LiveWell Louisiana

Made with Love

Try vegetarian fare cooked with care.
August 25th, 2014 by: Lianna Patch

You are what you eat — and Sughosh Berg, founder of the soon-to-open Good Karma Prasad Café at Swan River Yoga in Mid-City, says that this adage applies right down to the attitude and energy of the cook preparing your food. The 100-percent vegetarian restaurant will imbue its affordable dishes with positive energy.

“‘Prasad just means ‘blessed food’ or food that is made with good intentions, or by people who have good intentions or clear minds,” Berg explains. “We really try to promote being healthy, being happy, being positive and creating food in that way — and serving it to people in that way, so they can have a full experience and nourish their body and mind.”

Berg, who grew up on a Hare Krishna farm in Mississippi, learned to cook from his Malaysian mother and others in his community. About two years ago, he connected with Swan River. “It all started because I started doing kirtan music — which is kind of like a spiritual type of music from India — with Michelle Baker, who is the owner of Swan River,” Berg says. “From there, we started bringing food to our programs. So everyone would eat vegetarian meals, and we would play music, and sing and dance together afterward. We wanted to have a place where we could do that all the time.” Thus, Good Karma Prasad Café was born; Berg’s mother owns several Good Karma Cafés in Mississippi, so the name followed naturally.

The restaurant will offer dishes that range from traditional Indian, Thai and Malaysian fare to contemporary vegetarian options, like po-boys, salads and wraps. Berg will be the primary chef, along with his fiancée and future mother-in-law. Plates will be priced reasonably, in line with the café’s goal of providing food “as a blessing, or a service to the community,” Berg says. 

One of Good Karma Prasad Café’s offerings will be an Endless Love bowl of rice and Indian lentil stew, or dal, with unlimited helpings for $5. Sounds pretty blissful to us!  For more info visit swanriveryoga. com/good-karma-prasad-cafe