Remember as a kid when you could wolf down dinner with wild abandon and then dart out of the house with the extra energy to rollick with your friends? While the adults sat slumped in their chairs in uncomfortable digestive states, you had the remarkable spunk to lead a junior marathon.

Ah, but those days aren’t quite lost if you’re eating the scintillating raw meals at Cilantro Live, where it seems like the more food you shove into your stomach, the better you start to feel. Its newest Hillcrest location (the first in metro San Diego) provides a soothing welcome with telling clues that you’re not going to find meat, fish or dairy here. Even some well-adjusted vegans might take pause initially over the fact that nearly everything is served at room temperature – the concept being that food is rendered “dead” and stripped of its live enzymes when it’s cooked. A few soups are the only items on the menu that are mildly heated on the kitchen’s lone burner.

Rooted wheat grass on the tables and potted greenery blanketing a front wall add a vibrant, spring-like feel to the large, airy interior, which also features globe lighting hanging from high ceilings, clean white walls and round tables tiled in various shades of green. From both an aesthetic and culinary standpoint, it’s one of the most unique eateries to occupy this stretch of Fifth Avenue in many years.

Nuts and seeds serve as the protein foundation in numerous dishes here, and their uses vary wildly once they’re “sprouted” in water for about 16 hours. Some create milky liquids that serve as the “cream” in certain dishes, such as in the Angel Hair Pasta Alfredo. The “pasta” is raw zucchini put through a spiral slicer, and the sauce is cashew milk pointed up with rosemary and nutmeg. While the classic, warm cheese flavor is blatantly missing, the dish is undeniably satisfying and leaves you guiltless.

Nuts also form the base of an item called Nutgets – thinly pressed, bread-like ovals made from softened, pulverized cashews and almonds. They’re painted with a barbecue sauce of sun-dried tomatoes that take on a nice, natural sweetness from agave, the only sweetening agent used at the restaurant, that appears mainly in the desserts. Though made without heat, the “nutgets” tasted almost like oven-baked cookies. Alongside was a fabulous mock-potato salad made with cubed jicama, corn and celery bound by rich and creamy cashew “mayo.”

“This is the first time I’ve eaten raw food that was delicious,” commented my dining companion, a longtime vegetarian who’s been around the block often with this sort of extreme healthy eating.

Our feast only got better as we embarked upon Spicy Ceviche Cocktail, a spicy and citrusy concoction of soft (almost gelatinous) young coconut meat tossed with cucumber and salsa fresca. Another item called Avocado Half, is a winsome arrangement of mixed greens crowned with firm wild rice, cranberries and a halved avocado – all adorned with grapefruit sections and grapefruit vinaigrette. It’s a tongue-awakening Garden of Eden that puts all other salads to shame, as was the spicy Thai Salad sprinkled with cayenne-dusted cashews.

Owner Cristina Guzman relies on ginger, cayenne and a variety of fresh and dried peppers to punctuate her raw recipes, which she “fell in love with” since opening Cilantro Live in Chula Vista five years ago. “This isn’t rabbit food,” she assured us.

Indeed not. Another item, simply called Tostada, involves a thick and tasty flat shell of pressed corn, yellow peppers and pumpkin seeds topped with lettuce, salsa, spicy chipotle sauce and a smooth “sour cream” made from nuts. Or if you’re hankering for the restaurant’s namesake ingredient, the Green Enchilada comes bathed in a wonderfully intense cilantro sauce. The tortilla wrap is made out of a paste from corn, epazote and bell pepper, and filled with a meaty blend of tangy tomatillos and cactus.

Guzman’s menu is sweeping rather than limited, which is surprising for a vegan restaurant that doesn’t even keep tofu in its kitchen – a processed ingredient in the commercial market that has no place in the hardcore “live food” scene. Other meal choices extend to lasagna made of thinly sliced eggplant “noodles” that are layered with almonds, spinach and nut cheese. The Pizzaza relies on a multi-seed crust with sun-dried tomatoes, onions, olives and the nut cheese. And flax seeds, bell peppers, garlic and mushrooms are among several ingredients that comprise the burgers here.

There’s also minty Spring Rolls using sun-dried rice paper, Walnut-Fig Nori Rolls, Roma Rawviolis (roma tomatoes stuffed with basil-pine nut cheese) and a handful of romaine lettuce wraps and colorful salads.

For dessert we tried the Lemon Dream Bar, which resembled a thick slice of cheesecake in both appearance and texture. It’s made of “pasted” coconut meat and white seaweed that’s used as the binder. Agave and a good dose of fresh lemon make it divinely mouthwatering. We also loved the ice-cold cashew ice cream drizzled with a pleasing, room-temperature carob fudge. You need not close your eyes to agree that this sundae comes close to the real deal.

Everything except desserts is made to order, so don’t expect the get-’em-in, get-’em-out meal service common at other casual eateries, especially if you visit during lunch hour. The beauty of Cilantro Live is to sit back and relax while you wait for flavorful sustenance that puts a noticeable spring in your step when you leave.