Everything you should know about pure food and wine

Reading this post will *not* make you immortal.

If you’ve watched Bad Vegan in full on Netflix, you’ll be more than familiar with the incredible story of Sarma Melngailis and her vegan empire.

But what about Pure Food and Wine, the iconic restaurant that brought her to shame?

Courtesy of Netflix

As someone who visited the hotspot when it was still open, I’ve always been interested in the history of the restaurant – even before the documentary was made.

That’s why I’m writing this post as a longtime vegan on BuzzFeed.com and for all of my friends who have texted me about Bad Vegan since it debuted on Netflix. Here’s everything I remember…

1. First off, Pure Food & Wine opened in 2004.

Theo Wargo/WireImage

It was a joint venture between chef Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis who were in a relationship at the time.

At the time of Pure’s opening, Matthew was a well-known chef on the NYC restaurant scene, having opened his eponymous restaurant Matthew’s on the Upper East Side in 1993. He had also worked with Jeffrey Chodorow on previous projects – and that’s how he got involved in the business from the start.

The couple got into raw veganism together in the late 2000s and met a lot of people at the Lower East Side juice bar, Organic Avenue, and the events and dinners they often hosted. Becoming raw food vegans themselves, they had a passion for bringing their new diet to the masses through a new venture – a restaurant.

2. This is what Sarma looked like back when it opened – it seems it’s still swaying the braids!

3. Pure Food and Wine’s kitchen is not like other restaurant kitchens. First of all, there are no stoves or heating!

Courtesy of Netflix

Regarding the benefits they had in finding spaces for their new restaurant, Matthew wrote in his book Cooking Raw: “Raw cooking didn’t require the traditional gas or heat, so there would be no need for fire ventilation – it would save us a lot of money and also allow us to potentially build in spaces that most restaurants could not.”

4. After moving into the space, Matthew also wrote about how they set up the kitchen: “After removing the hood, we set about creating a space designed for this meal, our new meal of the counter.”

5. The restaurant was an overnight success. Pure Food and Wine began hosting events that attracted Hollywood types like Sex and the City’s Jason Lewis and longtime vegan Woody Harrelson.

Andrew Kent/Getty Images

And while it doesn’t have much to do with anything, I just love this photo of Woody getting up close and personal with some white truffles:

Andrew Kent/Getty Images

I think it just shows the mood of things at the time.

6. Soon after opening, Matthew and Sarma threw a launch party for one of their cookbooks together, Raw Food Real World in 2004. Celebs like Kyle MacLachlan, Ann Curry and Daryl Hannah showed up to the party:

Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images

However, Matthew would not stay with Pure writing about this party for long as it is related to his eventual romantic break.

7. According to Matthew Kenney’s book Cooked Raw, he left Pure Food and Wine in 2005 after he and Sarma broke up.

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

Matthew wrote of his split from Sarma as such: “While we may have glowed in our business lives, we weren’t as a couple. By this point I was pretty comfortable – and happy – with sleeping on the couch. Neither of us would admit that although we did great work together, the connection eventually began and ended. Our book came out in June and was launched with a huge garden party: paparazzi, celebrities, journalists. Until our book was published with our picture on the cover – drinking champagne and sharing the sparkle together – we weren’t together at all. Things were clearly not going to work. Sarma and I were on completely different planets.”

But don’t worry about him too much! In case you don’t know, Matthew is one of the leading names in plant-based nutrition these days. He has published over twelve cookbooks, runs the Future Food Institute cooking school and runs over fifty (!) vegan restaurants around the world. (Some of my favorites are Double Zero in NYC, Plant Food + Wine in Los Angeles, and Plant City in Providence, Rhode Island!)

8. One of Pure Food and Wine’s main draws to New Yorkers was the spacious and beautiful backyard seating.

9. The backyard is even more magical at night.

10. The Backyard was a great happy hour spot — and happened to be just a few blocks from BuzzFeed’s New York headquarters.

Whitney Jefferson/BuzzFeed

11. Raw food was incredibly experimental for the time. “Our concept turned eyes at the time,” Matthew wrote.

Courtesy of Netflix

And in case you’re wondering, the food was actually REALLY GOOD! I know I’m vegan myself, but I’m not a practicing raw vegan, so it’s not my everyday cooking. I should also note that I’ve brought many non-vegans here over the years and they’ve all enjoyed it.

It was expensive, yes, but tasty. I’ve always seen it as a “special occasion” place!

12. The Heirloom Tomato Lasagna was indeed the crown jewel of the restaurant.

Courtesy of Netflix

It was the “must order” item on the menu – and people definitely did. It might look like a bunch of raw veggies to you, but the way it’s made (layers of thinly sliced ​​zucchini and tomatoes, criss-crossed with sun-dried tomatoes and Brazil nut puree) is pretty damn close to the art. Plus, the inclusion of nuts allowed the meal to actually fill you up after eating.

I tried it and liked it, but I knew it was *actually* good when my carnivore dad absolutely adored it – and was still talking about it years later.

13. Fun fact: By the way, you can still order the lasagne today! If you live in California, Matthew serves it up at his Plant Food and Wine restaurant in Venice.

14. The desserts were out of this world.

15. But I can totally admit that the menu can be a bit crazy at times. For example, take the “Master Cleanse Tini” from their drinks menu:

Whitney Jefferson/BuzzFeed

I never ordered it, but I just can’t imagine it was a pleasant martini.

16. You may not know that One Lucky Duck shares the same cuisine as Pure Food and Wine. It might have been around the corner and down a different street, but the two places were connected via their kitchen. It was also tiny:

17. Mainly a juice bar, the menu at One Lucky Duck looked like this:

18. But they’ve actually made a lot of raw food treats, too.

I still miss their macadamia nut crackers, and the vanilla crispies were awesome too:

19. I can confirm that it was definitely a celebrity hotspot back then. Although it was long before DeuxMoi’s Sunday spottings, they were definitely still being spotted – and Pure noticed. Like this photo they posted on Instagram of Boy George eating there in the New York Times…

…this episode of One Lucky Duck posted by Lena Dunham…

… Jason Mraz wears a One Lucky Duck shirt …

… and Bill Clinton poses with the staff at Pure Food and Wine as he explores a vegan diet.

20. Yes, you could often find Sarma at the restaurant when you were there – at least until Shane/Anthony came into the picture.

Courtesy of Netflix

Sarma’s bubbly personality would often greet you at the door. I saw her sitting at the bar with her laptop, working, just like in this still from Netflix.

I know I wasn’t there every day, of course, but she was a remarkable presence in the place — something that clearly stopped when she started her new relationship.

21. And finally, Sarma’s dog Leon was often found at the restaurant too. Here he is in the backyard: