Clean Plates NYC

A few years ago, I had an idea to start a consulting company that helped people in New York pick the healthy options at restaurants - the idea being that if no one is going to give up eating out but still wants to loose weight and eat healthier, they'd have to start being savvy within the confines of the menu.  I was still in college when that thought flashed across my mind and by the time I had graduated, I was already onto my next endeavor.

So, when Jared Koch showed me his recently completed book, Clean Plates NYC, I was thrilled.  Someone else - in a more appropriate position - had capitalized on this idea in book form.  And the book is glorious. It's a pocket-sized field guide to 75 restaurants that he and New York food critic Alex Van Buren deemed both delicious and beneficial to the body.  The restaurants aren't what you think.  Well... sure Angelika Kitchen is in there, but so, too, are Babbo and Elettaria. This book sounds too good to be true, huh?  Well, that's because Jared put a ton of backend work into it.  He (and Alex) created a master list of restaurants that he first exposed to a health check.  He'd call each establishment as a potential customer and ask (for example) about the meat - is it hormone and antibiotic free?  He'd ask about the water - is it filtered? He'd ask about the produce - local? organic?  That whittled down the options quite a bit.

Thereafter, the duo would dine at the restaurants and ask more tough questions, while always keeping the criteria of a pleasant dining experience in the back of their minds.  Neither wanted to sacrifice ambience, taste or decor, reasoning that "healthy" eating can equate to pleasurable eating.  Of course!! But people really seem to forget that - a lot.  They also seem to forget that eating mindfully will inevitabely lead to (according to Jared) more energy, mental clarity, emotional equilibrium, fewer minor ailments, reduced risk of major illnesses, more graceful aging, and looking far, far hotter with clearer skin and a sexy bod (page 18)!

This book, out April 28th in New York, is for anyone - vegans, vegetarians and carnivores alike.  Jared goes extensively into his food philosophy in the first part of the book, setting forth his pillars of health and well-being.  They are refeshingly simple, logical and flexible ideas that have a very common sense, anyone-can-play quality.  The rating system for the restaurant as well as the symbols/legend make it easy to find a restuarant that will please anyone and everyone.  Pick up your copy of Clean Plates NYC asap - ...at least before you eat out for another meal.