Coney Town Goes Green

It’s no secret that there aren’t a whole lot of veggie, let alone vegan, meal choices in this Coney-Island-centric city of ours. And even though many restaurants get an “A” for effort when it comes to working with non-dairy- or non-meat-eating diners, when a little shop around the corner pops up with a menu that’s green dream come true, you gotta believe in something called good. Karmic Café and Juice Bar, the city’s brand new hope for cuisine with a conscience, debuted in the Guardian Building early this February and is already making mouths drool for food that feels and tastes as good as it looks.

The premise is simple. Serve organic, minimally processed, cruelty-free food for folks who are looking to feed both their bodies and minds. What that means exactly is food that will pretty much help you kiss the ol’ 3 p.m. cubicle snooze goodbye forever. “Holistic cooking is not just about nutrition,” says Sarah Lachowski, co-chef, co-manager and co-conspirator in the Karmic menu. “A holistic view on eating is a way to bring people into an interaction with food … and appreciating where your food comes from.” Lachowski, a self-taught chef who brings her days at the Earlham College’s Clear Creek food co-op in Indiana with her back to Detroit, shares the kitchen with Brian Hill, also self-taught, but who brings training in Holistic studies he got in Santa Cruz before making his way back to Detroit. “Our cooking styles are very complementary,” Lachowski says. “Brian and I cook really well together and collaborate on the menu well together.”

The Karmic menu the two whip up daily features soup, salads, sandwiches, entrees and even desserts that are 100 percent cholesterol and dairy-free. We’re talking delights like the Four “C” Salad (Cucumber, Cashews, Currants, and Carrots), Tempeh burgers and Reubens, an organic PB & J, and a Mung Bean Dal with Quinoa cakes that’s so good you immediately start thinking about seconds and thirds. Other Karmic wonders include Tofu Scrambles and Stir Fry, and two daily mainstays: the Macro plate with Brown rice, adzuki beans, arame, steamed kale and sesame seeds, and the Red/Black Beans & Rice Plate served with Tomatoes and Cilantro.

All produce at Karmic is organic and primarily from local producers like Gardenworks of Ann Arbor and Floyd Jones of Windsor. And once the Midwest weather starts to get better, Karmic promises even more local, organic produce on customers’ plates.

But just what kind of Downtown diners are lining up to come into the cozy corner that Karmic occupies on the first floor of the Guardian? Lachowski says that the basic Karmic customer doesn’t necessarily know what holistic cooking is all about. “We get everyone from office workers from local businesses, to WSU students to other chefs and restaurateurs in the area. I love to share their excitement about food and we like to help educate them about the healing properties in the food we serve,” she says. “It’s the blessing of being in an open kitchen.” Curious diners can even come in feeling a little under the weather, and the chefs will suggest a pick-me-up from the menu that can help anything from digestion to headaches and lethargy.

The Karmic menu is in fact becoming such a hit that in only two months, the number of customers that have signed up to receive their edition of “Daily Tales From Meghan” (authored by other Karmic conspirator, Meghan Revoir) has grown to 360 addresses strong. “Some of our customers even comment back about the dishes they liked,” says Revoir, who creates the email daily.

But wait, once you’ve grabbed your meal at Karmic or are simply looking for a morning or midday pick-me-up, walk upstairs to the mezzanine area and Karmic’s Juice Bar is waiting to serve up just the cure for what ails you. Managed by Lauren Casteel and backed up by perky juicer, Ana Magnuson, this companion to the tiny Karmic empire is cooking up killer juice concoctions, sweet smoothies, and wheatgrass grass shots that make Red Bull seem like Pedialyte. Whether you are looking for help with energy, endurance, digestion or immunity, Karmic’s offerings reap all the benies of raw vegetable and fruit juicing. Casteel says that the Juice bar clientele is already full of hard-core regulars, who can pull one of the wooden stools behind the counter and chat with the Karmic ladies while they watch their beverage being made. Casteel and Magnuson also pride themselves with being able to offer wheatgrass to customers, which they say is quite hard to get around locally, and they’ve even seen newbie wheatgrassers come back time and time again for the rejuvenating effects of that little green shot.

The two Karmics are also doing their part to make life eco-friendly and community-friendly inside and outside the Guardian. All plastic containers and packaging are biodegradable, and utensils are made of innovative materials like corn starch which allows them to be non-toxic and compostable. Karmic waste is also collected for compost, which Casteel says that when the good weather kicks in will be easier to collect and distribute locally. The Karmic Café kids have also been seen out and about in the community helping with organizations like Veggies in Motion and their annual participation in the Great American Meatout, further proving their overwhelming desire to create community and share philosophies about food.

With all this activity happening in and around Karmic, alternative eaters
around Detroit can finally breathe that deep sigh of relief knowing that
when you really are what you eat, well, it’s pretty nice to have buddies
around who can help with the cooking.

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For more on Karmic Cafe, click here. To receive the Karmic’s email menus contact: [email protected].

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Photos:

Karmic Cafe

Brian Hill

Sarah Lachowski

Wheatgrass

Juice Bar

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All Photographs Copyright Dave Krieger