By Jennimai Nguyen By Jennimai Nguyen | January 21, 2020 | Food & Drink,
Kick off 2020 in delicious—and healthy— style with six new resolutionworthy Chicago culinary offerings.
Chicken and herb meatballs are among the options available via Whole30 Delivered.
WHOLE-ISTIC NUTRITION
Who says a healthy lifestyle means having to leave your couch? With the rise of food delivery services, there’s never a shortage of couriers waiting to bring your latest craving to your door. For homebodies on the Whole30 diet, Grubhub is catering to you with its new virtual restaurant, Whole30 Delivered. Teaming up with Lettuce Entertain You, Grubhub offers a seasonally rotating, online-only menu of real, whole, unprocessed foods. “As a single mom and CEO, I’m already imagining how Whole30 Delivered could save the day with delicious, hearty meals when meetings run late or I’m traveling a lot,” says Melissa Urban, co-founder and CEO of Whole30. For anyone on the fence about a 30-day reset, door-to-door service just made it a lot easier.
RISING SPIRITS
Chicagoan Marcus Sakey is one of the founders of Ritual Zero Proof, the first American-made spirit alternative with all-natural botanicals to mimic the taste, smell—even the burn—of liquor, but without the alcohol or calories. “Look, I’m a drinker, so I think of Ritual as the perfect third cocktail,” says Sakey. “Ritual is about more. More flavor, more moments, more life.” Bonus? Zero chance of a hangover.
CRATE CRAVINGS
Committing to healthy options doesn’t mean cutting out all indulgences. Chef Bill Kim is modernizing his healthy menu at new suburban destination The Table at Crate by substituting healthy ingredients in popular food items. Choose from choices like poke bowls with cauliflower rice and pot de crème with dairy-free macadamia milk when visiting the designed-to-inspire full-service restaurant nestled inside Crate & Barrel. Don’t miss out on the curated beverage menu either—Julieta Campos brings spirit-free and low-ABV sippers like the Cucumber Crush and the Crime of Passion, perfect for any time of day. 35 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, 630.590.9444
Mott Street’s superfood-packed Bowl of Awesome
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME
Healthy eating can be intimidating, and let’s face it: Sometimes you just want someone to make a meal choice for you. Enter: the Bowl of Awesome at Mott Street. Its name may be audacious, but it delivers. Exclusively featured on the restaurant’s brunch menu, this yogurt bowl is packed with superfoods, vitamin C and healthy fats with ingredients like chlorophyll, bee pollen, seasonal fruit and amaranth. 1401 N. Ashland Ave., 773.687.9977
TO MARKET, TO MARKET
Freshness is key at Eataly Chicago, which has become a favorite Italian marketplace since opening in River North six years ago. Now the culinary masters behind the market-to-table concept are introducing Osteria del Mercato, the brand’s first permanent experiential restaurant concept. The menu, designed by executive chef Will Serafini, highlights Eataly’s signature fresh market counters in dishes like beef carpaccio and pork chops, all crafted from handpicked cuts and high-quality meat. Low-cal? Not necessarily—but market-fresh, unprocessed foods are a step in the right direction. 43 E. Ohio St., 312.521.8700
DO GOOD, FEEL GOOD
Redefining your health goes beyond the body. Lincoln Park’s Centre Street Kitchen offers a dining experience that bridges doing good and feeling good with its positive-atmosphere concept restaurant. At owner Erik Baylis’ neighborhood eatery, after being seated guests are asked to put down their menus and tell their companions what they appreciate about each other. After a health-conscious meal of veggie-centric and low-cream and -butter plates—think chargrilled octopus with pimentón aioli, and broccoli Caesar salad with Parmesan anchovy vinaigrette—diners are invited to participate in the restaurant’s donation wall, where 100% of proceeds benefit the Never Had a Bad Day foundation, a nonprofit supporting pediatric cancer patients and their families. It’s the perfect way to go beyond self-care, treating yourself while lending a hand to fellow Chicagoans. 1224 W. Webster Ave., 312.815.1917
Photography by: LINDSAY WIDDEL; CASEY VANDERSTEL/COURTESY OF MOTT STREET