Clover MIT

Love this place! I would be here every week if I worked in Boston… Healthy food but filled with deliciousness! That’s how food should be!
Also the people working here are the most fun and enthusiastic ones I’ve met in the dreary Boston. Entering clover around noon, you are welcomed by three huge TV panels — showing the food and drink options and how long you’re expected to wait for them! Fantastic. I’m surprised this isn’t found in more places!
We make our orders then proceed to wait. There only weird thing about the orders is that we get called each time an item is ready. Why don’t we get called when all the orders are ready? Also. Having the drinks order separate from food is smart but still confusing.
Food was so delicious! But next time I’ll stick with the pita not the platter. Chickpea fritters were delicious! My favorite is the fried mozzarella. Lovely spicy sriracha like sauce. Chewy cheese with a crispy crust. Ohhhhhhh the best! Rosemary fries were delicious but needed to be more crispy. Not sure how I feel about the salads, pickles and hummus on the platter. Hummus was abit too sour. Also I had not pita bread on my platter??? Thankfully the server was very amused by my pita wallet so I got free pita when I requested some :) yay!
The drinks are made in house so that’s awesome. Wish the ginger soda had more flavor though.
Definitely will be back here on my next trip!!! Keep it going!

sometimes they have good sandwiches (pushpir, plantain, japanese sweet potato). it boggles my mind that they can’t make a better falafel sandwich.
they are eco-​friendly, which is a big plus. overall, it’s an ok lunch spot that occasionally has delicious sandwiches.

Between jacking up prices (the Brussels sprout went up a whopping 33% overnight), forcing customers to use credit cards, and the always wobbly quality control on this particular truck (the turnover at this one in particular has gotten so egregious I don’t recognize people on an almost daily basis at this point), I’ve finally thrown my hands up. Used to be a regular haunt, a place I ate at and recommended with equal enthusiasm; then it became the place to go in a pinch; and now I just walk on by. Makes me a bit sad, since I’d been going here since the week they opened, but that’s entropy for you.

I really appreciate what Clover is trying to do. I am a vegetarian, and enthusiastic about sustainability, so perhaps my expectations for this were high.
I found the restaurant to be a little depressing. Things were stark-​white. A wall of herb boxes that I excitedly thought were in use in the restaurant had a sign next to them explaining that they were not for consumption. The food was okay. They do carry a couple of nice beers on tap.

Everything I’ve tried at Clover is amazing, and even when they’re super busy they’re fast. The ordering process is a little intimidating, but fun. They have some excellent vegan options, although they could do a better job at labeling what is vegan and what can be made vegan — they’ve made something for me and after I started walking away they went «oh wait» realizing they didn’t make it vegan. I’m glad I didn’t start eating yet.

Goodness! The Pushpir sandwich. Cilantro, mint, jalapeño chutney, Deep-​Fried Paneer, fried chickpeas, pickled onions, pickled cabbage, fresh jalapeño, Tamarind and Yogurt Sauce. This baby is a pure piece of (Indian) heaven. Add a little bit of Srirarcha for the heat and you get a perfect sandwich. The tamarind sauce is a bit runny, take care of your clothes while eating, it may flow. Pure bliss!

I’ve been vegetarian all my life, so whenever people find out about it, they always bring up Clover. While I appreciate that a lot of non-​veg people are more ok with eating vegetarian because of Clover, I have to say… I don’t really like their food.
I also don’t eat eggs, so that rules out their popovers. Their oatmeal + fresh fruit is good, though I would’ve liked a little bit more fruit.
The chickpea fritter sandwich is like a poorly imitated falafel — dry and boring. I love falafel so I was pretty sad having it — and I had one two weeks ago and it was still bland and boring (even with my adding hot sauce, etc). I tried the brussel sprout sandwich at the truck a month ago and it was decent — but too salty and the brussel sprouts were fairly bitter. And I love brussel sprouts! The new Sharan /​gobi manchurian isn’t good either — I’m Indian and grew up loving Indo-​Chinese, so I had high hopes. The cauliflower isn’t really crispy, and the «manchurian» flavors just weren’t there — it didn’t have the spicy /​gingery /​garlicy /​soy sauce kind of flavors that indo-​chinese food is all about. The rest of the sandwich was ok.
The Japanese sweet potato sandwich is decent — the sweet potato is crispy and not too heavy, the mayo-​y sauce is a good complement. There’s some pickled vegetable in there that’s got a really bright taste (daikon?) that makes the sandwich overall decent.
I brought my mom to the Harvard Sq location once for lunch years ago and we got the chickpea fritter plate. Her response? «Don’t ever take me to that awful place again».

With Area Four, Catalyst, Clover, and the food trucks all within a three block radius in Kendall Square, it can be hard to pick just one spot for lunch. Now, I end up defaulting to Clover. This wasn’t initially the case.
When you think of vegetarian food, usually it brings up images of rabbit feed and piles of flavorless greens. Not here. The chickpea fritters are hearty and have an almost meaty quality. Same goes for the BBQ seitan. The sodas are great — I recommend the vanilla bean and the blueberry (the rhubarb is a bit muted… tastes too much like straight soda water). The best of all? The rosemary fries. I sometimes stop by here at 10 PM just so I can pick up fries to accompany late night Netflix viewings.
Highly recommended.

