Raw, vegan restaurant Real Food, Real People opens in Huntington
Real Food, Real People serves raw, vegan dishes on Huntington's Main Street. Credit: Real Food, Real People
Untold numbers of fryers and grills burble and hiss away inside Huntington’s many restaurants and bars. At the village’s newest cafe, however, the sounds of cooking are absent.
All of the dishes and drinks inside Real Food, Real People at 249 Main St. are raw and vegan, from the zucchini-avocado-mango (“mango-cado”) collard wraps to the coco-goji pops.
The menu — which also includes summer rolls, salads, and acai and pitaya bowls, as well as fresh juices — was conceived by owner Lauren Lovoro, a real estate agent who opened Real Food, Real People in early September. As Lavoro tells it, once she became a vegetarian several years ago, she was puzzled to be gaining weight — so began reaching for raw, “real” food instead of the veggie burgers and processed products that many vegetarians subsist on.
“I began sharing my recipes with friends and co-workers, and people began to request food from me and encouraged me to take it more seriously,” said Lavoro. “The name Real Food, Real People is essentially speaking about processed foods — saying that we are replacing the chemicals with real food, and machines with real people.”
Lavoro, who is originally from Massapequa, found the ideal spot for her cafe on the north side of Huntington’s Main Street, and has renovated it into an airy, snow-white space with a handful of tables, sculptural blonde-wood bars, and scattered Buddhas.
The liquid portion of Real Food, Real People’s menu includes cold-pressed juices ($10 each), and wheatgrass and ginger-lemon-cayenne shots ($3 each). Solids range from acai and pitaya (aka dragonfruit, $5-$8 each) and oatmeal bowls ($4-$7) that come topped with combinations of fruit, shredded coconut and honey. Summer rolls ($8) are stuffed with every imaginable vegetable, and served with dipping sauces such as lemon-cashew and sweet chili. Salad bowls ($10), collard wraps ($9), and frozen fruit and coconut-water pops ($8) round out the menu, as does a bar of toppings such as seeds, nuts, shredded coconut and cacao nibs.
The cafe is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Real Food, Real People, 249 Main St., Huntington. No phone.
