational."
Lela ordered the Live Sun Burger ("I Am Cheerful") and I asked for the sampler plate ("I Am Abundant"). Our waitress smiled at us and said, "Great! You are cheerful, and you are abundant!"
How could you not love that?
Getting the same service we got there from any other restaurant would have been startlingly bad; it took several minutes for anyone to notice we'd come in the door and the waitresses didn't seem to have any idea where food was going once it came out of the kitchen. Yet at Cafe Gratitude it was all part of the charming experience. The staff was friendly, the food was delicious, and the quiet garden (except for occasional rumblings of the streetcars) was a delightful break from the noisier restaurants with weary waitresses. Our servers never acted as if being friendly was just another cheesy part of getting customers to come back.
The time for dessert came and the chocolate mousse sounded especially good to me. "I think we're feeling Magnificent," I told our waitress.
"You all are magnificent!"
So was the mousse. We left feeling incredibly grateful for being able to live in San Francisco.