Great vegetarian food for a great price! I get the chickpea fritter every time. For anyone who likes falafel, this is a great choice. Their food is so good that I feel like I want to see more variety on their menu, as they only have a few options, but other than that, I love everything about Clover!

I’d give clover 5 stars just for the zucchini fritters– they were perfect and addicting. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the bbq sandwich. I’d avoid that and try another type of sandwich. I will, however, give it another try for sandwiches and hope my next attempt has a mesh of flavors, not just bbq sauce.

Very good food, often imaginative without being loopy. But ostentatiously slow. There’s no reason the tomatoes can’t be sliced or the tempeh grilled ahead of time. Yes, I get that it’s being made to order, but that doesn’t need to be exaggerated.
The nearby storefront version is equally slow, but I find that considerably less frustrating – I suppose I expect a food truck to be quicker, even if that’s not entirely logical. Otoh, waiting indoors doesn’t mean waiting for the tempeh to be grilled and the tomatoes to be sliced and the pita to be painstakingly opened in the rain, heat, etc.

I really enjoyed my BBQ Seitan sandwich. The seitan somehow seemed fatty (the way I remember real pork tasting), and the sauce had just a little spice without being too sweet. The offerings are all pretty inventive and sounded great. The quinoa almond cranberry salad sounded great, but was lacking something. I ended up tossing most of it out, but I’m also sick, and maybe a cold grain salad just wasn’t what my body wanted.
I only wish I had had more opportunity to sample more of the menu. I can see why this place seems to be expanding rapid-​fire. They’re good.

I liked the brussels sprouts sandwich (seasonal) so much I’m Unilocaling and I haven’t even finished eating it. Crispy fried/​seasoned brussels sprouts, red cabbage slaw (same as used on the chickpea fritter), cheddar cheese, and some herby creamy spread. Mmmmmm.
Clover is great, cheap, healthy (ish — ignore the word «fried» above), and if you go at non-​peak hours (which you should) it is very quick. My regular favorite sandwiches are the Egg & Eggplant and the BBQ Seitan. Rosemary fries are always on point, especially with Sriracha and malt vinegar. Love the breakfast sandwich with soft-​boiled egg although I wish the cheese had time to melt instead of being stuffed in cold.
Pourover coffee is always some schmancy roaster on rotation and generally good (but pricey at $ 3 for a small cup).

Got the breakfast sandwich – soft boiled egg, with fresh tomatoes and cheese in a pita.
It took longer than expected for me to get my food, given that this Clover is a food truck. I enjoyed my sandwich, but I would have liked it more if it had some ground breakfast sausage or some other type of meat.
Props for the egg being perfectly cooked though.

Grabbed a muffin and marmalade for breakfast and the muffin was awesome. To be honest, I don’t think I’m a marmalade fan although though. Service was a little slow, considering I asked how quick it would be, since I was stopping on my way into work, and the guy said all they had to do was wrap them up. 5 minutes later, I was walking away…
After reading some of the other reviews, I think I’ll be back to try lunch, but I’ll probably skip breakfast.

The coolest thing about this place: Started by MIT graduates, so you can expect your experience and the way they take your orders to be high-​tech.
Unfortunately, the food was so-​so. Its comparable to any pita sandwich you could get elsewhere.

To be quite honest, my first experience at Clover was not that great. I had heard all these great things from my friends and finally decided to brave the lunchtime rush line (which is long and scary!!!). I ordered the Chickpea Fritter and was full of excitement. However, the combination of cabbage, carrots, onions, and falafel displeased my tastebuds. I was overwhelmed by the vegetables…
My friend literally had to force me to go again. I was convinced that the Clover hype was fabricated. What were these people drinking?! Boy was I wrong.
The second time around, I had the Egg and Eggplant (popularly known as the «egg and egg»). Take back everything I said until now. It was delicious, cheap (only $ 5), and oh-​so-​filling! My favorite part was the cucumber tomato salad portion. So so yummy! And according to their blog, only 418 calories, say whatttttt?!
After that, I went to Clover at least 3x a week (perks of having class at Sloan). Yes, the line is long, but the staff is great and occasionally, they give you samples of new menu items!
Ironically, remember how I disliked the Chickpea Fritter when I first tried it? I gave it a second chance and it grew on me. Just take out the carrots and onions and I am an absolute fan!
Another sandwich I tried was the BBQ seitan. It’s not as filling as the other two but still a delight for the tastebuds. Get this when you are not extra hungry.
So, moral of the story: if you tried Clover once and was not impressed, I beg you, give it a second chance. You won’t regret it! This was large part of my diet my last year at MIT. When I go back, I am definitely hitting up this food truck again.

