This past week, Anna Harouvis, who is owner of Anna in the Raw and runs Good To Go Café in the IMG Building in downtown Cleveland, shared her knowledge on where the best places to get vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes are in Cleveland with Cleveland.com.
Harouvis prefers vegetarian and vegan fare because she says it makes her feel better. She believes nutrients from a raw diet are more accessible and don’t make her feel groggy in the morning. She’ll eat meat, too, “as long as I know the animal was humanely pastured and prepared.”
For Harouvis, there are plenty of special evenings available for vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free diners. When you’re not munching one of the vegetarian grape leaves at her shop – or, for carnivores, her roasted turkey with smoked gouda and artichoke sandwich – five stops quickly come to mind: The Root Café, Fahrenheit, The Greenhouse Tavern, Ty Fun Thai Bistro and Momocho.
But, the juices at Lago East Bank, meatless Mondays at the new Town Hall in Ohio City and the vegan dinners at Tartine in Rocky River are all temptations for Harouvis.
“It’s hard when you’re vegan,” Harouvis said. “A lot of people don’t realize it means no animal products, including honey. And you can only have so many boring pastas before you want something else.”
“I’ve lived in New York and Los Angeles and I’ve loved coming back to Cleveland. We’re a lost gem. When I can go and ask Jonathon Sawyer (The Greenhouse Tavern) and Paul Minnillo (Flour, Moreland Hills) for help, and they reach out, well, I don’t know if that would happen in another city.”
You can check out the complete article from Cleveland.com at its website here.