Restaurant Review: Groundwork Coffee Co.

We visited Groundwork Coffee Company’s great location downtown, where there is spacious cafe seating indoors and out, as well as ample workspace with free wi-fi. Excellent already, but it doesn’t stop there: Groundwork’s Coffee is absolutely delicious, and fair trade + organic to boot. They also offer an extensive, exotic tea selection for the coffee-naysayers! The pries are not the usual “organic overpriced,” but thankfully quite low for a quick pick-me-up in the middle of the workday.

We also tried their baked-in-house vegan pumpkin muffin, which was a perfect accompaniment to a soy latte, and noticed that they also offer affordable, fresh, breakfast and lunch items like breakfast sandwiches (all day!), bagels, salads and sandwiches, most for under $5. Highly recommended for excellent coffee, and that’s coming from a picky coffee snob! Other locations include Hollywood and Venice, so you can enjoy organic, affordable coffee made locally in LA from a company committed to sustainable business practices and community involvement–so you’re getting far more than a perfect cup o’ Joe!

–Abby Gould, Sage Wellness Intern

Restaurant Review: Long Live Lemonade!

Beets, Pickled Red Onions, Hazelnut Vinaigrette + Avocado, Cherry Tomatoes, Pine Nuts, Lime Vinaigrette + Butternut Squash, Farro, Cilantro, Pomegranate Vinaigrette + Rice, Mango, Mint, Feta + Seared Ahi Tuna, Whole Citrus Ponzu + red velvet cupcake = only $14!

If you love free samples, friendly + knowledgeable staff, and a fantastically broad variety of delicious fresh food, then you’re in luck at Lemonade! If you don’t love that stuff, then you’re not normal. After my first visit today, Lemonade is definitely my new favorite lunch spot, and also a great place to grab dinner (and dessert, of course) to take home after a day at work. Which I just did after a lunch there.

Lemonade is perfect for foodies with culinary A.D.D. like me: you can split the marketplace salad portions between different types to get even more flavors in there, (SO many options! Good thing they’re generous with samples!), and there are countless sandwich, soup, pot roast, and protein options, too. I think it’s virtually impossible to not find at least 10 things you’ll want to eat here! I had great ahi, and I’m picky about my fish. Had 2 marketplace salads but made it into 4; which was hard enough because I enjoyed every sample I had! The marketplace salad combinations were creative, refreshingly unique lunch options that all featured super high quality ingredients that were never “overdone,” preserving the garden-fresh quality of the food.

And then I turn around…bakery, too?! The $1 cupcakes will be my diet demise: they’re not overwhelming sweet or enormous like those “other” cupcakes (ahem, Sprinkles), and there are other enticing pies, cakes, etc. More options!

If a gourmet cooking school ever had a cafeteria–that’s the concept of Lemonade. Reasonable prices for lunch, easy street parking, and a pleasant patio outside. With locations in WeHo, Venice, downtown, and at MOCA, you can easily enjoy the lunchtime bliss of Lemonade. Long live Lemonade!

–Abby Gould, Sage Wellness Intern

Restaurant Review: Tender Greens’ Awesome Organics

I often drive by the many Tender Greens restaurants around LA, curious to try their food just based on the name: green and tender? Sounds good to me! And with easy-access locations in Culver City, West Hollywood, and Hollywood, it was only a (brief) matter of time before my culinary curiosity turned into a new found love for Tender Greens!

After much deliberation over the extensive organic menu and endless customization choices (Paralyzed by foodie indecision! Overwhelmed by harmonious salads!), we finally settled on a grilled shrimp salad with added avocado & beets (custom, as always) with a side of seasonal grilled vegetables, rustic tomato & basil soup for each of us, and an enormous carrot cupcake to satisfy my sweet tooth. This was a perfect light lunch to split for two, but the salad itself, possibly with a side, would also be a well-portioned lunch for one. The staff was courteous, helpful, and they didn’t even flinch at my personal requirement to always customize my order. And this place is not simply skimpy salads: every salad comes topped with a protein (even the vegan option), which includes your choice of chipotle chicken, salt & pepper chicken, flat iron steak, albacore, and a special option such as shrimp. Soups, sides, and desserts are in constant rotation, so there’s always something new and delicious to try beyond the luscious leaves of lettuce!

Anyway, fantastic fresh produce, reasonable prices ($11 salad is a steal in LA!), and friendly staff. Most ingredients are organic and locally sourced from Oxnard, and meat is hormone-free. There is a pleasant outdoor patio area for enjoying the fresh air and chatting with friends, or indoor cafe seating if you need to finish up writing some emails. And this is a great lunch spot for those that aren’t sure of their fellow diners’ dietary needs: there are carnivore, pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan options. No dietary discrimination!

–Abby Gould, Sage Wellness Intern

Check out our Sage Wellness Yelp page here for more healthy restaurant suggestions around LA!

Restaurant Review: Progressive Pizza from Pizza Fusion

I’ve been looking, no, I’ve been SCOURING Los Angeles for the past two years for a pizza place that qualifies for my “regular” spot. Pizza Fusion, you’re it!

Delivery was fast, the pizza was hot and fresh, prices are very reasonable, and they were very helpful over the phone with listening to my customary changes to the whole wheat crust Farmer’s Market pizza—perfect, but I just had to have goat cheese on top, too! The amazing combo of super fresh, organic veggies piled on high-quality cheese (goat cheese, parmesan, mozzarella) is my ideal pizza, and I’m particularly picky about pizza. There’s a long menu of creative, healthy pizza combos, and the ability to super-customize your pizza, including “rare” options like soy cheese, organic cheese, gluten free crust, free-range chicken, and a plethora of veggies. Salads, sandwiches, desserts, all-natural/organic beverages, and gluten free/vegan options ensure no one will fail to find a favorite, and online-orders and speedy delivery to the office from two locations in Santa Monica and Hollywood make it so you can focus on work while the best healthy pizza (we’ve found so far) comes right to your desk!

And even though I would recommend this place on the food alone, Pizza Fusion also uses 75% organic ingredients, delivers in hybrid cars, offsets 100% of their carbon emissions, and practices many more environmentally responsible initiatives. Even their employees’ clothes are made from 100% organic cotton! Cheesy deliciousness with a conscience!

–Abby Gould, Sage Wellness Intern

Check out our Sage Wellness Yelp page here for more healthy restaurant suggestions around LA!

Choose to be Healthy at 21 Choices

There may be a frozen yogurt joint on nearly every corner in LA, but none measure up to the excellence of 21 Choices! They set themselves above the regular, artificially “healthy” fro yo by using ingredients like organic fruits, omega-3 rich flax seeds, and zero artificial colorings or flavorings. Like they say, it’s not only “not bad for you–it’s actually good for you!” And the enthusiastically friendly staff is happy to put up with my indecisiveness over the countless mix-ins, including specials like red-velvet cake and fresh golden raspberries. Yum! Located in Pasadena, Claremont, and downtown by USC, 21 Choices is sure to be your next healthy addiction…

–Abby Gould