The Land of Secret Salads

Long-term readers of this blog will know that I've been advocating for more places that offer quick, healthy food options in Forest Hills for quite some time. My hopes reached a pinnacle several years ago when I was contacted by one of the make-your-own salad chains with many stores in Manhattan about their interest in finding a suitable location in our neighborhood. Their interest lasted several months before they apparently gave up. I was never told why.

Since then, the availability of such healthier fare has come in fits and starts in Forest Hills. And now, the latest incarnation of it is rather clever, in my opinion. 

Since we did have a couple of small independent dedicated make-your-own salad restaurants open and then close several years ago, it seems either by strategy or just by coincidence this food option is now seeing a resurgence along Austin Street, albeit tucked away as often hard-to-discover parts of pre-existing businesses. It seems these store owners are not quite ready to trust Forest Hills residents at wanting much more than the calorie-laden pastries or ethnic cuisines that we are overflowing with. Thus, we all live in New York City's only Land of Secret Salads. The option is being offered by these places, often shyly and quietly, without the risk of financial failure that comes with a standalone shop. 

The latest option to join Natural's make-your-own salad bar, and other pre-made salad options available from the coffee shops, diners, Ripe and La Boulangerie, is a bit bolder, however. It even has its own name and sign!

I-CE-NY, the ice cream place next to Shake Shack on Austin Street, is now apparently also "efresh", offering a variety of soups, wraps, bowls, smoothies, and yes, customizable, make-your-own salads. I recently tried one of these salads and it was great - nice and fresh and tasty.  It's an extremely clever move by I-CE-NY, and I think they might just find it ends up eclipsing their ice cream business, as the demand for healthier food options remains quite high in Forest Hills. I discovered the place by finding their menu at NYSC. Another smart move to put it there so fit-conscious local residents can learn about it. (It would have been even smarter, by the way, if they had contacted their local blog, Edge of the City at edgeofthecity@gmail.com, but that's another story.) Kudos to I-CE-NY for understanding what Forest Hills really needs and being smart enough to provide it!