Is The Chosen a better choice than the Most Righteous Roll? And how about a ''side dish'' of personal enlightenment with the Wholistic Snapper or Peaceful Earth Burger?

Such are the decisions at Fort Lauderdale's Café Emunah, billed the ''first-ever Kabbalistic Lifestyle Lounge & Tea Bar,'' designed to ''elevate both the palate and spirit.''

Founded by an unlikely pair -- Chabad Rabbi Moshe Meir Lipszyc and psychologist Marla Reis -- Emunah (''faith'') is not your grandmother's kosher restaurant. Open about three months ago at a cost of $1.5 million, the hip, airy space has seafoam glass tables, natural wood chairs, Asian-style screens and flowing fabric accents.

There's wi-fi and a lounge where you can read or work on your laptop, a kosher sushi bar with a small TV tuned to sports, and books, teapots and organic soy candles for sale. Jazz and reggae tunes provide the background music.

There aren't any obvious references to Kabbalah or to Reis' plan to offer 15-minute ''life coaching'' sessions for $20. The café's spiritual marketing push (''be welcomed into an environment where only positivity is allowed'') has aroused snarky Internet bloggers, but nothing's force-fed.

You can visit simply for the dining experience, and there's much to like, from attentive service to the mellow setting and healthful cuisine -- an inspired international menu of fresh fare from chef Hodney Doliscar (Mark's Las Olas, Himmarshee Bar & Grill).

Emunah serves fish, but no meat; greens are grown hydroponically in Palm Beach County; all items are made in-house except for the burger buns; nearly everything is organic and a mashgiach is on duty to ensure that everything is kosher. It's pricey, but most dishes are available in half portions.

We were welcomed with freshly baked rosemary bread (choices vary) and hummus, a sign of good things to come. For starters, our Enlightened Encrusted Salmon Cakes, were, well, heavenly. Coated with kataifi (threads of phyllo dough), the pan-seared cakes are set atop Emunah's signature slaw, a refreshing mix of jicama and cucumbers, tart Asian pears and sweet mango in a ponzu vinaigrette with a whisper of cilantro.

Half-size salads are plenty generous. The Genesis has lots of smoked salmon but too much horseradish dressing on the romaine. The colorful Emunah Salad is much better -- crisp greens tossed with sliced yellow tomato, avocado, radish, cucumber, red onion and walnuts, with a choice of perky citrus vinaigrette (our favorite), peanut-ginger dressing or ponzu vinaigrette.

Entrees are limited but very good. We had a splendid dinner special of wahoo three ways: as a bracing ceviche, sesame-seared over bok choy and in tempura batter, plated with a wonderfully moist, corn-studded couscous. On a lunch visit, Sea Bass Divine fit its description, but the whole red snapper was a little dry.

The sushi is a highlight here, with specialty rolls like the ultra-fresh Day 5, with hamachi and blue-fin tuna, avocado and Asian pears topped with masago and a cilantro sauce.

House-made porcini pappardelle is tossed with Parmesan and a lovely sauce of cremini and portobello mushrooms sautéed with baby chard, thyme and truffle oil.

In the ''Garden of Eden,'' we fell in love with the tempting chocolate cheesecake glazed with chocolate ganache. The Chai tea crème brlée is fun, and we liked the cinnamony banana pudding.

Emunah doesn't sell alcohol, but you can bring wine if it's kosher. I was happy with a pot of fragrant, organic peach-blossom tea -- a simple pleasure, and maybe that's what Emunah is all about.