The 10 Most Healthyish Restaurants in America
Peden + Munk1/11I’ll freely admit that my idea of a healthy restaurant is much different from, say, that of your average vegan yoga instructor or someone who builds his own salads for lunch: Every. Single. Day. But when you consider that, for much of the year, I’m professionally obligated to eat multiple lunches and multiple dinners daily for weeks at a time, well, a dozen oysters or a bowl of hummus with freshly baked pita sounds downright virtuous. Here are the places I go to get healthyish. (Above: The outdoor scene at Gjusta in Venice, CA.)
Peden + Munk2/11Gjusta, Los Angeles
I’m not sure if it’s all the sunshine in Venice or just the glowing faces of local residents, but everything I eat at this bakery, deli, and cafe me feel good about myself. I might not be going full-on hippie and ordering the kefir banana smoothie or the multigrain porridge, but don’t tell me the mushroom bowl with kimchi and brown rice isn’t just as good for me. Also, eating healthyish doesn’t mean losing your mind. When your friend offers you a bite of her brisket au jus on a baguette, just say yes.
Marcus Nilsson3/11Hight Street on Market, Philadelphia
I’m one of those oddballs who can still eat gluten-filled bread. That doesn’t mean that I’ll eat just any slice of toast, though. Some of the best dough in the country is coming out of their ovens. Even better than the bread is the bread stuffed with things like mushrooms and swiss, smoked bluefish and cucumber cream cheese, and sliced turkey with green goddess dressing. Yes, sandwiches can be healthyish in my book! And if you are gluten intolerant, know that the grilled broccoli salad with blistered grapes, almonds, and herb mayo is quickly reaching legendary status.
Graham Blackall4/11Shaya, New Orleans
There’s a lot of hummus out there these days. And, to be honest, most of it is junk. It's neither delicious nor healthy. Ditto its friend, pita. One place that elevates both is Alon Shaya’s ode to Israeli food. You can get that creamy, still-warm hummus topped with curried cauliflower, lamb ragu, or a soft-cooked egg. And the lighter-than-air pita emerges still puffy from the wood-burning oven. So eat all the po’boys and fried chicken and jambalaya you want. But after the buttons on your pants burst, head to Shaya for some relief.
Alex Lau5/11Swan Oyster Depot, San Francisco
This might be my favorite restaurant on the planet, so I usually figure out a way to get it in every “Best of” list I do. Here, it actually makes sense. Seafood is healthyish as long as it isn’t fried. Eat enough cracked Dungeness crab, thinly sliced raw scallops, or hand-sliced smoked salmon, and it almost feels like you’ve earned that cold pint of Anchor Steam.
Andrew Thomas Lee6/11Pho Dai Loi 2, Atlanta
No matter how rundown I’m feeling, no matter how many drinks I had the night before, pho cures all. It brings me back from the dead. It can be pho ga (chicken) or the traditional beef version loaded with top-eye round, brisket, and tendon. It really doesn’t matter. But I do have my favorite spots. There’s Ha VL, in Portland, Oregon, and Pho Binh, in Houston, but my favorite is this no-frills spot along Atlanta’s vibrant Buford Highway. If I’m in my hometown, it’s Waffle House and Pho Dai Loi 2 every time.
Kyle Johnson7/11The London Plane, Seattle
Left to my own indulgent devices, I would start every day with a spicy chicken biscuit from Bojangles. But then I wouldn’t get to see my daughters graduate high school. A better a.m. choice is the oil-poached albacore tuna with beets, the ginger scallion chicken salad with black rice, or pretty much anything off the all-day menu at this oh-so-tranquil spot overlooking now picturesque Pioneer Square. Want to feel even healthier? Stop on your way out for some fresh-cut flowers.
Evan Sung8/11Shuko, N.Y.C.
Talk to anyone who eats or cooks for a living and many will profess an devotion to all things sushi. Count me as a member of that group. After a week of gut-busting meals, ear-splitting dining rooms, and oh-so-hip restaurants, all I want is to sit at a counter, sake in hand, in front of a sushi master, and be handed pieces of sustainably sourced fish atop still warm rice. I’ve got plenty of favorite places to do this but I’m happiest sitting in front of chefs Jimmy Lau and Nick Kim.
9/11Milk Glass Mrkt, Portland, OR
Eggs are nature’s most perfect, most versatile, most delicious, and healthiest ingredient—at least in my book. And at this tiny, daytime cafe, they do eggs how I like 'em: fried, scrambled, topped with herbs, served with sautéed greens, and tucked inside a warm cheddar biscuit (Yes, I said "biscuit." Because life happens). Then atone with a live-fermented sauerkraut brine shot. No, I’m serious. It works.
Peter Frank Edwards10/11Eventide Oyster, Portland, Maine
I get asked my desert-island meal on a weekly basis (it’s fried chicken, hands down). But what about a desert island where I have to wear a bathing suit every day? Then it's raw oysters on the half-shell and a cold beer. The best oysters, IMHO, are those from Maine, and this casual Portland spot showcases the best of the state. An order of two-dozen never feels like enough.
Alex Lau11/11Lula Café, Chicago
Every time I’ve taken a cab from O’Hare to my hotel in downtown Chicago, I’ve ended up trapped in bumper-to-bumper traffic for what seems like hours. Finally I got a clue and started just taking the Blue Line to the Logan Square stop and going straight to Lula Café. Whether I stop in for a simple smoked-trout scramble for breakfast or I’m lucky enough to get there for the Monday night Farm Dinners, I can count on unpretentious, cliché-dodging food heavy on whatever vegetables Jason Hammel and crew somehow find in the dead of winter. And I can leave feeling like I’ve earned the Au Cheval burger I’ll eat the next day.
