What I Got: Chef’s Soup Bowl, Beet Falafel Bowl

Price: $$

Location: NYC

Review:

Chef’s Soup Bowl – The Chef’s Soup Bowl is a seasonal item that includes butternut squash soup poured over roasted chicken, basmati rice, sauteed greens (with chickpeas and golden raisins), super seeds, and chimichurri sauce.  I was a bit afraid of this bowl at first because it sounds a bit strange.  Soup poured over a rice bowl?  But I must tell you, it was delicious! The butternut squash soup was smooth, slightly salty, and a wonderful combination of sweet and savory.  It perfectly complemented everything in the bowl and brought a warm heartiness. The rice was lightly herbed and absorbed the soup to create a delicious, almost risotto-like texture.  The chicken was tender, juicy, and seasoned well.  The chimichurri adds a brightness that balances out the rich and salty flavors.  It goes surprisingly well with the soup.  The raisins in the sauteed greens are beautifully sweet and balance out the salty flavors as well.  I also loved the smooth chickpeas and earthy sauteed greens.  The crunch of pumpkin and sunflower seeds in the super seed mix bring some more fun texture.  This was the most wonderful, hearty, comforting meal for a cold day!

Beet Falafel Bowl – The Beet Falafel Bowl includes baked beet falafel, basmati rice, black beans and corn, charred broccoli, beet hummus, turmeric tahini, and pickled onions.  The rice was lightly herbed and served as a great base.  The falafel has a great flavor with a subtle hint of sweet beet flavor.  It is not dry, and the hummus and tahini prevent it from being dry as well.  The broccoli has a wonderful char on it and is tender and delicious.  It adds its nice, fresh flavor.  My bowl did not come with black beans and corn.  Instead, it came with roasted beets and lentils.  I loved having this instead because the roasted beets were soft and added more wonderful beet flavor.  The lentils gave the bowl some heartiness.  The beet hummus was creamy and delicious.  The turmeric tahini had an amazing turmeric flavor.  Both sauces complimented the falafel perfectly.  I loved the addition of the pickled onions because they added a great depth with their tanginess, umami, and sweetness. This was a very good falafel bowl.