Grins
Ben Shulman Center for Jewish Life, 25th Ave. S. at Vanderbilt Place. 322-8571
Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Fri.
Coffee and baked goods available 8 a.m.-11 a.m. weekdays; call ahead for takeout after 3 p.m.
Price range: $5-$7.50 for lunch
“I’m very picky about product,” says Michele Watkins Knaus, chef of Grins Vegetarian Cafe, located in the Ben Shulman Center for Jewish Life on the Vanderbilt campus. “I would never put a tomato that’s not ripe on a sandwich.”
This is a reassuring statement from any chef, but particularly from one whose menu is dedicated to vegetarian/vegan cuisine. And then there’s the kosher thing: Grins is Nashville’s first and only fully kosher restaurant. This refers not to a style of cooking, but to foods prepared in accordance with Jewish dietary law. Most people are aware of the Jewish prohibition on pork, but the rules for keeping kosher (available from www.jewfaq.org) are more complex than that. For instance, the kosher law that led most directly to Grins being a vegetarian cafe states that meats cannot be eaten with dairy; what’s more, utensils that have come into contact with meat may not be used with dairy, and vice versa. Thus it’s much more practical to operate a kosher restaurant that serves only vegetarian food. Otherwise, the kitchen has to be expanded to make room for extra prep space, extra sinks and extra dishes.
Grins, pronounced “greens,” takes its name from the Yiddish word for vegetables. A kosher cafe was always in the plans for the Shulman Center, a contemporary-looking, 10,000-square-foot building designed by architect Manuel Zeitlin. Vanderbilt Hillel, an affiliated Jewish organization housed in the Center, approached Vanderbilt Dining to run the cafe. Vanderbilt Dining, in turn, went to Nashville coffee mogul Bob Bernstein, who happens to be Jewish and vegetarian. He was intrigued by the idea, decided to take it on, and convinced Knaus—a local chef who was cooking brunch at his Bongo Java Roasting Company—to come on board.
Grins’ opening during the last week of August coincided with the return of students to campus. The eatery did no advertising or announcements, and deliberately chose not to put up a sign. “We sort of wanted to see how it went, just get our act together and get the kinks worked out before letting everyone know we were here,” says Knaus. “We were really surprised by the number of students who found us, particularly the vegans. The vegan items were flying out of here.”
Not too surprising, really, considering the lack of options for Nashvillians who eschew meat, fish, poultry and dairy. But convincing committed carnivores that vegetarian cuisine can be both healthy and tasty might be tougher. One visit to Grins should do the trick.
The cafe occupies the foyer of the Shulman building, a fairly small space that feels much larger, thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows that provide a sense of openness and an abundance of natural light. A neutral wall is brightened with big colorful paintings; matte silver metal tables are teamed with gray, green and orange molded plastic chairs. The effect is friendly, relaxed and casually sophisticated.
Knaus changes her menu daily; she plans just one day in advance, taking into consideration the product she has on hand and supplementing that with afternoon trips to the market when needed. (When possible, she uses organic produce, typically from East Nashville’s Turnip Truck, along with organic rice, beans and other products.) The options can be viewed in the cases that form an enclosed counter space in one corner of the room. Customers can count on a couple of wraps, a veggie sandwich, a panini sandwich, a selection of cold sides and side salads, at least one soup, and a couple of hot entrées. Because of the repast’s daily transformation, it is impossible to recommend a particular dish, but diners can rely on and expect quality, freshness and flavor. Knaus’ affinity for seasonal, regional product fused with a mélange of global influences delivers delightful surprises to boot.
Wraps may be filled with anything from tofu to spaghetti squash, supplemented by chopped and shredded veggies, dried fruits, seeds, nuts, greens and fresh herbs. The veggie sandwich of avocado, cucumber, tomato, carrots, spinach and organic sunflower sprouts is pretty much a regular; the side of roasted garlic mayo turns the flavor up a notch.
Grilled, pressed sandwiches on big slices of Provence Tuscan bread, the paninis are wildly and rightfully popular. The Mancini panini (named for Mary Mancini, owner of the late Lucy’s Record Shop) was a tad salty, thanks to the presence of both feta cheese and kalamata olives, which came layered atop slices of roasted eggplant; it would have benefited with the addition of a fresh salad green, maybe arugula. On the other hand, the bruschetta panini lacked nothing, and was a delicious construction of marinated tomatoes, red onion, basil and garlic with spinach and cheese (a choice of Havarti or soy mozzarella).
All the cold salad/side dishes we tried were excellent without exception, and the sampler of three makes a fine meal if bread is not on your agenda. Some of my faves have been the roasted cumin-lime sweet potato rounds, the Moroccan spiced spaghetti squash and the Israeli carrot-raisin salad. Vegetable and bean-based soups are flavorful and hearty, offering warming comforts as the weather cools. One of the hot entrée choices last week was sesame-lemon barbecue tofu, a dish that won me—an avowed tofu hater—over. My friend the tofu enthusiast was crazy for it. Gado gado—Indonesian peanut sauce with tofu and veggies over basmati rice—was a big hit with the vegan in our group.
Knaus’ vegan baking is amazing, with a repertoire that includes chocolate chip cookies, muffins, pumpkin bars and lemon squares. Coffee drinks of the Bongo Java style are listed on a separate board, and beverages including Blue Sky sodas and fruit juices are in a refrigerated case.
One small quibble with Grins has nothing whatsoever to do with the food, the staff or the ambiance. Rather, it’s a Vanderbilt University issue, one that plagues every visitor to the Commodore compound. The 13 metered slots in the parking lot at the Shulman Center might be sufficient for visiting diners and patrons, except for the fact that on all three of my visits, the lot was full or close to full, and anywhere from two to five of those spots were occupied by student cars with campus parking permits. That leaves the overflow of visitors to drive around and around the surrounding area, seeking a parking place that won’t get their car ticketed or towed. This is particularly problematic for customers taking advantage of Grins’ takeout service. For the sake of welcoming the Nashville community, the university should ban permit parking in this lot, reserving the spaces for Shulman Center visitors.
Still, the rewards offered from the cooking staff of Grins, and from the soothing embrace of the beautiful Shulman Center, are well worth whatever it takes to get there.
