By Steven Rosenberg
Globe Correspondent

In these days when mega food conglomerates produce most of the meat we consume and package what’s offered on supermarket counters, Life Alive rises like a beacon from its modest storefront in Lowell’s arts district. Alongside a cobblestone street, and across from a quilt museum, owner Heidi Feinstein has created more than a place to grab a sandwich and make small talk during lunch or dinner. Here, the food is all organic, unprocessed, and consistently good. But forget about ordering steak or anything that contains high-fructose corn syrup at Life Alive. Save for a few dishes that include cheese, this is strictly a vegan restaurant that will make carnivores believers.

For some, the roomy dining room, the exposed brick walls, and simple wooden tables may conjure up the noble vegetarian restaurants that dotted Boston, Cambridge, and Amherst in the 1970s. Here, you get a sense that people matter. The wait staff is passionate about what it serves, and interested in serving healthy food. The menu is extensive, with its raw, quick-steamed, preservative-free entrees accompanied by smoothies and juices. Servings are placed on brightly colored ceramic bowls. Drinks come in mason jars with thick straws.

All of the entrees are simply named and all of the servings we tasted were delicious. This is a labor-intensive kitchen, and every order seems painstakingly prepared. We began with The Explorer ($9), a bowl of fresh sun-dried tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet corn, spring greens, shredded carrots, and beets. This is light, crunchy food that’s filling and leaves a diner clear-minded.

The Emperor ($8.50) was sensational, with its thoughtful mix of sesame miso sauce, cheddar cheese, dark greens, shredded carrots, corn, and tofu over warm brown rice.

The Rebel ($9) was a filling bowl of flax oil, broccoli, dark greens, tofu, and hijiki seaweed over red quinoa and short grain brown rice. A ginger nama sauce enhanced this earthy and sweet dish.

The Lover ($9) offered meaty shiitake mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, beets, and dark greens smothered in nama sauce over brown rice. The mushrooms were bold; the broccoli was fresh.

The closest thing to comfort food was The Hot & Healthy Bachelor ($8.50), a grilled tortilla wrap with melted cheddar, a hard-boiled egg, broccoli, dark greens, and nutritional yeast. This was warm, weighty, and more than enough for one. As opposed to a traditional wrap, with all kinds of processed cheese and meat, you don’t feel like you’re overeating. And you don’t leave the table bloated.

You want to taste a smoothie that’s so outrageous you’d think you were drinking a chocolate shake? Try Elvis Alive ($6), a whipped, thick, luscious mix of peanut butter, cocoa, banana, Soy Dream, and rice milk.

Through the years, word has gotten out about Life Alive. Last Sunday, a group of four arrived from Boston to have lunch. “We do this every month,’’ a 30-year-old computer programmer told me.

Soon, he’ll just have to cross the Charles River to get to his favorite place. Next month, Life Alive will open its second restaurant on Mass. Ave. in Cambridge. It seems like a perfect fit.

 

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