Actor Woody Harrelson enjoys the healthy (and quite tasty) food from Gorilla when in town
Mia Stainsby
Sun
Gorilla’s Aaron Ash serves customers at his Richards Street takeout window. Photograph by : Ian Smith, Vancouver Sun
Gorilla is a tiny place and if you poke your face into the opening, you’ll see a slim blond guy called Aaron Ash in a tiny kitchen where all he needs to do is pivot to cover the sum total of his food domain.
Gorillas, as you know, are also animals but you might not know their diet consists of leaves, tubers, flowers, fruit, fungus and their favourites — bamboo, thistles and wild celery. Sometimes, they might take in a few insects, but probably, by mistake.
In other words, they’re vegans. Not only that, they’re raw foodists, for they sure don’t cook with gas. That pretty much sums up Gorilla the takeout window, too — the cuisine is raw and vegan. Ash’s menu is more polished than the furry gorilla’s, though. His plant life is transformed into pizzas, lasagnas, wraps, salads, soups, burgers, nori rolls, dips, shakes and smoothies before it becomes your meal.
I went with a vegan colleague to try a little Gorilla quite prepared for disappointment as there’s not a lot of apprenticing or role modelling going on for raw vegan chefs.
Well, behold! Ash’s food is quite tasty, with an extra dose of healthy. Ash has passed muster with famous vegan, Woody Harrelson, who he has prepared food for during the actor’s visits to Vancouver. As a matter of fact, he was in town as we spoke on the phone. Ash also lived in Hollywood for a short time and was personal chef to Mike D of the Beastie Boys and his wife, film director Tamra Davis.
As for Gorilla food, I loved the kale salad, which is a simple mix of scrunched kale (it loosens and tenderizes the sturdy green) dressed with lemon juice and salt. For the lasagna, thinly sliced zucchini stood in for pasta noodle with layers of tomato sauce, shredded greens, avocado, jerusalem artichoke and sprouted sunflower “raw-cotta” (germinated seeds blended with garlic, olive oil).
The pizza crust is made of sprouted sunflower seed, buckwheat, flax seeds, shredded carrots and herbs, blended and dehydrated (to 105 F, well below the 117 F where enzymes and nutrient loss begins). My vegan friend’s pizza was topped with tomato sauce, kale, tenderized zucchini, red pepper, mashed avocado and lemon juice with crushed walnut topping.
For dessert, there’s halva, chocolate fudge and pie, and to quench thirsts, there are loads of fruit and veggie juices, fruit smoothies and almond shakes.
If you want to snap your fingers and have vegan food come to you, Gorilla delivers in the downtown area. It’s open Monday to Friday from 11 to 6. Ash is currently working on snagging a space nearby to possibly open a Gorilla with tables.
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GORILLA
422 Richards St., 604-722-2504. www.gorillafood.com. Cash only.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006
