Fresh City: A Healthy and Fresh Type of Fast Food

Imagine eating a large spinach tortilla filled with choice all natural sirloin, sesame noodles, broccoli, bok choy, carrots, onions, peppers and Teriyaki sauce.

The sirloin steak teriyaki at Fresh City has to be one of the freshest, tastiest tortillas I have ever eaten.

My main regret visiting Fresh City is that I had already had lunch several hours earlier because after tasting their food, I quickly realized it was probably the freshest and tastiest food I have ever had.

I wish one of these restaurants was located closer to my home in eastern Connecticut because the food was excellent.
While most feel that the tastiest food is not healthy, Fresh City proves otherwise.

Wraps

Using fresh ingredients, all natural proteins, and homemade sauces, all thirteen wraps at Fresh City are trans-fat free.

These wraps include Burrito Grande, a vegetarian alternative, Chicken Burrito Grande, Sirloin Steak Burrito, Cancun Burrito, Sirloin Steak Fajita, Miami Beach Fajita, Peking Duck, Wild About Salmon, Shanghai Chicken, Chicken Teriyaki, and Feta Compli, a vegetarian alternative.

As a healthier alternative, one can choose brown rice for their wraps.

Smoothies and Beverages

In addition to eating a healthy wrap, I also decided to get something healthy to drink because drinking coffee and soda all the time is not healthy but sometimes are the only choices travelers have except for bottled juice.

I chose the Pineapple Passion which tasted extremely fresh and full of flavor. It included pineapple, bananas, mangos, tropical juices, orange juice, and orange sherbet.

Other smoothies included Raspberry Lime Breeze, Berry Best, Strawberry Sunrise, Caribbean Punch, Tropical Wave, Beachsider, and HI protein.

City Lite Smoothies with 25 percent fewer calories but 100 percent of the taste as regular smoothies include Sunset Beach and Island Dream while healthy Coffee Smoothies include Low Fat Caramel Banana, and Mocha Split.

Those looking for an even tastier treat can order chargers including Performer which has bee pollen, ginseng, and vitamin C, Rejuvenator which features ginseng, ginkgo biloba, and protein powder, Immunizer which includes vitamin C, nutritional yeast, and ginkgo biloba, Stress Reducer featuring calcium, bee pollen, and ginseng, Muscle Charger with protein powder, nutritional yeast, and wheat germ, and last but not least a Protein Pump with spirulina, protein powder, and wheat germ.

Other beverage choices include a juice bar with fresh-squeezed orange juice, and tropical blend juice with flavors such as mango, papaya, passion fruit, and apple.

Gourmet coffees include espresso, cappuccino, lattes, mochas, special house blend coffee, organic blend coffee, hazelnut coffee, and Columbian decaf.

Teas include chai and traditional and herbal selections and hot chocolate either white or regular is available.
Fountain sodas and bottled beverages are also sold.

Salad Wraps and Salads

Those who love salads can choose from a variety of salad wraps and salads at Fresh City served in a pita or a bowl with fresh-baked bread.

They include Great Caesar, Tuscany, Green Grocer, Buffalo Bleu, Mandarin Sesame Chicken, Malibu Cobb, and Farmer's Market.

Asian Noodles

Those who love International Cuisine should consider one of the five Asian noodles entrees including Hong Kong, Japanese Miso, Kung Pao, Spicy Satay Peanut, and Cactus BBQ.

Fresh roasted chicken, sirloin steak, duck, or all-natural salmon can be added to the noodles or you can choose the standard vegetarian version, or add tofu.

Sandwiches

Sandwich choices include The Gobbler, Truly Tuna, Hoe-Down Barbecue Chicken, Bourbon Street Muffaletta, Pacific Coast, a vegetarian alternative, Asiago Roast, and the All-American Turkey.

All sandwiches can be served on fresh Fugassa bread, carmelized onion and basil Ciabetta, or Natural Wheat Honey and all sandwiches are trans-fat free.

Stir Frys

Stir frys offered at Fresh City include vegetarian, chicken, steak, salmon, and tafu with a choice of five different sauces.

These sauces include Miso; light and mild, Teriyaki; sweet and tangy, Kung Pao; sweet and mild spice, Spicy Satay Peanut; moderately spicy, and Wasabi; spicy horseradish.

Stir frys can be served over jasmine rice or brown rice.

Soups

On a cold day, you may want to consider one of the restaurant's homemade soups which come with fresh-baked Ciabetta bread.

Soup choices include Fresh City Chicken, Farmer's Carrot Broccoli, a vegetarian alternative, and New England Clam Chowder.

Featured daily soups are also available.

Desserts

For a yummy desert, one should try a fresh baked muffin, cookie, or brownie or get a bag of sweet pitas which are available in all the restaurants.

