Fancy starting the day with a Good Day smoothie (strawberries, bananas, oatmeal, soy or organic milk, cinnamon), blended to velvety loveliness, with Erykah Badu crooning in the background? Or a stack of wholewheat pancakes washed down with cleansing carrot and apple juice?
At the east end of Bloomfield Ave in Montclair, HLS, which branched out of a successful first location in Maplewood, has been dishing out regular servings of fresh, healthy food since November, when it assumed the spot vacated by Indigo Smoke.
“Some people think that healthy food can’t taste good,” said HLS’ marketing consultant Lumengo Baye, who explained that the two HLS’ in Montclair and Maplewood are owned by siblings Emeka Onugha, 32, and Arinze Onugha, 29. “But healthy food can be cooked more creatively now. When I grew up vegetarian, it was a different story!”
The Onugha brothers say on their impressive website, “We strive to be the destination of choice for selective meat eaters and vegetarians alike by offering a menu that caters equally to both. We pride ourselves on bringing diverse groups together in one warm and welcoming environment.”
Health, Love and Soul, which goes by its acronym, has an extensive menu which ranges from breakfast offerings, to 12 kinds of wraps (among them Thai chicken and Lean Bison Burger) and a non-meat selection adventurous enough to set any vegetarian’s heart aflutter (with healthy excitement rather than the artery-clogging stuff).
For the hummus-weary, there’s the Tempting Soy Turk’y (non-meat) wrap, Soy Chic’n (made of soy, of course) with sauteed spinach, cheese and low-fat honey mustard, the Soy Chic’n Caesar wrap or Soy Chic’n Mozarella wrap, with caramelized onions, sauteed peppers and low-fat ranch dressing.
Said a Baristanet reader who wrote in, “Try the homemade Hibiscus juice. I had a tofu salad which was nice. The tofu was grilled and it gave the salad a nice flavor. As a vegetarian, I was excited to see so many choices.”
Brown rice dishes may be coupled with grilled tilapia, salmon, chicken or tofu chic’n (and look very inviting indeed, see photo) and a vegetable side dish. Soups, salads and vegan desserts, too, are incredibly crammed into the menu. Take a look here for the full selection, and read HLS’ story here.
If you’re ordering a smoothie (I tried the Mixed Berry Mantra), HLS will gladly mix in some soy or whey protein for added body-building oomph. And fresh juices (no sugar added) may be mixed to your preference. Try pineapple with apple and ginger, an HLS specialty.
HLS
387 Bloomfield Avenue
Montclair, NJ 07042
973-337-8925
Open 10:00am to 9:30pm Mon-Sat
10:00am to 8:00pm on Sunday.
What is this? Another health food place? Montclair’s going downhill.
I tried this place when it first opened and really liked it. Unfortunately like every other place on that strip of Bloomfield ave there is no parking. Especially if it’s just for a quick bite or light lunch. And if there’s a show across the street forget it.
I do wish them the best. And when I can find a parking spot I will stop by again.
I’ll bring my hookah here.
Reminds me of Blood, Sweat & Tears, but that wouldn’t be a very good name for a health-food restaurant.
walleroo, hopefully, they leave the dumpster ajar.
Absurd name…. now health, love , soul and hookahs are more like it.
Indeed, Walleroo,
Blood, Sweat & Tears better suits the 10 Plagues, coming soon to a seder near you.
The food was ok, but too bland for my husband and I (both vegetarians). I ordered my wrap with regular cheddar, and was given soy cheese. There are very few decent soy cheeses out there, and this wasn’t one of them. Plus, I was under the impression from the description that my wrap would be fresh spinach, and it was cooked (and the whole wrap grilled). The honey mustard was bland. It was just a lot of little things that sullied the overall experience. This was when it first opened, and I’d be willing to try it again. My husband could tell right away that I was underwhelmed. The juices and fries were woderful, and the side salad with the wrap had a great dressing.
Nellie, you have cracked me up at least twice today. Bring your hookah.
Totally random, but this reminds me of an ad campaign Coke brought to China in the ’70′s or ’80′s — it was during the “It’s the Real Thing” campaign.
They hired experts to translate and do the billboards, and what they came up with was:
“Coke-a-Cola. Suck the Wax Tadpole.”
lostnewyorker: there is a parking lot right behind it…
Bring back Charlie Brown’s!!!!