Pomegranate’s, Phoenix, AZ 12/3/2013

Pomegranates is one of my favorite vegan restaurants in Arizona.  When I’m in the area, I make it a point to stop for lunch or any meal in between.  On this day I felt like something raw and light.  I went for the raw bagel sandwich with the kale salad as my side.  Their kale salad is always done right. They add spiralized beets, purple cabbage and shredded carrots on top of the deep green kale for amazing color variation.  The creamy cashew dressing is lightly coated on the salad for the perfect touch. 

Moving to the beautifully presented bagel sandwich, I could hardly wait to taste this piece of art.  All these veggies stacked with yummy sunflower sprouts coming out the sides, looked nothing short of spectacular.  The herb dressing was slathered on both bagel pieces which was perfect because there was no way I was getting the depth of this sandwich all in the same bite.  So here was the problem.  When I tried to tackle this masterpiece, I was really glad I wasn’t on a date. The bagel is dehydrated of course since it is raw and is not pliable.  The taste was amazing but also quite involved.  I found myself breaking off pieces of the bagel, topping the piece with yummy veggies, avocado, sauce, and devouring.  It was simply delectable!  Each and every bite was delicious and I was looking to see if the ladies at a near table were watching me as I practically made love to this sandwich.  Eating alone definitely has its advantages.  I apologize for not having a picture here. This is my first review and I will get better 🙂

 

I decided to splurge on dessert for the sake of writing a review.  In other words, I did it for you readers and I had to suffer.  To preface the review of the power bar, I must tell you that my palette is quite sensitive to sweets, meaning less sweet is better.  Being a vegan and raw food chef myself, I tired quickly of using dates as they are really sweet. The power bar did have plenty of dates but I will say that the chef here did an excellent job of off-setting the sweetness with the bitterness of the chocolate chunks as well as the walnuts.  Now we’re talking… This thick chunky delicacy also had goji berries in it which added some beautiful color and texture.  For me it was still a bit sweet and shared part of it with my parents later who devoured it of course.

In summary, Pomegranate’s never ceases to amaze me.  They have amazing chefs who obviously test their creations to ensure they are not only amazing to look at but are scrumptious.  I tend to think this is the best vegan and raw restaurant in the valley.  I often will spend around $22 on lunch (includes either a fresh green juice or dessert and an entrée).  It is worth every penny and then some!  I give it 5/5 stars. 

Have you dined here? Please tell me about your experience.