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M Cafe 5th anniversary deals

Grilled tuna burger

M Cafe de Chaya, the macrobiotic mini chain that’s part of the Chaya Restaurant Group, is celebrating its 5th anniversary this month with different $5 specials each week at all three of its locations.

Week of June 7 — Falafel Wrap & M Chopped Salad (Grab & Go only)
Week of June 14 — 2 Salad Combo & Tofu Bento (Grab & Go only)
Week of June 21 — Breakfast Enchilada (breakfast hours only) and Double Chocolate Fudge Cake

What’s macrobiotic food? It’s food made from minimally processed, natural whole foods that are in-season. Fish is OK, but not poultry, red meat, eggs or dairy. I’ve been to M Cafe a few times, and it’s actually pretty tasty, despite its nearly vegan-like description. I have a few recommendations, none of which are part of the $5 specials. But no matter — you can always go back, and for certain items, it would be worth it.

My favorite menu item is the Big Macro, M Cafe’s veggie burger made with a whole grain brown rice and vegetable patty, “special sauce,” soy mozzarella, tomato, pickles, onion, sprouts and lettuce on a house-baked whole wheat bun. The grilled tuna burger (above) is also a good option, but I prefer the veggie version.

I also prefer the shoestring fries with shiso and nori to the sweet potato fries with chili and lime, which have a nice flavor but can lack the crispness of the regular version. The lime-y dipping sauce that comes with the sweet potato fries is really good, though.

Sweet potato fries

As for the deli salads, I really like the new chickpea and dandelion green salad as well as the kale dressed in peanut sauce. The red quinoa with beets and cucumbers is also good.

Chickpea and dandelion greens (left), quinoa and beets (right)

Kale with peanut dressing (and peanuts!)

To drink, get the mint green tea or the green lemonade, which has kale in it. I find M Cafe’s lemonade a bit too tart, but that’s a personal-preference thing.

As far as desserts go, the only one I’ve tried is the strawberry shortcake, which tastes more like a decadent Nutri-Grain bar than anything. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is reminiscent of breakfast at dinner.