3125 Harrison Ave.
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
I was a child of the 1980s tofu revolution. As I grew up, this had a direct and irrevocable impact on my definition of comfort food. I mean, when you're six years old and baked tofu is the major Treat of the Week, you come to realize that your relationship with food is just not entirely normal. Fortunately for me, then, there are places like Sprouts- places that put healthy snacks on the map and make weirdos like myself feel right at home.
If you can get past the hipsters manning the counter (albeit relatively friendly and happy ones), you'll find Sprouts to be a comfy, welcoming, informal breakfast and lunch spot. Situated just steps away from Reagan Beach along South Lake's main drag, this is the sort of place that's just itching to provide you with ample picnic fare and send you off to the lake with a sense of nurtured wholesomeness and well-being. Or, if you're like me and live nearby (make that directly upstairs, actually - I could smell the appropriately named Ugly Gooey Nachos every single day around noon and it made me crazy with food lust), Sprouts might become your weekend munchies and take-out mecca. The food is kind of ideal for either purpose - oh, and for breakfast too. And dinner. And juice. (Hmm, can you tell I like this place? Maybe just a little bit? Did you catch the part about the Ugly Gooey Nachos???).
...but I digress.
Basically, Sprouts is an order-at-the-counter joint with a hippie attitude and an established local history. Founded as a juice bar back in the seventies by owner Tyler Cannon's mother, the place has always been a health food landmark; and when Cannon returned to South Lake all worldly wise and business-savvy, he re-opened the family cafe to meet the fresh juice, homemade soup and hearty burrito needs of South Lake's hungry public. And meet them he does: every day, two homemade, almost always vegan, low-fat and water-based soups are featured alongside the already lengthy food and juice menu. If the words "low-fat and water-based" don't exactly set your taste buds on fire, please trust me and suspend your disbelief: these soups are a revelation. Incredibly smoky and savory split pea, Thai coconut tomato curry, spicy black bean and hearty yet authentically-flavored miso are just a few of the soup creations I've sampled, and each one managed to fulfill my hopes (i.e. not be some watery veggie sludge) while simultaneously throwing out some little surprise - an unexpected spice or sweetness - that hit one of my lesser-used taste buds and, to quote a thrifty foodie friend of mine, made me "thoroughly appreciate the value of soup."
But there's more than just the soup: gigantic, fresh and locally-sourced salads, old standby sandwiches (Real Tahoe Turkey and homemade Tuna Salad), innovative vegetarian wraps (Hummus Burrito, jam-packed Veggie Burrito), things that don't sound all that great until you try them (case in point: steamed vegetables with brown rice, a flavor-addict's nightmare until doctored up a la Sprouts with melted Monterey jack cheese, minced green onion, a dash of Cholula and a side of the aforementioned magical soup), and obvious winners like the famous nachos. Every plateful is generous to the point of excess - and yet almost all of the dishes are so nutritious that stuffing your face is more likely to leave you with that sated, solid, "meal of the day" feeling rather than a painful food coma.
It must be said, however, that as enthusiastic as I am about the food at Sprouts, most of it (soups and juices aside) is derived from a fairly obvious and simple set of ingredients mixed and matched to create the lengthy but not exactly diverse menu. None of the sandwiches, rice bowls, burritos or salads are tricky or in any way mysterious, and I eventually quit buying things like the house salad and steamed veggie plate because I could make them both cheaply and to taste in the comfort of my own kitchen. Still, if you are a tourist, a soup devotee, or a hearty breakfast aficionado, Sprouts Natural Foods Café is a refreshing change of pace from the average greasy spoon or burger joint. And then of course there's something really, truly beautiful about having the ugliest and most scrumptious nachos on the planet placed in front of you, ready to eat and glistening in all their cheesy glory. For that kind of comfort food, Sprouts will always and forever hold a special place in my heart).
by Lauren Westerfield
[Photo: Nelson Ho]