Sweet pitas are all-natural.

All deserts and treats are trans-fat free.

Breakfast

Those visiting Fresh City in the morning should consider its breakfast entrees including English Muffin Breakfast Sandwiches such as Farmer Brown, What a Ham, and Western alongside bagels and muffins.

Only select Fresh City's have breakfast sandwich items.

Fresh City's Beginnings

Bruce and Larry Reinstein, founders of Fresh City, were brought up in the restaurant business and their father David's chain of soup and salad restaurants called "Boston's Best" were reinvented after David retired in 1992.

Both liked the noodles in San Francisco's China Town and felt this combined with fresh bread, fresh basil, and the "freshness" concept would enable their chain to diversify attracting more types of people.

They met with foremost chefs all across the world including cities such as Shanghai, San Francisco, Memphis, Millan, Paris, France, and Portland, Maine.

The first Fresh City opened in 1997 and is an "emerging player in the rapidly expanding fast-casual segment of the restaurant business," according to the website.

Franchises

It is a franchised operation which has signed contracts with multiple vendors allowing placement in Logan and Bradley International Airports and the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Those interested in partnering with Fresh City must meet certain requirements according to their website.

"Fresh City is actively seeing experienced multi-unit operators with proven expertise in the food service industry. Fresh City franchisees must be experts in their markets, be willing to work diligently and provide full-time best efforts. We seek franchisees who possess integrity, offer positive reputations, and share Fresh City's core business values and commitment to give back to their communities. Fresh City franchisees must have significant liquid net worth and demonstrate the ability to raise capital sufficient to fund development."

About Fresh City's Food

According to the website, "In developing recipes, Fresh City seeks out the best ingredients: noodles are brought in from New York's Chinatown; coffee is roasted in the Pacific Northwest; and as much produce as possible is purchased from local growers."

Décor and produce were always important to the founders.

The website states "sunny lighting, natural wood, bushel baskets, and plenty of fresh produce on display give Fresh City restaurants a cheerful fresh-air market ambiance. Even the colors are a garden celebration: tomato red, mango gold, peaches-and-cream, newborn lettuce leaf, sage, and olive greens, and a blue as serene as a farmer's well-worn overalls… and the service is as good-natured as the decor."

According to the Fresh City website, they have "partnered with companies well-respected for their All-Natural standards including: Heirloom breeds selected for consistent flavor, no artificial ingredients, no hormones or antibiotics for growth, fed the finest feeds - never any animal byproducts, raised by select groups of independent family farmers, raised with respect, in stress-free environments, following strict protocols for animal welfare."

Awards

The Nation's Restaurant News named Fresh City a "Hot Concept!" and this award is given to restaurants by the Newsweekly of the Food Service Industry and recognizes "innovative restaurants that share the ability to fire up appetites across the country, thus keeping customers coming back again and again."

Catering

Catering is available at select locations.

Their catering menu includes breakfast pastries and fruit, coffee, orange juice bottled soda, bottled water, wraps, sandwiches, soups, salads, vegetables, cheeses, fruits, and deserts.

More information is available at www.freshcity.com.

Giving Back To Communities

In addition to its fresh food, Fresh City hosts Thinking Fresh, an opportunity for Fresh City to make a positive impact to
neighborhoods with education as the primary goal.

Education includes reading, literacy, and awareness efforts and an example of their program is Read Boston, early-intervention reading programs for elementary school children.

Locations

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and McDonald's, who is contracted out to provide food services to the Massachusetts Turnpike's service plazas, have proven they are committed to providing healthy alternatives to travelers at service plazas side-by-side with the traditional fast-food fare in modern looking food courts rivaling those typically found in large shopping malls.

I visited the Fresh City at the Charlton East service plaza near Interchange 9 right past the junction to Interstate 84.

Fresh City restaurants on the Mass Pike are located at the Charlton West service plaza, Lee East service plaza between Interchanges 1 and 2 near the New York border, Westborough service plaza westbound between Interchanges 11A and 11 right past the junction to Interstate 495, Framingham service plaza westbound between Interchanges 13 and 12 right pass the junction to Route 30.

Other Massachusetts locations are in Boston - Landmark Center, Boston - World Trade Center East, Burlington, Logan International Airport, Natick, Newton, North Andover, and Woburn.

Its sole New Hampshire location is in Newington, a sole Rhode Island location in Warwick, a sole New Jersey location in Livingston, a sole Connecticut location in the Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, and a sole Illinois location in Warrenville.

Disclaimers

According to the Fresh City website, some of its menu selections are only available at select locations and are based on seasonality.

Menu and pricing may vary with Fresh City's menu items and are subject to change.