It does have too easy of a config file. Who needs per directory config anyway? Or the ability to create redirects without a restart? I love nginx, but it has some flaws. The reality is it just has different flaws and strengths than Apache.
You can do per-directory config in nginx with the location block, it's just that you just can't put the config inside the directory itself and have nginx automatically load it.
You can tell nginx to reload its configuration without restarting the entire server process by running "sudo /etc/init.d/nginx reload", or on ubuntu "sudo service nginx reload".
I find the lack of dynamically loaded modules more aggravating, personally. Having to recompile and optionally repackage the damn thing because you need a module not included in the base nginx is a pain.
