Clean eating is the new buzz phrase, and you can interpret it to mean anything from no more drive-through-window lunches to easing back on that topped-off glass of wine. Reward your efforts with dinner at one of the city’s latest wave of new healthy restaurants where you can order organic, near-organic and vegan-adjacent meals. They all pack a flavor punch without using anything processed.
The 5 Best Places to Eat Healthy in L.A.
Hint: It's all about clean eating
Alchemy Food And Juice Lab
Explore dishes from the raw-food movement at this casual counter restaurant squeezed in along Robertson Boulevard. Have an open-faced avocado sandwich on brioche ($6) and a scoop of ice cream ($3) made from scratch from fresh produce, medjool dates (for sweetness) and ice.
638 N. Robertson Blvd., W. Hollywood; 310-360-0238 or alchemyfoodjuicelab.eat24hour.com
Little Pine
Musician Moby is spreading his gospel of vegan living at this new breakfast, lunch and dinner bistro in Silverlake. The no-meat, all-organic menu includes dishes like cassoulet, a comforting combination of white beans, house-made soy-protein sausage, tomato confit and garlic bread crumbs ($14). Bonus: All profits are donated to animal welfare organizations.
2870 Rowena Ave.; 323-741-8148 or littlepinerestaurant.com
Fala Bar
The draw here is all-organic, vegan falafel made into little balls to top your salad or form a burger. Choose from five flavors: original, spicy, sweet potato, kale and crunchy. We recommend the Fala Me to California salad with lemony kale ($14).
1146 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice; 310-399-0809 or falabar.com
The Gadarene Swine
This ivy-covered corner of Studio City with a lights-bedecked patio redefines vegan dining with less emphasis on the meat substitutes and more focus on vegetables in imaginative flavor pairings. Order the blackened cauliflower entreé ($12). Surprisingly flavorful, its creamy, garlicky dressing and cooked-just-right texture made us forget all about animal protein.
11266 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; 818-508-5550 or thegadareneswine.com
Sweetgreen
This East Coast chain of healthy fast-food restaurants is a great place for beef, chicken and cheese lovers to eat fresh and healthy. It sources from local and organic growers, and its salads--like the über-filling Earth Bowl (quinoa, farro, arugula, cheddar, chicken and more)--taste that much better for it.
1343 Fourth St., Santa Monica; 424-744-8321 or sweetgreen.com