LUNCH COUNTER

Mention the term "raw," and in this Kentucky-fried world, you might as well be speaking Klingon.

But remember, some of our most daunting cuisine is the most elemental.

Raw foods rely on plant life, using natural enzymes to help our bodies produce energy and fire on all cylinders. It's uncooked, unprocessed and often totally organic.

In other words: no preservatives (i.e. chemicals), no sugar (later days, corn syrup) and, for the most part, no animal products (good night, sweet meat).

Wife and husband Caroline and Mickey Brennan are trying to win over nonbelievers at The Sprout, a small cafe and juice bar next to EcoFitness in Mount Pleasant.

Their tools of conversion? Veggie burgers and harvest dinners, teas and organic coffee. And a heady mission statement: to raise the level of health by inspiring others to eat and drink vibrant, energy-sustaining food and beverages.

The veggie burger ($8.25) is a patty containing sprouted almonds, sunflower seeds and raw portobello mushrooms and ginger served on a sprouted whole-wheat bun.

The sunflower burger ($8.25) is spiked with cayenne pepper and made of sunflower seeds, corn, carrots and jalapenos. And the harvest dinner ($10.50) consists of a walnut, portobello and ginger-infused patty on a bed of greens topped with barbecue sauce and served with miso gravy. The tortilla chips ($3.50) lack crunch, but the homemade salsa offers bite.

The food is well-seasoned, and the flavor can be bold to foreign tongues. But The Sprout is no novelty — followers should flock.

And who's to say dessert isn't in the offing: chocolate mousse ($5.50), a light, whipped blend of raw cacao, almond milk and agave, its cool texture like a thin tapioca pudding.

The Sprout

Address: 627 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Mount Pleasant.

Phone: 849-8554.

Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sun., 6 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat.