Conscious Choice Seattle: Corner-Ucopia

November 2005 | Local Food

Corner-Ucopia

50th and Brooklyn in the “U” is a choice location

By Nora West

As the season of bounty and gratitude is upon us, I recently had the opportunity to give thanks for the corner of 50th and Brooklyn in the University District. On one little piece of real estate is a cornucopia of choices.

The Chaco Canyon Café is such an ecologically and nutritionally noble place that it inspires, and at the same time, makes me feel abashed. I say that because it acutely reminds me how much more I/we can do for our bodies and our planet.

Chaco Canyon is so committed: Recycling and composting more than 80 percent of their total waste, not offering plastic utensils, using 95 percent organic ingredients, preparing raw and vegan food, serving fresh live juices and much more.

The day I visited I had the hot Reuben. It is a delicious sandwich of Seattle-based Local Field Roast brand grain meat, sauerkraut, vegan cheddar, marinated onions, dijon mustard and tomato on Essential Bakery rye bread. It is served with your choice of soup, salad, or chips and coleslaw, all for the reasonable price of $7.95.

I chose the soup, an Egyptian red lentil—rich and full-bodied. In the raw food category I tried the spicy Thai grinder ($5.95). It was a flavorful patty of peanuts, carrots, cilantro, garlic and hot peppers served on a bed of spinach and savoy cabbage, drizzled with a tasty miso glaze.

The grinder was a refreshing and satisfying departure from the ordinary. The juice selection is bountiful, even offering hot items like the “flu buster,” which is apple, orange, lemon, ginger, garlic and cayenne. I tried the hot “healthy tonic,” a combo of apple, cranberry, echinacea and goldenseal.

Chaco Canyon blends smoothies that sound scrumptious. Offerings like the “raw tropique” (banana, mango and fresh apple) or the “mocha madness” (espresso, soymilk and chocolate). The coffee used is Fair Trade, organic, shade grown Costa Rican. The organic espresso is freshly roasted locally. The milk is hormone and BGH free, coming from vegetarian cows that live in Snoqualmie.

Did you understand? This milk fact alone is worth a drive across town to get your morning latte. How often I think, when I buy an espresso drink here or there, that I wish I could control the milk I was getting.
Chaco has been around 2 years. I would love to be celebrating the 21st year. Think how much good would have been done for our health and the earth.

As you enter Chaco Canyon, you pass the takeout window of Flying Apron Organic Bakery. Now, the bakery window definitely stops you in your tracks, but just remember you can get your goodies to go on the way out—you don’t want to completely spoil your appetite for Chaco.

Nonetheless, if it happens to be one of those dessert-first days, go for it. Never will you see such a small space so laden with delectables. Flying Apron uses organic ingredients, whole-grain wheat-free flours and non-hydrogenated oils.

I tried ginger men pumpkin cookies and my favorite, flying aprons, which are made with spelt flour, oats, safflower oil and rice milk. Yum.

Next time I’ll try the coconut muffin or berry corn muffins, or possibly the apricot thumbprints. There are many, many choices for the picking.

Next: More about the “CornerUcopia” of choices at 50th and Brooklyn, with a look at Cedars restaurant.

Nora West is Evergreen Monthly’s dining critic.

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