I don’t often write restaurant reviews on this blog. I’m not sure why. I don’t have a good reason, or any reason for that matter. However, a recent meal out was so good I had to mention it. I went with a friend for dinner at Grezzo, a raw vegan restaurant located in Boston’s North End.
I know for many people raw vegan food doesn’t conjure up the most mouthwatering thoughts. Maybe you imagine a feast entirely of sprouts or fake foods intended to emulate a decidedly un-raw, meat-laden dish. Or perhaps you envision food designed purely for sustenance, but not enjoyment. If either of these descriptions fit you, I don’t blame you. I consider myself pretty open minded when it comes to my food choices and what I’m willing to try, but I first started looking into the raw food movement a couple of years ago I found a lot of the cookbooks lacking. I went so far as to buying a dehydrator, but a lot of the dishes I made with it were pure yuck.
I was still optimistic that good things could be done without formal cooking, but forgot about raw foods for a while. That was until a vegetarian friend, who had pleasant experiences with raw food dining out at Karyn’s Raw in Chicago suggested we try Grezzo. I was game.
Thankfully, from the moment we walked in the door everything signaled this was a good decision. My nose was bombarded with pleasant scents; fellow diners looked happy and satisfied; plates were full and beautiful.
We started off our meal with a round of drinks, which we split. These included Lynchburg Lemonade (apple vanilla “bourbon”, fresh lemon, mint and thyme) and a virgin Raspberry-Thyme Sparkler with a Kombucha base. They were crisp, multidimensional, and light, the perfect opening to a delicious meal.
There were several appetizers that piqued my curiosity but my waitress sold me on the avocado skins, which apparently were close to selling out. Good choice. Rich and creamy, they had a pleasantly spiced exterior from seasoned almond flour that was well complemented by a vegan macadamia sour cream, broccoli and some eggplant bacon. The bacon was in my opinion, the star of the dish. Smokey and crisp it would have been addictive all on its own for snacking.
For my main dish I did the lobster mushroom fettuccine with a saffron cream sauce. Rich and addictive, this plate made it difficult to put my fork down. I especially loved zucchini as a stand-in for the pasta. It added a pleasant freshness and lighter balance to the rich sauce and earthy mushrooms. The shaved Brazil nuts on top also provided the perfect salty alternative to Parmesan. My only slight complaint was that although there were a lot of mushrooms in the dish, none of them seemed to be lobster mushrooms. It didn’t detract from how much I loved eating this, but was worth noting.
My friend had the star anise crusted papaya steak, which looked like a dead ringer for salmon. The marinade did an amazing job of giving the sweet fruit a savory edge and it was perfectly paired with creamy dill vermicelli and a marinaded cucumber salad.
Overall it was an amazing meal although I will say my friend and I ended it by picking up decidedly not vegan or raw (but amazing none the less) cannoli at Mike’s Pastry. Melissa of Crunches for Cupcakes also recently dined at Grezzo as well, so if you’re still hungry check out her post for her take.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I loved the falafel wrap I got at Grezzo a few weeks back. Is it strange that the “pasta” dish is cold? That would be my only concern with ordering something like that. I can’t wait to go back to Grezzo, though. The place is fantastic.
That sounds really good. I never made it to Karyn’s while I lived in Chicaog (an oversigt that I should correct). On a side note, I hope you’re enjoying the snow! One of my friends is coming into your neck of the woods for a job interview today . . . if his plane actually gets off the ground.
Wow, the lobster mushroom fettuccine with a saffron cream sauce sounds simply amazing!
Elina – You know, I thought that would bother me more than it did. I went in expecting to notice and then completely forgot. I think what made it work was that the flavors were so fantastic that honestly the fact that it was raw fell away.
Chou – Funny, I’ll actually be in your neck of the woods this weekend visiting friends.
What a gorgeous meal! I have so much appreciation for vegetarian and vegan fine dining; it’s much harder to create successfully, make it delicious and appealing (especially to a carnivore). I get so excited when I see a vegetarian entree on a menu- even in California it’s kind of rare unless you go to a specifically vegetarian restaurant. But your dishes look marvelous, love the idea of a papaya steak and zucchini ribbons in place of pasta.
I had a wonderful vegetarian entree at a restaurant called Madera in Menlo Park, CA last month. It was a tomato saffron stew with artichokes, couscous, and fried chickpeas. It was amazing, I’ll going there again on Saturday and may get the exact same thing again!
Eggplant bacon? How delish. The fettucine looks fantastic!
Wow–everything looks not only delicious, but a beautiful presentation too! Hey–I just found out I am almost postive I’ll be out East (Worcester, Boston) March 7th-11th so I was hoping maybe we could FINALLY meet up! Let me know what you think
Lobster mushroom fettuccine with a saffron cream sauce? Eggplant bacon? I’m headed to Boston as a part of my honeymoon and am definitely, DEFINITELY going to keep this place in mind. I’ll have to figure out a way to get my fiance in there, but I’m sure there’s a way!
Yum! I’ve heard about Grezzo a lot. Sounds like it’s worth the trip!
Oooh, that restaurant looks fantastic! I wish we had something similar to that here in the southwest.
Oh, I’ve heard such good things about this place and am dying to try it! Too bad I’m no where near it… The dishes you ordered and the photos you took are absolutely drool-worthy.