Nutshell

10/03/2008 Posted by raven2930

I've been to Nutshell several times and each time I've found the food to be amazing, creative and affordable. I'm vegan but my boyfriend is not and we both love this place. My favorite is the Risotto cake with carmelized onions but I also love the polenta in remolade. The food combinations are interesting and tasty and the service is excellent. After only going there twice the waiter remembered us and asked our names. It's a bad economy and Nutshell remains a great and affordable choice. The ambiance is very nice and classy and if you go, have the Chocolate Maple torte. It's to die for, not overly sweet and 100% vegan!

Pros: food, service, price

Cons: parking can be tricky but not insurmountable

08/10/2008 Posted by gibsonripper

Food is great. Creative without the use of "fake meat" (which can get very boring and is not good for you on a daily basis anyhow). Food has improved over time. Menu is more interesting these days. A bit pricey and posh for the average vegan type, but still affordable and worth it. By the way, for those of you that are concerned about the "Foie Gras" related restaurant that they own, I am a vegan and *consume*, *eat* and *support* vegan food. Eating here isn't supporting "Foie Gras". If you eat here, you *are* eating vegan. I bet many of you other fellow vegans are the same types that stop by Taco Bell late at night.... just once in a while... you know... for that bean burrito... but it's ok, Pizza Hut/Taco Bell/KFC owned big chain. And those gardenburgers... some have cheese. I know, you don't eat them, just the vegan types, but the company still uses cheese. And do you strictly shop at Food Fight? If you don't, then who are you getting your food from? Support vegan food by buying it and eating it.

07/07/2008 Posted by Soldierchild

I am a vegan. I have very realistic expectations. Sometime I do my homework. I visited Nutshell right after they opened. They were still dialing the place in, or so I thought, the service was terrible - rude and inexperienced, the food was OK. The next visit, months later, the service was even worse. The food hadn't changed, still rather boring, I too can grill veggies and home. The space has always been huge and cold, totally out of proportion - its funny, sorta like their service and food... Then I found out that this restaurant isn't owned by the sweet chef that lost like 200 pounds, but its owned by the same folks that own another fancy place in the pearl that sells - Foie Gras. This is the pate made from the livers of young geese that are not allowed to move and force fed with tubes down their throat, just to give you that "special" flavor. This was the final straw, I will not be back and I tend to not share my dining space with hypocrite murderers.

Pros: Vegan food!!!

Cons: Made hypocrite profiteers

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful

04/05/2008 Posted by iamb

Last night was my third visit to Nutshell. Arriving around 6pm on a Friday, I was looking for some good food and a nice place to eat. We were seated in the back which was rather dark and dreary. Our little table for two was uncomfortably close to a couple other tables while their were other options available. Being early, their was a family with a couple noisy children whose voices just echoed in the cinder block room. I love kids but I wasn't looking for the noise level of a McDonald's playroom. There isn't a single piece of sound absorbing material in the place (seats and tables are all wood). Enough about that. Our waiter was great and the food was fantastic. We had swiss chard and beet greens with polenta to start followed by the best Sheppard's Pie I'd ever had. The inside was brussel sprouts and other yummy things with a terrific layer of mashed potatoes on top. My partner and I also shared risotto served with yellow squash puree and greens. This is a great place for food but I hope they'd do something to make the place more comfortable for dining.

