Back from Boston: Being Fancy & Raw at Grezzo

I've been trying to write this happy post the past three days I've been back from vacation. Already, I've hit up a new vegan-friendly food cart (Just Thai - the return of the I Love Thai Food cart owners) and this afternoon I stopped by the first Wednesday downtown farmers market for sweet choi, asparagus and red anjou pears.

There's simply too damn much I want to talk about, so where the hell do I start?  I'm going to take the lead from The Urban Housewife and break things up like she does on her grand travel posts.  

Let's begin with the first part of my trip in Boston, MA where I went to college.  The city was vegetarian friendly, for sure, when I lived there, and has gotten vegan-friendlier since the nearly five years I've been gone.  This includes vegan ice cream, the transition of the pizza shop next to Grasshopper that introduced a small vegan menu into the all-vegan TJ Scallywagles, my old favorite Buddha's Delight which is now My Thai Vegan Cafe, the classic Veggie Planet(I swear their oven wasn't working every third time I went there and I'd order 'pizza' over rice), and the all-raw, upscale Grezzo in the North End.

I stopped by the raw restaurant for lunch with my friend Emily, who I studied abroad with in the Netherlands back in 2002.  While neither lunch or dinner menu entirely terrified me with its prices, I wisely decided on lunch to save some cash.  

Cemented in front of the entrance:

Creamy, nutty gnocchi with fresh peas, pea shoots and fabulous eggplant bacon.

Sliders and Cassava chips

Emily and her virgin Bloody Mary

The dining room

Exterior

Around the corner from an Italian bakery - aw, North End.

And desserts!

Brownie Sundae

Cheezecake with Lavender infused Agave and Chocolate Ice Cream

The waitress/chef (she was in a chef's uniform) told me this would be the best cheezecake I would ever taste.  I have to admit, for a raw cheezecake, it's definitely the best, and quite likely the creamiest I've had in years.  

A full review will be coming on Stumptown Vegans.  I would definitely return and try more items.

Feeling fancy....

Going to Grezzo makes me yearn for a fancier vegan restaurant in Portland.  I take the vegan culinary arts seriously, and get excited when anything from a smoothie stand to a sushi restaurant to a fancy restaurant purposely offer vegan options.  When you're not reliant on animal products, you learn to taste the flavors in actual, fresh vegetables!  You can do fancy things with vegetables and tofu, whoa.  Despite the controversy over the formerly all vegan Nutshell that closed last year in Portland, I was a fan and was proud the level of esteem it achieved as a restaurant (formerly) solely serving vegan food.  I'm proud to see the new Portobello class things up with their vegan trattoria, and I am confident that Portland will have additional restaurants to pair with the likes of Candle 79,Vegiterranean and Millenium. 

Coming next - More Boston grub, sights and the tackling of NYC.

Raw Zucchini and Green Bell Pepper Noodles..

What I used (everything is eyeballed, so bear with me)

for the noodles:
half a medium sized zucchini, peeled and thinly sliced julienne-style (I should have done thinner, but I was hungry)
quarter of a green bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced julienne-style

for the sauce:
4 medium sized tomatoes - red and orange
quarter of a red bell pepper
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper - to taste
1 large clove of garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil

for the cheez:
2 tablespoons of a cup of raw pine nuts
quarter of a cup of raw cashews
1-2 teaspoons of nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon+ of water
dash sea salt

First I processed the sauce in my food processor and let sit about 30 minutes. Then I sliced the noodles and set aside. Next, I processed the cheez, - first the nuts with just enough water, to achieve my desired consistency, often scraping down the bowl, and then I added the oil, nooch and sea salt.
Lastly, I assemlbed my set up on my plate.
My first simple raw meal was quite refreshing. Sure, I'd like to make the noodles thinner, and ideally, longer, but this was a decent, pretty healthy start. My favorite part was the cheez, of course.

Just thought I'd share..