Last Saturday (April 4), Dayle, Kathy, and I had planned on attending a gardening class at the Oakhurst Community Garden in Decatur. However, due to a family emergency the instructor had to cancel and we found ourselves looking for lunch in Oakhurst Village. Our good food mojo was working great that day, and we found Nectar, a breakfast and lunch cafe right beside Kavarna Coffee.



The first thing that caught my eye was a couple that was leaving and carrying their leftovers in a paper-based to-go box. The next thing was the menu posted by the door (the menu would normally have been first, but Kathy and Dale got to it before I did, blocking me out).

The menu was comprised of soups, salads, panini, smoothies, ice creams, and fresh-made raw juices, with several vegetarian/vegan choices. They offer build-your-own breakfast panini on artisan breads or bagels. The breads are all natural, fresh made locally. We learned that the soup was from Bhojanic, the great Indian restaurant over on Clairmont. It turns out that there's a family connection between the two restaurants. Naruna, the lovely lady behind Nectar, is from Brazil and her husband's family, from Northern India, owns Bhojanic. Naruna puts a Brazilian touch on several menu items, with smoothie ingredient choices like acerola, acai, and guarana. Naruna is a very personable lady and was happy to talk to us about Nectar's green practices.

Besides using compostable to-go boxes and offering veggie menu items, they also donate their food waste to the Oakhurst Community Garden compost pile. They use as many locally grown, organic products as they can and seek out sources that support sustainable farming, fair trade pricing, and earth-friendly practices as much as possible.

The food was great! We had the yellow lentil soup, the hearts of palm salad, and the veggie panino. Perfection! As we were leaving, Naruna offered us a small sample of a blueberry smoothie that they had just concocted, and it was on a par with the rest of what we had just had - delicious!

If you're near Oakhurst Village and want a delicious, healthy breakfast or lunch, and you want to support someone who offers good food, done right, then Nectar is a great choice.