The more I travel, the more I realize I am normal.

Sometimes as a raw foodist I have doubts. I see Starbucks on every corner as I hunt for organic blueberries. I am lovingly called a rabbit by my cast mates who still offer me pasta. I work out at gyms that sell Creatine drinks as a post-workout health enhancer.

But then I arrive in Phoenix, Arizona and in one weeks time, realize that there are many of us out there, we are easy to find, and our chosen raw lifestyle not only predates pizza, antibiotics and chicken pox, but is completely natural, rational and....normal.

I was lucky enough to again be a part of yet another raw food restaurant’s opening, this time at the sunny Rawsome! Café. Charles Mort, director of the said café and leader of Phoenix’s raw movement, knew me from online correspondences only, yet in true raw foodist fashion, welcomed me with open arms. When I expressed interest in Rawsome! Café, Charles set me up with a ride to and from, allowed me to sit in on food preparation and converse with chef, Jim, and kitchen staff, Allan and Daniel (also all raw foodists).

Rawsome! Café, part of Phoenix’s only co-op health food store, Gentle Strength, is like a breath of life giving air. Natural sunlight and live guitar melodies flood the seven-table space, decorated with hand painted murals of fields, rivers and human kindness. Charles, himself, takes orders from behind the open counter, smiling and greeting almost everyone by name.

It was refreshing to dine in a raw restaurant that kept things simple and affordable. Rawsome!’s entrées use minimal spices to allow the wholesome flavor of the fresh living foods to come out. I myself enjoyed a flavorful celery soup with the most amazing nut cheese I have ever tasted on the side. As an entrée, I chose the sampler which included No-Bean Humus (made from zucchini), Dos Tacos (romaine lettuce filled with avocado and sun-dried tomato) and my favorite, two Teriyaki Nori Wraps (sunflower pate, cucumbers, sprouts and carrots wrapped in live nori seaweed), all on a generous bed of greens. My cast mates requested treats from Rawsome! Café, and it was a proud moment indeed watching the STOMPers savor the Not-Peanut Butter Pie (filled with bananas, topped with pumpkin seed butter, on a date-nut crust)---who knew rabbits enjoyed such decadence?!

Phoenix’s fun did not stop there however. The next day I found myself and twenty other raw foodists at a raw potluck/pool party, and later that weekend five of my new friends came to see me in STOMP. After the show a few of us decided to grab a glass of wine at a near by restaurant. Imagine four grown adults sitting down and ordering a plate of carrot sticks, celery, gucamole and lettuce.

Yes, the raw food lifestyle is completely natural, rational and normal. Now if somebody could just try explaining that to the Hooters waitress for me...

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