Pros: Sheppard's Pie

Cons: Noise level

03/29/2008 Posted by agood476823

This is by far some of the best food I've had at any restaurant, vegan or not. The dining experience was second-to-none. We were seated promptly at a nice table. Our waitperson was friendly and knowledgeable of the menu. We asked her to make a selection for our olive oil, salt, and bread, and her choices were quite good. When we ordered, our food and wine came at a perfect pace. The rice fritters were AMAZING, with just a taste of what seemed to be coconut. I got the shepherd's pie, made of mashed potatoes, greens, green onions, and brussel sprouts. It was a beautifully-crafted experience in texture and a delicious savory/sweet counterpoint. My friend got the tortilla soup, which tasted amazingly fresh and alive, as well as being exquisitely seasoned. She also got the chard with polenta and cherries. Thanks to the porridge-like polenta, it was like eating breakfast in a beautiful vegetable-filled dreamworld. Mmmm. The portions were such that neither of us was able to finish our food, and had to take it home, so a hearty eater would definitely leave here satisfied. The ambiance in Nutshell was nice. It could stand to be a tiiiny bit brighter, as eating my leftovers today I can actually see what's in them. The sound level was acceptable. My one and only complaint, or place to improve, would be the spacing between items in the menu. The lines are spaced VERY closely together, which in the dim light can make them hard to read. Kudos on recycling the menus into the wine/bread menus, though. This restaurant really demonstrates, through the artistic creation of vegetable-based food, that you don't need to offer people meat substitutes at a vegan restaurant. You won't find tofu-burgers here, or seitan meatballs, etc. What you will find is a friendly staff, reasonably-priced, delicious food.

Pros: amazing food, wonderful service

Cons: menu is visually cramped

02/12/2008 Posted by nzlndr00

so i love this place. i love the food and the atmosphere. i was so excited to have such a fantastic higher end vegan place to eat. i love the decor and the 100 ingredient flatbread made in house. i love the mashed potatoes fluffed into bundles of goodness, with a cardoon on the side. i thought about having my birthday dinner here, but heard just last night that the owners own two other restaurants that serve fois gras. can anyone confirm this? my heart is broken, my palate wanting and i am just hoping its a rumor...

Pros: atmosphere, quality, taste, portion, everything

Cons: owners might own two other restaurants that serve fois gras =(

02/06/2008 Posted by godzillabird

Five of us dined at Nutshell, and five of us came away amazed. We were seated promptly, and our server was friendly and helpful all evening. We began with the restaurant's olive oil-salt-bread sampler, an intriguing opener. Although each of us ordered different appetizers, entrees, and desserts we each ended up sampling everything. Every dish offered a realm of delight. We could not believe that vegan food could be so good. My only beef (sorry) and the reason for four rather than five stars was the ambiance. The cavernous space was a bit cold and off-putting, but more problematic was the blaring loudspeaker directly overhead. That made conversation difficult. Also, a staff member began blowing out candles and putting chairs up on adjacent tables just after 8:00. Seriously uncool.

Pros: Food, service

Cons: Ambiance

02/02/2008 Posted by jelanca

This was our first visit to this restaurant and definitely not our last! The staff was attentive, polite, and very helpful. The food was amazing with an exotic blend of flavors and colors. We had a lot of fun exploring the salt and olive oil bar before our meals were served. A wonderful dining experience for vegan and non vegans alike.

01/28/2008 Posted by foosmaster19

My fiance and I had been recommended the restaurant. I called ahead to make sure it wasn't a problem to be seated an hour before close on a Sunday night. The person who answered the phone was attentive and consulted the kitchen to ensure our service. He assured me we would be able to be served. Although we ended up coming even earlier than planned, the service had persistent undertones of attempting to speed us through our occasion. The server was nice enough though hasty and created an air of uneasiness at our table. The food was very eccentric and tasty. The bread/olive oil/salt bar is a pleasing and well priced novelty. The arugula and kale salad is a must! The pizza was absolutely delicious as well. The barbecue platter is a wealth of different and strangely combined foods. Though the price is right for this dish, the range of ingredients and flavors may be a little too ambitious for the recreational diner. I would recommend this restaurant and endorse their endeavor. Do yourself a favor and call ahead to make sure that they aren't rushing to close anytime soon.

12/05/2007 Posted by kazeflame

The live lesagne of the summer menu was fantastic. I really enjoyed that and am very dissapointed that there are no live selections to choose from as of late, besides salad!