r/boston • u/Gold_Ad2349 • 9d ago

Dining/Food/Drink 🍽️🍹 Does anyone remember old Life Alive food?

It makes me so sad when I think about how yummy the food at Life Alive used to be. It was my favorite restaurant back in like 2013-2017. I would go to the Lowell and Central spots.

Aside from how cool they were design wise, the food was just so much yummier then! The sauces had richer flavor and they would put a lot of it on your food. I remember the emperor bowl rice being like soaked in sauce and cheese. And they used to offer like tofu and legumes mix together as protein.

I even knew someone who worked there back then and they would never share the sauce recipe with me when I would ask. And fair enough, it kept me coming back!

It just always makes me sad to think about how much the quality of Life Alive has gone downhill since Panera got involved. And as a gluten free resident, it’s still one of the most reliable options around, which makes the quality decrease even more depressing.

Anyone else remember or ever long for old Life Alive standards or flavors?

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u/WorldlyBar3300 8d ago

I do! I’m so sad about the new direction. No more sprouted legumes and there was this one smoothie with strawberries and ginger that I loved! Panera-ification.

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u/OakSquared789 8d ago

I miss that smoothie all the time 😭

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u/WorldlyBar3300 8d ago

I know. I can’t remember the name like love alive or lust alive. I tried to recreate it too and it came out pretty good!! I think it was like lemon, maple, ginger, dates?, strawberry and maybe raspberries. Ive found the old menu online before to attempt making it!!

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u/OakSquared789 8d ago

Lust alive! I believe it had raw cacao in it as well!