Mediterranean Taco. Photos: Chris Emeott
Sarah Ann Haugen has brought a flavorful feast to the shores of Lake Minnetonka. Last May, Haugen opened Vitalist by Sarah H on Shoreline Drive in Spring Park, delivering a menu packed with global goodies that reflect the best of her last 25 years as a chef. “This menu tells my story,” Haugen says. “It’s all my favorite meals and memories from around the world. This menu is an extraction of my life.”
Haugen classifies her food as “very unique California cuisine” based on the Mediterranean diet. “It’s micronutrient rich, easy to digest, plant forward, low on the glycemic index, nutrient dense, high in enzymes [and] made from scratch with no seed oils, GMO ingredients or gluten,” she says. “That is the core of Vitalist, and that is the core of who I am.”
Sarah Ann Haugen
After growing up in Minneapolis, Haugen traded the Midwest for the West Coast. There, she got into the raw vegan scene in Santa Monica, California. “I ended up on a vegan diet by default,” she says. “The food was terrible, but I thought there was value in the vegan idea.”
Haugen set her sights on educating herself on what her body needed and used that knowledge to develop dishes that delivered on fuel and flavor. “I became a master of nutrients,” she says. “I wanted to figure out how to deliver nutrients through food.”
Alaskan Halibut
Her expertise became highly coveted on the West Coast where Haugen worked as a private chef for celebrities in Los Angeles and CEOs in Silicon Valley. She also served as the wellness director for two California-based companies and became a private consultant for high-profile individuals, who were interested in developing and maintaining healthy habits or managing weight while filming on set. Haugen opened restaurants in Bali, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and, in 2012, launched a 15-product line of superfoods called Wellness Avatar, which evolved to become Vitalist in 2017.
In 2021, Haugen said goodbye to California and returned to her home state to seek treatment for lymphoma at the Mayo Clinic. “I shut down our California businesses,” she says. Haugen was down but not for long. “I’m a survivor,” she says. “In health and in business.”
“I don’t get to not do this,” Haugen says. “This is my path. The path demands I do it.”
Beet Salad
Educating the Palate
After an exhaustive search of the Twin Cities, Sarah Ann Haugen found a space to launch Vitalist by Sarah H, a chef-driven restaurant, featuring her best dishes. “We want to elevate consciousness through food,” she says. “Each ingredient is educating the palate, helping you start to explore a new way to eat.”
Japanese Salmon Bowl
There are straightforward items on the menu, including bowls, salads and soups, as well as Haugen’s global favorites: an Asian fusion roll, raw pad Thai and shakshuka. Then there are Haugen’s unique creations of zucchini noodle pastas, paleo cracker pizzas and the popular Egg S’wich, consisting of an egg patty on a savory scone cookie—a surprise favorite that came to the fore when Haugen realized locals expected to see a sandwich on the menu. “What we’ve done is taken some conventional items, like a hash or an egg sandwich or a burger, and run it through the Vitalist formula,” Haugen says.
Kombucha Squash Soup and Avocado S.Cookie
The restaurant serves all day and includes a coffee bar and a cooler stocked with Vitalist Superfood to-go drinks, soups and snacks. In December, Vitalist pivoted from sit-down service with separate breakfast/lunch and dinner menus to realize Haugen’s ultimate dream of providing a fast-casual experience where customers can walk the line and customize their selections, including soups, salads and pastas.
“We love food,” Haugen says. “What we do here is try to make food tasty and flavorful and a little unique.” Haugen is working to get her food out in a variety of other ways, including catering, a subscription box service and selling Vitalist products at French Meadow Bakery & Café, Kowalski’s Markets and Peoples Organic. “I believe I have something, and I think we can grow this,” she says.
Unicorn Pie
The proof is on the plate. “I have really, really, really high standards,” Haugen says. “And I don’t compromise much. I always want to put the best possible thing out.”
Vitalist by Sarah H
4016 Shoreline Drive, Spring Park; 612.819.3111
Facebook: Vitalist Superfoods
Instagram: @vitalistsuperfood
