Ecopolitan

Rating:

The Twin Cities' first raw food restaurant is a pioneer in the gustatory movement that lies well to the left of vegetarianism and a few steps beyond the vegans. It's a serious crusade, one based upon the sound principle that unadulterated foods best preserve the nutrients -- as well as the flavors -- that can get compromised or just plain lost in the conventional cooking process. An impressive example is beets cut in the shape of angel-hair pasta, marinated in balsamic vinegar, ginger and shallots and finished with slices of crisp apple and ripe pear, flecks of mint and husky dates. There's a wickedly good guacamole on the menu, too, served with shards of seaweed and crisps of dehydrated yams dusted with lime and cumin. Tasty appetizers include marinated portobellos dressed with slivered cashews along with layers of cucumbers and roma tomatoes in a subtle lime-rosemary-thyme vinaigrette. Juices and smoothies are first-rate. And Ecopolitan really excels in the salad arena. Disappointment lies in the menu's misguided attempts to mimic familiar foods while staying within the raw-foods realm, although the conceit occasionally works. Pasta might be off limits to raw-fooders, but that doesn't keep the kitchen from trimming zucchini to resemble fettuccine, then topping it with a zesty, beyond-garlicky marinara crafted from sun-dried tomatoes and pineapple. The intense flavors, unmellowed by heat, dance right off the plate.