CAMBRIDGE, MA: Clover Food Lab

Words and Photos by VV East Coast Correspondant Natalie Padilla. Check out her blog, Vegitate, for other awesome vegan content not published on this site.

Among the numerous greasy pizza and burger joints offered to students, the fresh, new addition to Harvard Square, Clover Food Lab, stands out as one of the few that serves up healthy, fresh, and simple food that is still outstandingly delicious (kudos also to Crema Cafe, Cafe Pamplona, Falafel Corner, & Boloco, among potentially others).

Clover started out as a food truck, parked just down the street near MIT. I remember numerous times of biking past it and thinking how I'd have to try it, it's consistently massive line indicating customer satisfaction. Imagine my luck, then, when I found out they were opening a permanent location in Harvard Square! All white, minimalist, it could double as an Apple store; perhaps not surprising, then, that your order is taken down by a greeter on an iTouch.

The best part? Clover is ALL vegetarian and most menu items can be easily made vegan! With its extremely reasonable prices, welcoming environment, and friendly on-the-go style, Clover became an instant hit among the student population. Never have I heard so many of my omnivore classmates suggesting a vegetarian location for lunch.

It was no surprise, of course, upon tasting their unique menu items:

Chickpea Fritter Sandwich

It's clear why this sandwich is their most popular item; filled with a light hummus, pickled vegetables, fresh Israeli salad, and tender chickpea fritters (made with organic chickpeas, its similar to a falafel), this whole-wheat pita pocket steals the show.

Borscht

The Soup of the Day when I went, I thought it was very flavorful and hearty, but with a Polish boyfriend and close Russian friend, it's hard to compare to generations old family recipes. Then again, who can say no to perfectly stewed beets?

Coffee

I wouldn't use the word connoisseur because it seems pompous but I do think I've tasted my fair share of coffee and have a palate now that can taste the subtle differences in flavor (and the not so subtle lack of flavor extracted from burn, over roasted chain "coffee"). This coffee met the test for a wonderfully made cup.

All the coffee is single origin, often organic, and made using a manual individual-drip process (as most of the best coffee places do, such as Monmouth in London). Furthermore, the servers are very knowledge in helping you find and pick the right coffee (unlike a recent bad experience at JP Licks). They also offer cold brew.

Clover also has daily sides, some of which switch, all of which seem intriguing: fried pickles, rosemary fries, hot honey ginger tea, and apple popovers in the morning.

One thing we can expect from Clover besides consistent deliciousness is an openness that fosters true trust (something we can only rarely expect from the food industry these days). The Harvard Square location has an open kitchen and floor-to-ceiling windows allowing customers to view the cooking process; team meetings are held in the store and anyone is allow to come listen.

With a focus on fresh food that changes daily and the promotion of vegetarian values, Clover offers what many restaurants fail to: a commitment to serving real, honest food.

Click here to visit Clover's site.

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Comments

[Mo]

That sandwich looks amazing!!!