On Friday we had a company meeting with all our leadership to talk about a decision we’ve made about the future of Clover. We are all focused on putting Clover on solid financial footing so we can continue to make the food you love for many years to come. COVID changed everything for restaurants like us. The way we eat, drink, work, and get together has shifted substantially and, while Clover has seen a steady recovery in sales…

Julia here. Today, October 29, is Clover’s birthday! 15 years of perfect pita, crispy chickpea fritters, countless sandwiches that cycle with the seasons, and of course the occasional birthday cupcake. How lucky are we? Although I’ve been working at Clover for a year and a half, this was my first week as CEO. I’m excited and honored to be stepping into this role. I’ve been a Clover enthusiast for a long time – since my first taste of a Blue Oyster Mushroom sandwich as a grad student in 2013. As COO and now as CEO…

If you stop by tomorrow (Friday 10/27) around 11am, you might be treated to a bit of Clover history in the form of a carrot cupcake with buttercream frosting. One per paying customer, while they last! And they may not last long : )

A bunch of you have been asking, and yes, we are doing a Thanksgiving Box menu again this year, with all the favorites from years past – Hubbard Squash glazed with maple-Sriracha butter, mashed potatoes, gravy, Ayr’s dad’s walnut-mushroom patè, stuffing – there’s even a limited run of Petsi pies. Free delivery to your door if you’re within 30 miles of us. Click here to reserve yours.

I’ve recently asked somebody who believes in Clover as much as I do to step into the CEO role. Julia Wrin Piper has been Clover’s COO for the past 18 months and will take over running the company day-to-day. I’ll be shifting my efforts to provide support for Julia and the team, work on growth opportunities, and pursue partnerships that will amplify Clover’s mission. I’ll remain a member of the Board of Directors and active as an advisor and mentor. Clover is facing a potent mix of opportunity and challenge right now and I know Julia is exactly the right person to lead the team through these twists and turns.

On 10/29 Clover will turn 15 years old. It’s been 15 years since we first pulled up a tiny white food truck to the MIT campus in hopes of testing a menu that could make a dent in global warming. Since then we’ve supported so many local farmers; had tons of adventures on board trucks and restaurants; and met tons of wonderful customers. And most of all we’ve made food. Lots and lots of food. In honor of our 15th birthday, we sent out a survey asking you about your favorite LONG-LOST MENU ITEMS. We’ve picked the top results and we’re going to bring them back for one day only – in the form of a Birthday Meal Box!

We’ll be pulling up the truck to two events this weekend (a Cornhole Tournament in Lincoln and an Oktoberfest event in Southie), both of which are open to the public! BTW, this photo is of the POV of a beautiful chickpea fritter sandwich, made by Ariel from CloverHSQ. I took it on board the truck, when I got to work one of the events a few weeks ago (a movie night in Southie).

Winter is on our doorstep and soon, the CSA shelves at Clover will be filled with giant organic carrots, beautiful starburst radishes, spicy greens, heirloom beans, gorgeous squashes — straight from a Massachusetts farm, and ready for you to turn into cozy soups, tacos, casseroles, pickles, tagines, and anything you can dream up. That’s right – Winter CSA signups are live – make sure you get your orders in ASAP.

Emily here. I handle ingredient sourcing at Clover. If you’ve eaten fries in the last few weeks, you might have noticed they’re extra delicious, extra crispy, and a bit lighter in color. We’ve started working with a potato farm in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont called Sparrow Arc Farm. Chris Kurth at Siena Farms connected me with Matthew Linehan, the farmer. The varietal of the potato is…

It’s sweet, it’s funky, it’s savory, it’s only here this time of year. And some of you have been known to buy 5 at a time. Yep, the Japanese Sweet Potato Sandwich has returned for the fall! What’s inside? Shoyu mayo, roasted-then-fried sweet potatoes, cabbage-green-onion-slaw, and tempura-fried sesame seeds that resemble a many-eyed sea monster. Enzo came up with this one 9 years ago and…

One of the dishes in our upcoming Apple Box is wobbly, sweet, eat-with-a-spoon, kind of ugly, and so yummy. It’s Baked Apples. We used to make them every morning at the original Harvard Square restaurant. It would fill Holyoke Street with the smell of brown sugar and cinnamon and the first apples of fall. Turns out their history in Harvard Square is even older than our restaurant – our favorite former grocery store owner Tony Russo remembered going to diners in Harvard Square for them when he was a kid. Along with everything you need to make baked apples, the Apple Box has my favorite…

If you’ve seen a Clover truck out of the corner of your eye, your eyes are not deceiving you. We’ve been popping up at select events around the city. This photo is of an event at a farm, The Food Project in Lincoln. We served crudités with fancy hummus, and French fries with rosemary. There was a fair amount of excitement, involving Joe and Mary from Clover teaming up with a farmer to help un-stuck the truck from some mud. If you want the Clover truck to pull up at your event, email us at catering@cloverfoodlab.com. And if you’re a Clover staff member reading and want to inject a dose of excitement and fresh air into your day, get in touch about working a truck event or two!