ALONG COMES MARY

Since the unveiling of the spankin’ new The Village at Westfield Topanga in Woodland Hills, a flock of new restaurants & posh shops have hit the valley with a vengeance. Bringing 3rd & Fairfax’s The Grove to mind, The Village goes a step further at truly creating a haven to escape the daily hustle & bustle to chill out on a hammock, sip your tea in a cozy canopy chair or admire the electic mix of creations throughout the outside mall like a tree with dangling coffee mugs hanging from it, & recycled bicycles with plants growing out of it.

Like I said, its posh. Its trendy. Its LA.

New to The Village is Eatsa. One of the most futuristic, “Only in SoCal” diners I have encountered. With only one other location in San Francisco, Eatsa is an all vegetarian fast, casual dining experience. While Chipotle has mastered “The Burrito Bowl”, Eatsa carries an array of bowls that are all quinoa based. All only 6.95, they have their favorites like chili & a burrito bowl, or, get fancy & build your own.

While there are 1 -3 employees available to assist you, they are not there to be your cashier. Eatsa boasts iPads (a la STACKED) that you use to customize & create your orders, & swipe your credit card when you’re ready for your order to be sent to the back (so, alas, no cash is accepted.). Once you pay & send, you’re given a cubby number to await your order. On the back wall are all cubbies that look like microwaves where your food is out once ready. I gotta admit, it was pretty nifty to see!

While their ad says your food is out in 90 seconds, it was more like 3-5 minutes (not bad at all, though). A screen above highlights your name to alert you once your oder is in an assigned cubby, you tap its screen twice & voila, your door opens & your food is served.

Mike tried the Mediterranean bowl, while I played it safe & got the Burrito bowl, along with their all natural sodas. With the drinks, like Lime & Ginger or Mango Citrus, only 95 cents, its hard to resist one. While I definitely felt a Chipotle vibe to Eatsa, I applaud them for not only having fresh, non-GMO foods like their competitors, but, also, no junk in their soda’s, too, an effort I hope other chains follow.

My burrito bowl was a perfect sized portion, & in addition to the usual goodies found in such a bowl (beans, salsa, guacamole, quinoa instead of rice), I absolutely LOVED the grilled Portobello mushroom slices also inside. Mike enjoyed his Mediterranean choice yet was a bit surprised that it was mostly a salad with greens; not much quinoa as said in the description.

While Eatsa has several things to attract customers (Quick service, good portions, vegetarian), I think it would do them good to have a bit more to their menu, as well as a few more gluten-free options. The price is definitely right, but, honestly?  I will probably keep Chipotle as my go-to. I love me some quinoa, so, I know I will be back, since it is very convenient, I just hope they add a bit more to their selections.

You can visit their web-site here.