Natural Detox Nutrition Shoppe

I love all the nice changes they’ve made there. all the new items, more roomier space. great atmosphere.awesome food, exceptionally great staff.

Phone ahead. They’re closed for renovations with no indication of when (if?) they’ll be reopening. Also «free entrée» coupon with Unilocal check in is actually a bogo and expired in 2012. Nice… for those interested in finding this place later on (if it ever reopens), it is adjacent to the iconic Mel’s Hot Dogs. Bön apetit… maybe.

I actually thought I was home for a minute, and the owner/​cook was preparing my delish Vegan meal… until another customer walked in… wow this place is so homey, friendly & down to earth… oh yaaaaa… my foods ready! Just like the olé Campbells soup commercial… um, um, good! Hope you all enjoy, I do.

I want to like this place a lot more, I really do. I mean anywhere that offers completely vegan takeout should be five stars in my book. So what’s the problem?
First, I’ll start with what’s not the problem. This small hole-​in-​the-​wall store is completely filled with vegan items. Some of these are items I’ve seen at Whole Foods, Nutrition S’Mart, Chuck’s, Trader Joe’ s or Abby’s, and some of them I’ve never seen before (different brands of salmon patties, tuna and fried chicken just to name a few). Items for sale include canned goods, frozen foods, condiments, snacks, baking items, spices, homemade baked goods and fresh smoothies. All of these seemed to be priced pretty close to your local health food stores like Chuck’s, Abby’s or Nutrition S’Mart.
Our original reason for visiting was to order some take out. The menu was hard to find (it was behind you when you walk in, not on a big sign over by where you order). Once I found the menu, I asked for a tofu wrap. The wrap was full of fresh veggies and nicely textured tofu. The tofu was some of the best I’ve had recently. I loved that the sandwich could be topped with any number of vegan condiments including chipotle mayo. I opted for plain old mustard since my daughter was sharing it with me. Speaking of my daughter, that child started crying from hunger while we waited for our sandwich to be made. What did the employees do? They offered her a homemade carob cookie absolutely free. The crying immediately stopped (hmmm…maybe I should teach her to cry on command so we can get more free stuff) and a huge smile spread across her face.
The owner of the shop was very knowledgeable. She took me on a tour of the store, talked to me about the products, shared which ones were vegan and not (they have like three or four things in the store that have eggs in them) and gave me recommendations based on customer feedback and popularity. Not sure if you like something? Instead of buying an entire box, Natural Detox/​Vegan Take Out will sell them in smaller increments. Buy only two vegan chicken patties or nuggets instead of an entire box. That’s something I’ve never seen before.
So why only three stars? Well, the reason I needed a tour of the store is because nothing is labelled. You’d find the same products at two different places in the shop. The refrigerators aren’t clear, so you have to open them to see inside. Then you stand there looking around and rearranging things. All the while energy is being wasted unnecessarily.
The owner did apologize a lot and kept saying she was in the process of defrosting refrigerators. I’ll give them a few weeks and then stop back in. With a few simple tweaks, like better organization and labels on the outside of the refrigerators telling you what’s inside, this store would easily be a four or even five star one.

I’ve been to Natural Detox/​Vegan Take Out a few times and it is awesome. A rotating menu of delicious vegan entrees and desserts that are homemade. The owner is friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. The small shop has some nice items, too. I love the ambiance, like your sitting at the table in the cozy kitchen of a doting relative.
I had coconut curried rice with vegetables and faux chicken and I couldn’t believe how delicious it was.
If you’re looking for healthful vegan fare that is predictably tasteful, you’ll find it at this spot.