It’s Boulder — where do you eat (and fast) when you’re in a rush? You want to skip the fake food-in-a-box places but you’re willing to get out of the car and sit if it means healthy, delicious, AND fast. Well, it’s time for a Boulder fast casual joint.
With Hapa Sushi announcing that they have plans to open up a fast-casual sushi joint called Motomaki at the Twenty Ninth Street Mall this summer, Boulder adds another gourmet restaurant to its fast-casual repertoire.
For so long, people associated fast-casual food with convenient, but not quite healthy food options. Places like Chipotle, Noodles, and Buffalo Wild Wings sprout up all over the country and, well, we love them because they give us pretty good food for a decent price and we don’t have to wait for it. And waiting for food is the worst thing ever.
However, there’s a delightful new trend in Boulder that makes fast-casual a less gluttonous experience. Food that doesn’t dent your wallet, but also doesn’t cause your cholesterol count to sky rocket. Here are some healthy fast-casual food options you can find in Boulder.
Modmarket
This relatively new chain claims several locations around Colorado including one in Boulder. Customers can enjoy farm fresh food and unique menu items, plus they offer food to fit just about any restrictive diet, be it vegan, dairy-free or paleo. In addition, the décor at Modmarket certainly beats eating at one of the tables in Whole Foods.
Native Foods
Delicious vegan fast-casual. You can include that on a list of things that I never thought I’d write in my lifetime. Native Foods has places all over the West Coast and Chicago and their menu has earned them the praise of vegans around town. Their location at the Twenty Ninth Street Mall, along with Modmarket, makes this location a sort of fast-casual mecca for vegans looking for a quick fix.
Curry-N-Kebob
Let’s give this list a little bit of international flavor because there are a wide variety of fast-casual places that offer up sweet and savory ethnic food. Among them is Curry-N-Kebob, which offers Indian food at reasonable prices (and it’s pretty damn good too).
Cuba Cuba Sandwicheria
As their website says, “Eat Cuban!” I couldn’t agree more. Cubans know how to do a sandwich right! Now, this probably doesn’t fit into the “healthy, light” food category (roasted pork, ham and Swiss cheese on the Cuban sandwich alone), but screw it; it’s not everywhere in Colorado that you can find good Cuban food on the fly.
Zoe Ma Ma
You can’t have a fast-casual food list without some Chinese food in the mix and Zoe Ma Ma is the perfect Boulder fit. Get your comfort foods such as dumplings (they’re vegan) or hot and sour soup, but with a Boulder twist: everything is made with high quality ingredients like cage-free eggs and all-natural meat. Plus, the organic noodles are made in-house.
Boulder has got some pretty unconventional options when it comes to fast-casual dining, so take that, Qdoba! What are some of your favorite places in Boulder where you can get a quick meal for a great price?
