Beautifull!
Don’t blink. That isn’t a typo. It’s the name of a new food company in San Francisco that wants to make it easier for you to eat healthful.
Beautifull! opened its flagship store/cafe in San Francisco’s Laurel Village Shopping Center this spring. More locations are planned, including one in Palo Alto early next year.
The stores make prepared foods that are free of hormones, steroids, additives, preservatives, refined sugars, refined grains, butter and cream. A team of chefs and nutritionists have come up with dishes that can be enjoyed in the store, wrapped up to-go, or delivered to your home or office in whatever amounts that suit your needs.
I know you’re thinking, “That sounds way too healthy to taste any good.” Admit it.
Heck, I thought that, too.
But I ate those words, along with some tasty samples that were delivered to my house recently.
Wonderful whole grains, along with fresh, delicious fruits and veggies are staple ingredients in the offerings.
The “Tea-Smoked Salmon with Red Quinoa & Edamame Salad” (market price) is a signature dish. The salmon, house-smoked over Asian tea leaves, is moist, tender, and yes, wonderfully smoky tasting. It tops Peruvian red quinoa, buttery edamame, carrots, red peppers, and crunchy hijiki seaweed, tossed in a gingery vinaigrette. It’s a dish redolent of Japanese flavors.
The “Chinese Chicken Salad” ($9.99 as an entree salad) also is a taste of Asia, with nutty sesame oil and tangy rice wine vinegar in the Asian honey mustard dressing. The roasted chicken breast was just a tad dry, but that can happen when it’s pre-sliced ahead of time and refrigerated.
The “Whole Grain & Bean Enchiladas with Salsa Verde” ($7.99 as a prepacked meal) are corn tortillas filled with scrambled free-range eggs, golden quinoa, pinto beans, and yellow pepper, then topped with feta, cilantro, and spicy salsa verde. There was so much flavor going on that I didn’t miss the meat at all in this dish.
Kids will love “Kamut Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs” ($6.99 a pound). Parents will love how good it is for the wee ones. Lean turkey meat combines with rolled oats, spinach, Dijon mustard and herbs for big, bountiful meatballs atop spaghetti made of Kamut, a grain high in protein and minerals. It all gets tossed with a simple tomato-basil sauce.
Baked goods also are offered. The blueberry ginger muffin($2.99) is super moist with a crunchy, sugary top. It’s made with whole spelt flour, almond meal, whole wheat flour, organic nonfat yogurt, apple sauce, agave nectar, and fresh blueberries. It’s one of the best, most complex tasting blueberry muffins I’ve enjoyed in awhile.
Oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip cookies ($1.99 each) are big-fisted. They aren’t as decadent as ones made with butter. Their texture is definitely dense, not chewy or crisp.
The “Oatmeal Souffle with Blueberry Compote” ($5.99 each) was quite intriguing. Imagine your morning oatmeal made into a convenient muffin shape. Made with steel-cut oats, free-range eggs, organic almond milk, pear juice and vanilla, it has an almost custardy texture. It comes with a blueberry compote to pour over the top. I could eat this for breakfast regularly and be quite a happy person.
Prices for the food are not cheap, but reasonable, given the high-quality ingredients, plus convenience.
It’s definitely a nice alternative to take-out, greasy pizza on those days or nights when whipping up a home-cooked meal just isn’t gonna happen.
Sounds like a delectable option!
Beautiful pictures (pun intended!!!)
The food sure looks great at Beautiful! I would love to try those enchiladas!
Wow … somehow this escaped my attention. Will definitely check it out. That salmon is gorg!
I’ve had the signature tea smoked salmon with quinoa and edamame salad. It’s delicious and I’m looking forward to trying their other food too! Especially the muffin. I’m a sucker for a muffin with a sugary, crunchy top.
Nice review as usual! That salmon looks incredible, I had to scroll up and look at the photo several times! Spaghetti looks good too.
I’ve been waiting for one to open down in Palo Alto ever since I visited the one in Laurel Village. It’s what I was hoping the Calafia market was going to be like… Do you know where it is opening in Palo Alto? You are definitely my Peninsula/South Bay food maven!
Sounds like a wonderful place! Thanks for the review! 🙂
I’m mesmerized by the crunchy topping on the muffin myself… boo, I wish they’d open one near me, those dishes sound perfect for my detox/eat healthy program!
Armaburrito: Alas, the publicist won’t yet reveal the exact location of the Palo Alto site, because it’s not 100 percent finalized yet. But I’ll let you know as soon as I hear.
Foodhoe: Are you still detoxing?!? Hah! Was fun to finally meet you last night at Perbacco in San Francisco. Man, what a dinner that was. I give you props if you can detox after that wonderful chow-down.
Beautifull’s fully a beautiful concept whose time has come. I’m hoping the mysterious Palo Alto location will be away from heavily trafficked venues like University Avenue. Charlie Ayers has his place in a shopping center so maybe that or a nice tree-lined side street. Now that would be a primo place to hawk healthy food!
In addition to companies like this, more and more restaurants in the bay area are offering prepared take out fast healthy gourmet food options. From La Boulange to the second Out the Door in the Filmore. It’s exciting that this demand for wholesome good fast food is becoming more and more readily available.
Big Fan Carolyn!
Thank you, M! (Oooh, I feel so James Bond-ian saying that.)
I love Out the Door, too. Wish there was one in the South Bay. Ahhh, maybe some day….I’ll have to work on getting Charles Phan to venture southward. 🙂
I love the look of those meatballs!
Absolutely yummy looking pics.
Yeah this place in on the way for my Trader Joe’s run – can’t wait to test it out.
“But I ate those words, along with some tasty samples that were delivered to my house recently.”
I love this line. Great choice of words, Caroline!!
Also, this place sounds right up my alley and my mom’s too. I may make her take me next time I’m in the Bay Area (which is in two weeks).
And I also just totally called you Caroline instead of Carolyn. Which is funny because I was telling someone about 10 minutes ago about how my mom was going to name my brother Caroline instead of Zachary if he turned out to be a girl. Wow, I need to go home and nap. 🙂
Marnie: No worries. Actually, the Caroline/Carolyn mix-up happens to me quite often, even with some of my friends who have known me for years. Hah.
Now, go have a nice nap. It’s Friday. You deserve a restful, long weekend.
Wow! This place looks amazing. I am moving to the City soon and will def check this out! Looks very vegan friendly, Thank you!!!