Austin: Snap Kitchen Update

Snap Kitchen. Everything about it is so right.

The store – you walk in to an airy, all-windowed place with bright green floors, bamboo counters and tables, white plastic chairs, and bright orange accoutrements. There are no walls, save some muddled clear walls defining a main office and registered dietician’s office. That’s right–there’s a full time RD, Andrea Hinsdale, LD, RD, on hand to help with menu development, answer questions, and help patrons plan their meals, a service that the company says has been extremely popular.

Not that you need that much help, with Snap Kitchen’s three different sizes with calorie counts right on the packaging. Easily arranged into breakfast, lunch, dinner, salad, snacks, and dessert, the place is a dummy-proof way to eat healthy.

Well maybe not dummy-proof, as there is apparently an issue with the build-it-yourself salad bar, says owner Martin Berson, who also happens to be my neighbor. You’ll find that Snap Kitchen is all about the connections.

I mentioned that I love the build-your-own-salad option, like they have all over New York, and he replied that if you’ve been to NYC you get it, and if you don’t, you don’t. People, the BYOS is exactly what it says. You tell them what to put in it, they toss it up for you, and you’re out the door with a healthy, delicious lunch or dinner. C’mon now.

Martin sent me out the door with nearly one of everything in Snap Kitchen, so you can truly consider me an authority on their food. I promptly threw a dinner party. The food is delish.

Martin opened Snap Kitchen after his wife, a Type 1 Diabetic, got pregnant and was having a hard time finding food to eat. He was living in Houston, where he opened Benjy’s, a Rice Village date spot known for upscale but still affordable food, and had always wanted to get back to Austin. So they did it, found the space, and got to work.

He contracted Michael Hsu to build out the space, then found out that Hsu had actually been the assistant to the architect on the Benjy’s project–fifteen years ago. He contracted a friend-of-a-friend graphic designer to do the Snap Kitchen logo, then found out that she too had done Benjy’s logo fifteen years ago!

Then, of course, he loved hearing that I went to Rice. It’s all synchronicity, isn’t it?

Martin with Chef Ethan Holmes, who developed the recipes, sauces, and dressings from scratch. There are almost 100 items on the full-time menu, but there are also new daily & weekly specials featuring in-season produce. The Truffled Quinoa “Mac & Cheese“, the Buffalo Quinoa Hash, and the Sushi-Grade Ahi Tuna Nicoise Salad are the three most popular dishes.

Without a doubt, the Truffled Mac & Cheese is divine. I devoured it in the car on the way home, to the chagrin of my dinnermates. Too bad, suckers! It’s just the right amount of rich, and not too cheesy. Loved it!

My other faves were the Turkey Chili, which was crazy flavorful, unlike any store-bought chili I’ve ever had, and the Vegetable Lasagna, made with thinly-sliced zucchini (Martin let me in on the secret: the mandoline is from Bed, Bath & Beyond) and topped with all sorts of other veggie goodies.

The breakfast scrambles were nice–it’s hard to make eggs stay delicious–and Martin says the Paleo Scramble is hugely popular (I bet I know some CrossFitters responsible for that). The energy bar was good, and the soaked-cashew “cheesecake” variations were delish.

Everything about Snap Kitchen is open–the people, the kitchen, the doors … so stop by as soon as you can and grab some quick, healthy food!