Peacefood Cafe is located at 460 Amsterdam Avenue, at the corner of 82nd Street.
"The food is so healthy, I love it," a customer said.
She's a regular at Peacefood Cafe on the Upper West Side where the name explains the owner's approach.
"We don't kill animals, I think that's peaceful to nature," Eric Yu said.
His menu is vegan and that means it contains no meat, no dairy, and no eggs.
There are soups, salads, sandwiches, juices and smoothies, dumplings, chick pea fritters, and desserts galore.
"Most people walk in here and don't even know it's a vegan restaurant," said Kristen Kolnacki, the pastry chef.
Kristen Kolnacki is the pastry chef, who gets creative with her recipes, for example, take the key lime pie.
"It's just like a regular key lime pie but all the ingredients are raw, so it is pretty healthy for you," Kolnacki said.
The crust is made of almonds and Brazil nuts, ground with dates and coconut oil.
That's pressed into the pie pan.
For the filling: cashews, young coconut, juice from 8 limes and agave and avocados get blended together.
That's poured onto the crust and drizzled with coconut and limes.
The pie is served chilled.
You won't miss the dairy or the eggs.
In fact, all of the food here is strong on flavor.
Some folks may even become vegans after eating at Peacefood Cafe, but Eric Yu's at peace either way.
"I'm happy as long as they're happy, I'm happy," Yu said.
RAW KEY LIME PIE RECIPE
Yields one 9-inch pie
Crust:
1 cup almonds
1 ½ cup Brazil nuts
1/3 cup dates
1/8 cup coconut oil
Pinch of salt
Instructions: In food processor or blender, grind almonds, Brazil nuts, and dates until coarse. Add coconut oil last to bind the crust. Press into 9-inch pie glass.
Filling:
3 avocadoes
1 young coconut meat (meat from young coconut)
1 cup cashews (soaked overnight)
8 limes, zested and juiced
¾ cup agave
¾ cup coconut oil
Pinch of sea salt
Instructions: In a food processor, blend the cashews, young coconut and agave until smooth. Add the lime zest and juice and mix until incorporated. Add the avocado and blend until the filling is completely smooth. Add coconut oil last, blending until incorporated. Pour the filling into the crust and freeze for two hours until set up.
