The Little Beet, with multiple locations throughout Manhattan, is yet another fabulous example of how great food can truly taste during the lunch time rush in The Big Apple.
Fast casual restaurants are sort of becoming the norm here in Manhattan. Everyone is consistently on the go in NYC, and finding a place that serves quality food with great ingredients can be simply hard to find so we opt for places that don’t have much nutritional value instead. Bad move, folks.
The Little Beet wants to cure people of that thought process by providing high quality and healthy items that taste fantastic and won’t break your diet or budget. They even advertise themselves as “100% Guiltin Free,” which proved to be very true based on my most recent experience at their Nomad location late last week.
They operate similar to what other types of places like this do, in that you go down the line and order a variety of items to be place inside a bowl and eaten at your disposal.
Here is where you get to really get your creative culinary juices flowing, as I do recommend the “make your own” bowl as opposed to the pre-determined ones. You first start with your base, which can either be gluten-free ancient grain blend, brown rice or a beet salad mix.
Then, it’s time to get freaky with your food options, as there is so much you can pile into one bowl without feeling like your pants are going to burst. So if you want a cooler option, there is their cucumber & sea radishes or shaved Brussels sprouts. Want to mix that with something hot? Try their charred sweet potato (my absolute favorite), broccoli or roasted kale.
Then, there is the protein, which is a crucial component in any sort of bowl you are creating. You can go the anti-meat or seafood route and try their tofu, or you can be like me and get their delicious chicken, which is marinated in lime citrus sauce. Yum.
Finally, the sauce and garnish, which brings it all together. My recommendation would be their sweet chili garlic sauce, as the peppers, garlic, citrus and olive oil blend well with a lot of the ingredients listed above. Add some hibiscus pickled onion too for a great crunch.
Overall, The Little Beet impressed me with how well they are able to prepare a hearty yet healthy bowl at a reasonable price ($15 or under). For more information, check out their official website.