M Cafe de Chaya is the quintessential LA Cafe. They serve macrobiotic cuisine, but make (what some think is) boring, bland food interesting and delicious. The cafe is the perfect place to hit during your lunch break at work, when you’re in the mood to grab something to go, or when you want to set up shop and do some work. I recently went to the cafe, laptop and camera in tow, and had the perfect lunch. Not only was the food healthy and clean, but the staff was incredibly friendly, and they were happy to let me sit and work for as long as I pleased…
Macrobiotic cuisine, for those who are unfamiliar, focuses on whole, natural, and in season foods. The menu includes everything from burgers and sandwiches, salads and bowls, to sushi. Yes, sushi. And all of the sushi rolls are GF except for the Inari Sushi! M Cafe is most popular for their juices and bowls, both of which are gluten free. I highly recommend the teriyake bowl; teriyake is typically NOT GF but the sauce is made in-house and sans gluten. If you’re in the mood for a noodle bowl, M Cafe offers “Miracle Noodles” which are GF AND zero calorie. I ordered the king salmon and arugula salad with asparagus, fire-roasted red pepper, red onion, carrot, cucumber and lemon vinaigrette, and loved it! I’m eying organic miso soup for my next visit.
At the cafe, much of the menu is pre packaged and can be purchased at the counter, adding convenience to the list of reasons why you should go to M Cafe. The cafe has locations in Beverly Hills and Hollywood, and it is now in Brentwood too. I definitely won’t be surprised to see more M Cafe’s popping up soon. Clean, healthy, and gluten friendly, M Cafe is NOBREAD approved!