After having eaten at Clover an inordinate number of times (being that my lab is literally next door to it), my opinion of the place has changed quite a bit since I wrote my last review.
While the food is pretty good, the wait is usually not worth it. The people are really friendly but almost too friendly as they seem to chat it up a lot with customers even when there’s a long line. For some reason, the chickpea fritter is twice as big as the other sandwiches (and, no, I don’t think it’s just because of the sheer volume of the chickpea fritters; the sandwich itself is more substantial). I always find myself eating their sandwiches with a fork first before I can actually bite into it.
Here are my thoughts about the sandwiches I’ve tried:
Chickpea fritter — The pickled veggies are very strong and abundant and can leave an unpleasant taste in your mouth for a few hours. Otherwise, this sandwich is one of their better offerings.
BBQ seitan — I like this sandwich, but they put a lot of mayo on it. Also, the BBQ sauce overflows and can make your bread really soggy.
Egg and eggplant — A decent sandwich with a lot of hummus.
Breakfast sandwich — I think this is the best thing on their menu, but you can only order it before lunch. When I’ve ordered it, it’s been perfectly seasoned. A word of caution: A friend of mine ordered it once, and the egg was not placed in boiling water until after he ordered it, which means he had a very long wait for breakfast.
Butternut squash — This sandwich needs more texture. There isn’t anything to counteract the mushiness of the squash. Also, I think this sandwich would be great with some cheese or something salty generally to counteract the sweetness of the squash.
BLT — Not substantial enough by any means. They seem to skimp the most on this sandwich.
Rosemary fries — These are delicious but probably too much to eat on your own unless you’re super hungry. Still, I appreciate the generous portions!
Also, I always seem to get hungry again ~2 hours after I eat at Clover. Perhaps it’s my non-​vegetarianism, but I don’t find the sandwiches filling enough for a lunch. Finally, since they raised the prices of the sandwiches to $ 6, there are a lot of cheaper options nearby – Momo anyone?

Clover is a pretty good vegetarian food truck with healthy, fresh ingredients that seems really open to improvement. However, their chickpea fritter, which my husband and everyone else raves about, is overrated. It’s basically falafel– so they need to call it what it is, instead of pretending it’s some new incarnation of chickpeas. I prefer the falafel sandwich at u-​food grill if you’re going for non-​ethnic fast food falafel.
I love their drinks, especially the basil soda. Their menu is easy to follow and grouped by price for those Iike me that get overwhelmed by a food truck with too many choices. The staff are friendly and seem excited to be there. They were doing some sort of employee survey today and asked us to let them know if anything was ever not to our liking because they take feedback really seriously. Now I’ve never had a restaurant, much less a food truck, ever solicit feedback like that, so I was pretty much sold. I like that they always change their menu and have this continuous performance improvement thing going, so I’ll definitely be back to try some other items, but not the chickpea fritter FALAFEL.

Unilocal says I’m a regular at CFL. Unfortunately I’ve only eaten there once. My two check ins include one waiting in line then having to leave and today. So now that I ‘fessed up I can move on to my actual review…
Am I the only one who didn’t know that CFL is a vegetarian food truck? Nor did it really hit me right away while reading the small menu on the side of the truck. By the time I got the epiphany I had already invested a percentage of my lunch break waiting in line and figured oh what the heck let’s try it. I ordered the chick pea fritters and an order of fries. The sandwich was ready within 2 minutes but I had to wait for the fries a little longer so I tore into my veggie surprise. Lotsa stuff I didn’t recognize by sight or taste but I thoroughly enjoyed the unknown dressing drizzled on top. Note to self to order extra next visit. I got about half way through it and my fries were ready. I grabbed them and off I went to find a bench nearby to enjoy the remainder of my lunch break. Finished the sandwich quick and dove into my rosemary and whatever other seasoning fries. Tasty but not as good as everyone raves about. Plus a little on the small portion side for $ 3. I guess that’s the price you pay for real potato fries and real seasoning not just salt.
PROS– reasonably healthy, local, fresh with some organics
— cool iphone app checkout service
— gourmet fries
— right outside my office
CONS– outrageously long lines at peak lunch hours
— small menu
— I was still hungry after this meal :(

Now that my schedule for this summer enables me to be around for lunch I pretty much go there every day or every other day. Their staff remembers my name and their manager Ayr is a pleasure to talk to and deal with, along with Leah who seems to be the second in charge.
Their food selection evolved a tiny bit and they now offer freshly squeezed juices. I had the pineapple, lemon and apple one but I must admit that it was maybe a tad expensive at $ 4, but refreshing none the less. They also now offer salads: pesto eggplant, citrus carrots, hummus (not a salad I know but they still offer it!) and cucumber tomato. They are sample-​sized and cost $ 2 a piece.
They also introduced more drinks including hibiscus ice tea, lavender lemonade and ginger lemonade.
I have yet to wake up in time or make it to to their breakfast but I’m hoping that I’ll get there at some point.
Overall, I’m still a huge, huge fan and hope that they keep things up although I could maybe use a new sandwich on their menu as I’m growing a little sick of eating the BBQ saitan and soy BLT everyday haha.