There’s a new grab-and-go restaurant in DTLA called Everytable. It’s located on the lower level of The Bloc, tucked away by the entrance to the subway. The food is really good, but the mission behind the restaurant is even better (more on that in a minute).
My husband and I stopped by Everytable the other night. We didn’t realize it was a grab-and-go concept until we arrived. The space is small with one wall lined with pre-made meals. I asked the Everytable employee to recommend his favorite meal. He raved about the Cajun Blackened Fish ($8.95) paired with collard greens, black-eyed peas and sweet potato puree. So I decided to give it a try.
My husband grabbed the Kale Chicken Caesar Salad ($7.95) made with chicken breast, kale, red and green cabbage, cherry tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, whole-wheat croutons and a Caesar dressing. He also grabbed a bowl of the Yucatan Chili ($7.95) made with chickpeas, kidney beans, white beans, black-eyed peas, ancho chile, white mushrooms, zucchini, corn and red bell peppers. The cashier warned him that this chili had “a bit of a kick.”
There are microwave ovens in the store so can heat up your food on the spot, but we decided to take it home. The food traveled very well in the containers. There was no leaking. Once we got home, we shared the salad. It was ultra fresh and so delicious. We heated up the entrees per the directions on the labels. I really enjoyed the fish and the sides. It was a nice sized portion with lots of flavors. My husband loves spicy, and he was surprised just how much “kick” was in the bowl of chili. If you don’t like spicy, do NOT get the chili.
Okay, now let’s talk about the Everytable concept. Everytable has one central kitchen that prepares and packages all their food, then it is distributed to their grab-and-go restaurants. This model allows them to keep prices down, while keeping food quality up. They price their meals according to the neighborhoods where they are sold. There are currently two other Los Angeles area Everytable locations (South LA and Baldwin Hills). DTLA meals are priced about $8 each. In the areas where there are less healthy options, the same meals are $4 to $5 in hopes people will choose these healthy options over fast food chains. I really like this idea. Even though the DTLA prices are slightly higher than the other locations, we are still getting healthy, high quality meals at a great price… and allowing Everytable to offer up their healthy food in under served communities. Good job Everytable!
The Everytable menu is filled with a variety of cold salads, plus a great selection of items designed to be heated up, like Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Tamales de Chile Rojo. There are also kids meals and desserts. The menu will change seasonally so we won;t get bored with the selection. I hope DTLA embraces the Everytable concept. It’s perfect to grab on your way to work for lunch, and on your way home for dinner.
EVERYTABLE 700 So. Flower Street (in The Bloc) 213.318.3836 everytable.com
DTLAexplorer.com 