By GraceAnn Walden
October 31, 2001

Can you imagine a restaurant with no stoves, no ovens, no grill, not even a microwave?  That's the kind of place Roxanne's will be when it opens in Larkspur in December.

The 65-seat restaurant, at 320 Magnolia Ave. (near King Street), will feature foods that are not "cooked" in traditional ways.

Owners Roxanne and Michael Klein call their concept "living foods.".  That means that food served at Roxanne's will not reach an internal temperature of more than 115 degrees.  According to executive chef-owner Roxanne Klein, temperatures above that destroy the food's natural enzymes, and that means that people have to use their own enzymes for digestion, depleting their own supply.   Klien claims that since she started eating living foods exclusively she hasn't been sick and has lots of energy.

The ideal of "living foods" has been a theme in the health-food arena for some time.  In 1995, a restaurant called Raw Living Foods opened in the Inner Sunset, featuring sun-baked pizzas.  The restaurant closed after a short run.

Klein will use food processors and dehydrators to prepare dishes like organic nut butter-based terrines, fresh corn polenta with wild mushrooms, samosas and crepes.  No meat, fish, poultry or dairy items will be used.  Appetizers will be $6-$8; entrees $12-$18