There Is Now A Fruitarian Restaurant In Hawaii

Now that veganism has become passé, it's time to pass to the next great frontier in fad eating: fruitarianism. Fruitarians are hard-core. They make vegans look like 1950s meat-and-potatoes lovers. Fruitarians eat only fruit. And also leaves and flowers. And sometimes nuts and seeds, depending on how strict they are. They do not eat anything cooked because cooking breaks down nutrients. They claim that this brings them greater energy and clarity of mind. Failed fruitarians claim that the diet made them feel bloated and hungry all the time. Dieticians of course warn against it because it's unbalanced and low in protein.

But if you were going to be a fruitarian, there's probably no better place to do it than Hawaii, where fresh fruit grows all year round, and not just apples, bananas, and oranges. Now an entire fruitarian restaurant has opened in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii. It's the only fruitarian restaurant in the United States, as far as I can tell.

Papa's Fast-Fruit Restaurant opened its doors last week, reports Big Island Now. Its owner, Kay Chi, said he's aware that these are perilous times to be opening a restaurant, especially a restaurant that serves a very particular niche, but he has faith that business will pick up.

Chi is not currently a fruitarian himself, just a vegan, but he plans to start ramping up to full fruitarianism soon. "[The restaurant] is as much for my own health as it is for the fruitarian community," he told Big Island Now.

The restaurant serves only bowls. Customers have their choice of fruit (orange, papaya, green papaya, starfruit, and avocado) and zest (moringa, cacao, papaya seed, ginger, and Hawaiian chili pepper), with the option to add extra toppings, such as coconut. Prices range from $6.25 for the 16-ounce Keiki Bowl to $50 for the 128-ounce Ohana Bowl.

Does this sound like fruit salad to you? Yes, it is. But a diet of only raw fruit doesn't leave many options.