Photo courtesy of Ani Phyo

This café's fare is organic, raw, vegan and delicious.

When our friend, Siel Ju of Green LA Girl, pointed out Better Life Cuisine, an under-the-radar raw restaurant with large portions and reasonable prices, we had to try it. We invited raw chef and cookbook author Ani Phyo and Afro-Caribbean dancer and workout DVD star Kimberly Miguel Mullen. What we liked:

Fabulous fakes. Ani chose the "egg" salad as an appetizer. Coconut stands in for egg, celery adds crunch, and everything is bound with a non-dairy sauce. We couldn't believe there was no real egg in it.

Realistic ricotta. The manicotti rolls (pictured) are dead ringers for Italian food. Made with fresh, chopped tomatoes, basil and "cheese" rolled in zucchini, they're light, virtuous versions of the original.

Milk-less mousse. We picked the chocolate-and-vanilla pie, a smooth, "creamy" mousse. The chocolate-almond balls were also tasty, but more like energy bars thanks to their fruit content.

We left vowing to take a raw cooking class.

It's got a peel.

Better Life Cuisine, 717 Broadway Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 458-7620, MAP