Submitted by An Animal-Friendly Life

Last Sunday, my spousal unit and I celebrated our 6th veganniversary. That is, we marked the 6th anniversary of the day that I chose to go vegan and my wife more or less went along with it (took her awhile to finish off the honey). 

I get excited about veganniversaries, more so than birthdays–or any holiday, for that matter. Going vegan was such an pivotal, positive life change and, more important, it was a choice. When we celebrate our veganniversary, we celebrate the transformational power of choice, not chance (or ossified, meaningless traditions, for that matter). That being the case, we tend to splurge to celebrate. We don’t go overboard for our birthdays, and pretty much ignore all the usual holidays, but we can’t resist doing nice things for our wedding anniversary and our veganniversary.

So, this year we splurged by going to Boston’s hottest new vegan restaurant, Alissa Cohen’s Grezzo, a raw eatery in that bastion of meat, egg and dairy-heavy Italian cuisine, North End. I am so glad we finally had an excuse to drop that kind of cash… er, credit.

Because I always feel hungry after eating raw, I decided to just go for it this time, especially since I didn’t know when I would have a chance to go back again. I was definitely not disappointed. I was full for hours afterward, but it was a pleasant sensation, not like I’d badly overeaten.

We started with the house salad, which had a great zippiness to it, the crispest garden-fresh vegetables, and these delicious almond croutons and almond cheese, which gave the whole affair a much-desired richness that satiated us until our next course, which came out fairly fast after our salad. Despite how crowded and busy the restaurant was, service remained attentive and timely (special nod to our server, Laura, for her cheerful-yet-professional tableside manner).

My favorite course came next… appetizers! The gnocchi carbonara was so rich and creamy, and the chewy texture of the gnocchi itself–while not the same as the usual stuff–was dense and addictive. The sauce, the peas, everything was imbibed hungrily. It was all I could do to slow myself down and savor the dish. 

The native tomato ravioli was excellent, too, bursting with flavor. The rich, saucy center– deposited graciously between thin, tangy tomato slices–had just the right touch of mint. I only wished that the order came with one more “ravioli”!

On to the entrees, regrettably our least favorite course (though, we were sent home with a papaya steak entree that we would have been better off ordering in the first place). I’ll start with the bad news first, the Land & Sea, which neither of us was interested in finishing. I suppose if you’re a huge truffle oil and mushroom fan, then this would have been your night. For me, the strong clash of flavors on that plate really turned me off, and I think I’ve decided I don’t like raw mushrooms, either.

Fortunately, the winter vegetable lasagna was a step in the right direction. It figures that my favorite meals at this raw vegan eatery–located in such an Italian area–were the Italian-style dishes.  Maybe walking past all those restaurants on the way to Grezzo simply put me in a more receptive mood. That said, it probably has more to do with the copious fresh vegetables, the rich bechamel, and the fresh, subtle pomodoro and the creative presentation. Even the flaxseed “breadstick” was astounding. It looks like something that might be dry and boring in one’s mouth, but it explodes with flavor. Talk about a secret weapon. If there is such a thing in the raw world, this is it. I’d like to have a bucket of these waiting for me on the table when I sit down!

On to dessert, usually a no-brainer when it comes to raw eating, but I have to say that I was slightly underwhelmed. I’ve had better “cheesecake” out of a plastic container at Whole Foods. It might not have been as fresh, but the cheesecake at Grezzo was kind of lumpy and mushy, and the crust wasn’t a crust at all. However, despite how moist and soft the crust was, it tasted quite good, as if all the flavor was hiding there. As long as I had a substantial bite of crust with the cheesecake, I was doing fine, but I would have preferred a smoother, creamier pie and crispier crust. 

The brownie sundae was a solid score, though. The homemade raw gelato was fantastic. They used real vanilla, and speckled it with cacao nibs, and served a generous portion. The crumbled brazil nuts were actually shaved over the top of the truffle sauce on top of our scoop, so I didn’t really get as much of a nut taste as I was hoping for, but who can resist a bite of vanilla chocolate chip ice cream with brownie crumbles? At $13 for a pint of this gelato, I don’t see myself going out of my way to North End to pick some up, but I wouldn’t blame you if you had the means to and lived nearby!

A quick note on drinks. My wife had a sage and blackberry spritzer that she thought was “pretty good.” Not quite what she was expecting, but she enjoyed what she could drink through the blackberries that got stuck in the straw. My organic cabernet was a solid pick, nothing so “big” as to overwhelm the delicate raw flavors I was enjoying throughout my meal, but strong enough to stand on its own.

All in all, it was a good experience, probably my best raw restaurant experience overall (not that I’m any connoisseur). Bear in mind that the menu changes quite frequently, so your mileage may vary, but I thought describing my experience would give you a taste of the sensuous meal that might await you if you should ever visit Grezzo!