Nature's Express
Hours
Profile
$ - inexpensive
American
Vegan fast food
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On 4th Avenue just a couple blocks south of 24th street, on the E side of the roadway.
- (Mostly) Organic
- Kid-Friendly
Added by KD on Jul 29 08 (updated Nov 17)
Reviews
The food was great! I had a veggie burger with mushrooms. They put fresh, grilled Portobellos (tons!) on top, not the normal button mushrooms. The service was really good and the staff was offering free soft serve to the customers. One member of the staff was explaining how he made the salsa and guacamole fresh--I was impressed and happy to find out. Skip the peanut butter chocolate chip shake--the chips were like wax and made the rest of the shake feel waterproofy, if you know what I mean. The restaurant itself is large, clean, and the two drive-thru customers during my visit were served quickly, even though they cook to order. I'll definitely be visiting every time I head to San Diego.
As the summary advises, this resturaunt is strictly vegan. They try to get locally grown product to reduce energy costs, and even use plastic cups made from corn, at least according to their brochure. Plus they use organic whenever possible.
The food is awesome, and there is a large selection. I think it's a little pricy compared to 'normal' fast food prices (you can expect to pay 7-10$ for your meal, incluing drink), and I wouldn't go there if you're in a hurry, unless you call your order in on your way. A really awesome experience, even if you're not vegan, and if you are, you won't have to scrutinize the menu and grill your server to make sure you can eat any certain dish.
Based on my two visits, I would have to say that the food is fantastic but the service is hit-or-miss.
The people who work here, while nice, seem to have short-term memory problems. Both times I was here, I asked for water and never received it. I had to go back up to the front and ask again. The second time I was here, I ordered the chilled soup of the day, and instead received the hot soup of the day. It was 110 degrees outside and I was really looking forward to cold soup. Lastly, they offered a free sample of some bread, which I was looking forward to trying, but they completely forgot about it.
I also thought it was weird that, when I ordered an ice-cream cone, they brought it out at the same time as the rest of my food, forcing me to eat my dessert first. It seems that if they don't ask you when you want your dessert, they should default to bringing it out after you're done with the rest of your food. Speaking of that, the ice-cream cone seemed a bit stale, but maybe that's how waffle cones are (I hadn't had one since I was a kid!). And there were chocolate chips on top, and I must agree with a previous reviewer that they were not of the best quality. They had a plastic-like texture, so I can see why someone else thought they lent a "waterproofy" feeling to the shake.
All in all, though, I like this place. I've had a soup and a couple of sandwiches, and they were fantastic. The bread they use is great. The date shake was delicious. The place is clean and the people are friendly. You can get a lot of food for $20 or less. I hope that the next time I'm traveling on Interstate 8 the employees can do a better job remembering the customers' orders -- or, at the very least, that someone can reprogram the cash register so that it can print out more specific orders (e.g. "COLD soup of the day," "water," "free sample - bread").