County Fare F 19
by Diana Cercone
It all started with salads. The “it” is Nourish by MaMa, on the corner of E. State and Donald streets. It’s one of Doylestown’s newest—and hottest—eateries. No surprise that the owner and creative chef is Kendall Bajek, who also owns the popular Empanada MaMa around the corner. (Philadelphia Magazine just named it “Best of Philly 2019 for Empanadas.”)
I had a chance recently to catch up with Kendall. Sitting at one of Nourish’s outdoor tables, she says the idea of opening Nourish came from some of her regular Empanada MaMa customers who come in for her fresh salads. They lamented that there weren’t other restaurants offering nutritious, fresh and delicious salads in the area at equally affordable prices, she says.
That got Kendall thinking. And when Kendall starts thinking, you best believe she’s going to create something yummy, irresistible and good for you. After finding the ideal spot, she opened Nourish by MaMa the day after Thanksgiving last year. And the tiny, corner eatery has been hopping ever since.
Unlike at Empanada MaMa, you’ll find no beef, chicken or pork on the menu. Though not a vegetarian, Kendall recognizes the health benefits of a plant-based diet. Nourish by MaMa is her way of exposing carnivores to plant-based, healthy foods while also delivering delicious dishes to vegetarians and vegans. (Just as cookbook author Mark Bittman espoused in his cookbook, “VB6,” Kendall encourages her carnivore customers to save the meat for dinner.)
And, like Empanada MaMa, Nourish is driven by Kendall’s food ethos. Simply put, it’s “all about providing the community with quick, healthy and affordable food choices that are vibrant with flavor and made using quality ingredients,” she says. Nourish’s foods are 100 percent non-GMO; organic, when possible; and local, when seasonal. In addition, she regularly uses micro-greens from Bloom Moon Acres, eggs from Freedom Farm, honey from Brothers in Bees, sourdough bread from LeBus, challah bread from Crossroads Bakery and cold-brew coffee from Nonno’s Italian Coffee Cafe.
Nourish’s menu is also driven by her love of food and travel. You’ll find the dishes on Nourish’s menu to have been inspired by both, as well as from her favorite restaurants in the area and Philadelphia. For stirred into each recipe, like adding a pinch more salt to draw out flavor or shavings of chocolate to sweeten the dish, is her desire to expand the palate of her customers.
“Most people stay within their food comfort zone,” she says. “If they go to an ethnic restaurant, they become overwhelmed and don’t know what to order. At Nourish, we introduce them to one to two dishes from other countries.”
For example, Nourish’s Fattoush Salad is a tribute to Kendall’s favorite Mediterranean restaurant, Marhaba, in Lambertville. Her Mexican Street Corn Salad is a nod to Quinoa, the Peruvian restaurant a few doors down on E. State Street. Other country-inspired salads, like Moroccan Cauliflower and the Tel Aviv, hail from her travels in Morocco as well as from Zahav in Philadelphia, winner of the James Beard Award for Best Restaurant in the U.S. With these dishes, she says, she not only delivers healthy, flavorful food to her customers, but hopes to encourage them to seek out ethnic restaurants to dine in now that they are familiar with a dish or two or with that country’s traditional spices.
You’ll find Nourish’s menu is heavily influenced by South American cuisines, such as arepas from Columbia and Venezuela, Cuba’s black beans and the continent’s popular plantains. “South American cuisine relies on natural ingredients,” Kendall says. “True, it’s meat-centric, but we work creatively to recreate traditional dishes without the meat.” (Kendall fell in love with the countries’ cuisines while traveling in South America, including living for nine months in Argentina. This past August, she spent time in Greece, so expect to see Greek-inspired dishes to appear on the menu.)
But salads aren’t the only thing you’ll find on Nourish’s menu. Far from it. Starting with breakfast, there are toasts and sandwiches, such as Avocado Toast; Gluten-Free Arepa; Curried Chickpea Wrap; and a farm-fresh egg menu that includes Breakfast Tacos, Pesto Egg Wrap and Vegan Breakfast Burrito. And Nourish offers a rotating menu of freshly prepared soups, such as Thai Sweet Potato & Carrot Bisque, Mexican Quinoa Stew and Butternut Squash & Apple Soup.
Then there are the bowls. Think of them as a whole meal. Instead of each food staking out its claim on a plate, they’re layered and mixed together so that every bite blooms with each ingredient and tasting of every spice and seasoning. Nigella Lawson, author of “Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food,” has said, “For me, bowl food, I suppose it does rhyme with soul food. And it has the same connotation of food that bolsters you.”
Of the Grain Bowls, the two most popular, Kendall says, are the Nourish Bowl, consisting of an avocado or fried egg, baby spinach, light lemon vinaigrette, tri-color quinoa, cilantro sauce, cumin-roasted sweet potatoes with chipotle aioli, sautéed garlic spinach, cherry tomatoes and pepitas; and the Burrito Bowl. The Burrito Bowl features massaged kale, jalapeno-cilantro vinaigrette, cilantro-lime rice, Cuban black beans, cumin roasted sweet potatoes with chipotle aioli, tomatoes, pickled red onions and scallions. But, wait, there are six more mouth-watering bowls, including The Cuban Bowl, a warm rice bowl. For added protein, an avocado or fried egg can be tucked into any bowl or salad.
You can even build your own bowl. For example, the four components to a bowl are the base, toppings, added extras, like avocado; fried or hardboiled egg; Spanish egg salad; roasted beet hummus or roasted garlic hummus; and choice of homemade sauces and dressings for layers of flavor. Suggestions of how to build them are given to ensure—just like Nourish’s salads and bowls—they are nutritionally balanced. In addition, the dressings and sauces, like Turmeric-Yogurt Vinaigrette, Truffle Red Wine Vinaigrette and Chimichurri Sauce, are available for purchase.
You’ll find only one dessert on the menu: Coconut Almond Rice Pudding. But then Kendall only needs to offer one. That’s how addictive and scrumptious it is. How many you eat is up to you.
Then there are the smoothies and drinks made with all organic ingredients. Never one to usually order a smoothie, however, when Emily Skuse, one of Nourish’s friendly staff members, sets a cold Tahini Shake in front of me, I obliged in trying it. From the first sip came a non-stop tidal wave of flavors—each perfectly balanced. I look at Kendall, who smiles and says it’s her latest creation. Made with tahini, dates, cold-brew coffee, almond milk, vanilla and cardamom, it’s sure to become a staple favorite.
Already a staple smoothie, Mr. Green was named after a regular customer who said he was tired of making it for himself and turned his recipe over to Kendall. But that’s not unusual, Kendall says. “Nourish is like a community kitchen.” Explaining, she says with a mix of pride and joy, customers often bring her a spice blend to try, basil from their gardens or drop off other menus with a specific dish circled for her, asking if she can make it.
Nor is it uncommon for Kendall’s customers to write notes on the backs of their checks, saying “We love you! Thank you!”
Nourish by MaMa is located at 34 East State Street, Doylestown; 215-230-3306; nourishbymama.com. Mon., Wed. & Fri. 9 a.m.—4 p.m.; Tues. & Thurs. 9 a.m.—6 p.m. Breakfast available all day and Brunch available on Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Diana Cercone is an area freelance writer who specializes in food, art and travel.