Heartwood Eatery — Restaurant in Nevada City

Listen, I'm not trying to throw shade, but this place has a serious attitude problem. They tout themselves as a great spot for vegan eats, but when I visited the first time a couple years ago, the girl taking my order was a snarky-larky about helping me figure out what my options were. She actually said something to the effect of, "well some vegans think honey is vegan, so that counts." What?! No ma'am. Honey is not vegan, and even if some "vegans" think it is, that doesn't actually make it any more desirable for the rest of us. I found a standard that I like, and it's the only thing I've gotten the four or five more times I've visited since then. Every time I've been there, the staff has been intentionally unfriendly, despite my obvious charm, and not just to me, but to all their customers. They just don't have any sense of customer service above "that will be $49.99" (for two meals)...

Today we ordered our food online, because pandemic, and I think I've given them their last chance. Their website clearly says they are open for curbside pickup and bulk orders. Well, understandably the street was closed off for outside dining, so we parked just around the corner. We actually called them to ask where they'd like us to park, I figured they'd have at least given this some thought, but no. The guy on the phone didn't know what to tell me, and basically said "uuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh" the whole call because he couldn't actually figure out a simple problem. So we parked around the corner, and went in to pick up the order. OOOOOHHHH, that's what's going on! You're not actually doing curbside pickup, you're bucking the county mandate and serving your customers unmasked INSIDE your little restaurant. Yuck. Then, they forgot our drink, and couldn't figure out which drink we'd ordered. This place needs to get its sh*tuff together. It's a huge disappointment too because their food is all so local and fresh. If their actual food was in any way second rate, I would give one star.

Good food (if they can get your order right). Not an overall...

The ingredients of the Heartwood Ramen I had was excellent. Yet the one issue that I almost find unforgivable, is the temperature of the broth. It was warm, not hot. Japanese Ramen broth must be hot, yet the restaurant cooks do not seem to understand that the cold thick earths way bowls they serve soup in, brings down the temperature of the broth to tepid. Yep, that’s right. The hot broth becomes lukewarm, which is so disappointing because the ingredients and flavors were there, but almost cold soup was not enjoyable. We even talked about the idea of asking for them to warm it up, but they don’t seem like a place that even has that capability.

I’m not sure if this review will even be read by the staff, but if it is, I invite you to please visit Japan and see how the temperature of the broth is just as important as taking the time to make it.

And it’s just not me, I ate with my friends who were from Japan, eager to taste the cool Ramen adaptations in the US. They didn’t expect the soup to taste just like in Japan, but they did expect the broth to be hot. And it wasn’t for what they ordered.

Perhaps warm your bowls before you fill them this autumn and winter. They are thick earthenware bowls, so maybe that’s why the broth got cold? It’s just so strange to have had almost cold Ramen soup on the first cold day in Nevada City. I really want them to continue to be successful, so I wish they will want to do better in this. I hope they care about...

Amazing spot: delicious healthy food, cool vibes, our favorite stop in Nevada City! We go out of our way to stop here on the road from SF to Reno when traffic isn't too bad.

The food: I'll describe it as third wave hippy, or gourmet hippy. Think healthy bowls, hearty soups, and nourishing drinks, all from the highest quality sources, often from local family farms and artisan producers. They stock seasonal veggies, tofu, chicken, smoked salmon, avocado, pickled things and more. The coffee and all the beverages we tried were excellent (hipster coffee quality). The gluten friendly seed bread was so good we bought a mini loaf to take home.

The vibe: this place is cool and seems like a total scene, like a forest version of Bali. From an outsider's perspective it seems like the heart of the intentional community network in Nevada City, or at least a hub. Lots of flyers for community events and colorful people around.

The service: staff were super friendly and helpful, didn't rush us in ordering even though it's so hard to pick from all the delicious looking options. When I went back to the register to order a loaf of bread, I was greeted like a returning friend who was in on the not-so-secret knowledge that the food here is stellar. This is a community oriented, self-service type of place. If you get that, you will be very happy with...