We’ve all seen the little heart symbols next to menu items that science has deemed “heart healthy.” But is it possible to say that some foods are “brain healthy?” According to the folks behind Honeybrains, a fast casual mini-chain with two current locations and a third opening in April, the answer is “yes.”
Honeybrains is the — er … brainchild of three siblings, one of whom is a neurologist who has spent years studying how nutrition and lifestyle affect brain function.
The menu, which changes at least three times a year, is designed around five food groups — vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and foods high in omega-3 fatty acids — that are purported to promote brain health.
One immediate difference between this and other so-called health food restaurants that is sure to strike you is in the menu possibilities. Yes, there is quinoa, but there is also chicken tikka, carne asada, and even a coffee and herb-crusted grass-fed sirloin steak, with roasted garlic, and hemp and basil mashed potatoes. Among the sandwiches you will find a combo that includes jumbo lump crab, arugula, and house-made tartar sauce on a whole wheat roll.
The current two locations of Honeybrains are in NoHo at 372 Lafayette Street, bet. Great Jones and Bond Sts., 646-678-4092 and Flatiron at 34 W. 22nd Street, 917-472-7682. The two stores are open Monday through Friday from 7:30 A.M. to 9 P.M. and weekend from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M.
