69 Prince Street
Boston, MA
857.362.7288
www.grezzorestaurant.com
When my son moved to Cambridge for school, finding a good vegetarian restaurant seemed impossible. Boston, it appeared, was all about seafood. Period. I was a bit surprised then when a friend told me about Grezzo, a vegan raw or "living foods" restaurant in Boston's North End. My favorite raw restaurant in the Bay Area, Roxanne's, had closed a while back and I missed it terribly.
The concept is that nothing is heated to above 112 degrees F to preserve nutrients that cooking destroys. Being vegan, the cheeses are made with nuts. I love cheeses and must say the nut cheeses can certainly rival some of my favorites from Cow Girl Creamery and other premium cheese makers. Some people swear a raw foods diet has given them more energy, cured ills, made them look younger. I just know that when done well, it tastes good.
Grezzo is a cozy restaurant with just two rows of tables on either side of the walk way. All the dishes are organic, vegan and raw or "living", yet, amusingly, some of the offerings have names such as Land and Sea and Lobster Thermidor. You can take the seafood out of the Boston restaurant, but apparently you must keep the names.I ordered the Lobster Thermidor ($22), which consisted of tarragon and mustard seed "cashew" cheese, black grapes and baby vegetables over papaya (pictured above). I don't usually care for papaya, but this combination worked. The items tasted fresh, the cheese was wonderful and the flavors were balanced and worked well together.
My son's tomato ravioli ($19) didn't work nearly as well. The tomatoes tasted bitter and overripe. I asked the waiter where they got tomatoes in March and received an evasive answer.
It has to be a challenge to have a raw foods restaurant where you can't grow produce most of the year. (Although Pure Food and Wine in New York City seems to have figured out how to do it well.) I would guess my papaya came from Central or South America. While it's worth trying, I would definitely recommend sticking to produce that is in season, and really quizzing the staff on where the produce in entrees came from before making a selection.
The specialty drinks list is interesting. I tried the green apple and ginger "saketini" ($12), which was enjoyable.
Grezzo also offers a chef's tasting menu at $59.
Other casual dining options when in Boston: Trident Booksellers and Cafe at 338 Newbury Street is both a great little independent bookshop and a cafe, with a good selection of vegan abd vegetarian options. From the breakfast omelettes to the handmade butternut squash ravioli and the momos (vegetarian dumplings), there's little there I wouldn't order again and again.
Tealuxe, on Newbury Street in Boston and also in Harvard Square, offers a selection of sandwiches and salads to go with their wide variety of teas. Sandwiches include a portobello mushroom and a caprese. At the shop in Boston, the downstairs eating area is a nice respite from the crowds on Newbury.
