Chef Serves it Up Raw by Shawn Hubler

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LA Times-Washington Post Service

Chef Serves it Up Raw
by Shawn Hubler

Roxanne Klein's unique
restaurant was inspired by
dishes she ate in Thailand

LARKSPUR, Calif. — Midweek, and they're elbow-to-elbow at Roxanne Klein's new restaurant.

People in suits, in caftans, in a huff in the spice-fragrant doorway, muttering, "Why are we standing? Is there a reason we're still standing? Is there a reason we can't sit while we wait for our table to open up?"

As a matter of fact, there is a reason. Every seat in the house is taken. Even the barstools are full, from the nook where a balding man with a self-help book wants asparagus soup to the wall where chef Alice Waters' former personal assistant sits with Klein's organic gardener. It's been like this for weeks — the blinking phone lines, the jostling in-crowds, the office manager telling foodie after foodie that she's sorry, but Roxanne's is booked a month in advance.

This, for a place where the specialty is uncooked fruits, nuts and veggies.

"The other day we came in and there were 100 messages on the answering machine," said the incredulous chef-owner.

Who knew that the buzz of the West Coast fine-dining sector would turn to a haute cuisine version of a regimen that even hard-core vegetarians view as extreme? Tucked into the main street of this leafy Marin County suburb, the 6-month-old Roxanne's has been packing 'em in, to competitors' amazement, with all-organic, all-vegan "raw" foods — no meat, no fish, no eggs, no dairy and, above all, no stove in the kitchen.

Nothing is heated beyond 118 degrees, dehydrators and sunlight are used instead of ovens, produce is just-picked, and meals — presented on her favorite high-end Bernardaud china — feature such ingredients as "cheese" made from cashews, and coconut "noodles." It's a concept that, attempted by other restauranteurs, has shown all the mainstream appeal of a high colonic. Klein, however, has critics raving.

"Complex and voluptuous," Food & Wine magazine said.

"Don't be surprised if some of these ideas start showing up on other menus," Wine Sectator said.

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