Charred Chicken bowl.
You can watch Gabi Merayo make one of B‑Natural Kitchen’s signature healthful dishes in the above video. You can actually pick up the dish — and stay healthy — through a contact-free system the restaurant is pioneering in town.
Merayo and her husband Nebyat Shewaye run B‑Natural Kitchen at 260 College St., a restaurant with an emphasis on natural, healthful home cooking. Grain bowls heaped with seasoned cooked veggies are a hallmark.
Maya McFadden Photo
Nebyat Shewaye
Minnow Pickup Pod.
When the restaurant reopened following a four-month pandemic hiatus, Shewaye began doing research on contact-less food services. He discovered a contact-free food pickup solution developed by the Seattle delivery service Minnow.
B‑Natural Kitchen was approved by Minnow as the second fast-casual restaurant for the pilot program. A Minnow machine now stands by entrance to the restaurant, so customers can pop in and out in minutes to pick up orders without human contact.
The machine has ten cubbies. When the restaurant prepares the food order, it is placed into a cubby and held securely until the customer comes to unlock and retrieve their food. Customers can also scan the machine’s QR code and input their name or number when they arrive at the restaurant to pick up.
Customers can place orders online for pickup. Then they enter a phone number or name to pick up their food contact-free from the Minnow Pickup Pod
Text message customers receives from the restaurant.
Customers receive a text notification including a link. When the link is clicked, the customer’s personal locker door is opened.
“Now we can reach the customers who still don’t feel safe enough but want to get our nutritious food,” Shewaye said. “We want the community to be healthy. To feel good to be good,” The service reduces indoor capacity while also keep employees and customers safe and without having to wait in a line.
Take-out and delivery orders will prove crucial to the ability of local restaurants like B‑Natural Kitchen to weather the pandemic during the coming months as Covid-19 cases climb and cold weather sets in. Call (203) 821‑7093 or visit the restaurant’s website to order the charred chicken bowl and other dishes for take-out or delivery. Hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m to 8 p.m and Sat. 10 a.m to 8 p.m.
Vegan bowl.
Alaska salmon bowl.
The most popular dishes at B‑Natural are the fresh comfort warm bowls particularly the charred chicken bowl, wild Alaska salmon bowl, and the vegan bowl. The vegan bowl is served with vegan meatballs made up of vegetables like beets, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and celery.
Charred Chicken bowl.
To craft a charred chicken bowl, Merayo started with a bed of sautéed kale and a warm blend of quinoa and brown rice.
Then came the roasted sweet potatoes … a scoop of roasted maple Brussels sprouts… charred broccoli and lemon.. beets and carrots..
Next she cut a charred chicken breast into and placed it on top of the vegetables and topped the masterpiece off with almonds and B‑Natural’s signature chili sauce.
Three weeks after the restaurant’s grand opening on Feb. 29, it had to close due to the pandemic. “We want our customers to eat healthy and be healthy so we closed to keep them safe,” Shewaye said.
Once the doors reopened in June, the restaurant business picked up due to the demand for nutritional food during the pandemic, Shewaye said. The restaurant introduced curbside pick-up and delivery services.
So far, Shewaye said, the Minnow Pickup Pod is used mostly by students. The service costs the restaurant $3,500 a year. Shewaye said the investment is worth it because it can be used even when the pandemic clears.
“I have a good feeling now, because this will help us to stay open safely,” Shewaye said.
For people ordering or dining inside, B-Natural has established social-distancing rules.
Previous coverage of recommended take-out orders to help local businesses survive the pandemic:
• Today’s Special: Haci’s Napoletana Pie
• Today’s Special: Fred & Patty’s Brie On Baguette
• Today’s Special: Nieda’s Moist Falafel
• Today’s Special: Qulen’s Vegan “Wings”
• Today’s Special: Aaron’s Peruvian Rice Bowl
• Today’s Special: Singh Bros.’ Chana Kulcha
• Today’s Special: Grandma’s Chicken Soup
• Today’s Special: Woody’s Steak & Shrimp
• Today’s Special: Shilmat’s Yemisir Sambusa
• Today’s Special: Arjun’s Vegetarian Manchurian
• Today’s Special: Mohammed’s Bhel Poori
• Today’s Special: Francesco’s Tortelli
• Today’s Special: Seikichi’s Sushi
• Today’s Special: Ketkeo’s Khao Poon
• Today’s Special: Mike Fox’s French Toast
• Today’s Special: Zhang’s Squirrel Fish Dish
• Today’s Special: Jessica’s Gumbo
• Today’s Special: Kenny Kim’s Vegan Ramen
• Today’s Special: Ernesto’s Venezuelan Arepa
• Today’s Special: Corey’s “Prison Reformer” Frank
• Today’s Special: Bryan’s Butter Chicken Pie
• Today’s Special: Jared’s Super Supreme Baked Potato
• Today’s Special: Craig’s Breakfast Reuben
• Today’s Special: Sunny’s Mackerel Sashimi
• Today’s Special: Jamshed’s Lemon Chicken
• Today’s Special: Dave’s Navratan Curry
• Today’s Special: Nicole’s Oxtail
• Today’s Special: Ricky D’s Brisket Kansa-Lina Fries
