Cool cuisine

In case you haven’t heard, one of the hottest trends in healthy eating is anything but. Yes, we’re talking about raw food, cuisine that doesn’t get cooked above 112°F. The committed and curious alike will soon have a new option for noshing in the Prana Raw Café (292 Centre Street, Newton Corner, 617.527.7729). Slated to open in July, it’ll be the region’s third raw food restaurant, joining the North End’s Grezzo and Beverly’s Organic Garden Café. The new hot-yet-not spot is the brainchild of Taylor and Philippe Wells, owners of Prana Power Yoga studios. The couple has eaten 100% raw vegan for almost five years, but Taylor swears the switch didn’t involve any self-denial. She maintains that in addition to being delicious, raw rood promotes weight loss, slows the aging process, makes digestive problems disappear, elevates mood, and boosts vitality and focus in a big way. So when a 2100-square-foot space opened up just three doors down from their Newton studio, the pair jumped at the chance to educate others about raw vegan food by serving up I-can’t-believe-this-is-good-for-me fare like burgers, burritos, pizza, eggplant parm, lasagna, and to-die-for desserts like chocolate cake with crème anglais, along with the juices, smoothies, and salads you might expect. With well-known West Coast chef Stuart Reiter heading the kitchen, we have a feeling this innovative eatery will be giving diners anything but a raw deal.