February 8, 2011 Restaurant/Bar News
Two of the four founders of Yorganic—its Tribeca location opened a few weeks ago on Greenwich, between Warren and Murray—finally got a chance to talk about what they’re up to. “We’ve been packed from the beginning!” says Bo Kim (above right), who is also a pharmacist, which is actually relevant. He has a pharmacy up in the Bronx/Yonkers area, and the appeal of starting a restaurant chain—the first Yorganic debuted on Hanover Square three years ago—is that he can be more involved in helping people. “I do more consultation here and in the Financial District than I do at my pharmacy,” he says, acknowledging that people here may have more time and resources. (Three of the four founders live in FiDi, by the way.)
The other founder pictured at top is Shawn Reilly, a chef who has worked at Market Table in the West Village, among other places. “I was drawn to the idea of helping people achieve a healthier lifestyle versus simply serving them gourmet food,” he says.
Yorganic’s menu includes soups and sandwiches, but the main focus is on what it calls the Bliss Bowl. The concept is like a cross between a salad bar and the Korean dish bibimbap. You choose a base—white or brown rice, rice noodles, buckwheat noodles (soba), lettuce, or spinach; then you select toppings, most of which are vegetables, although a few meats and tofu are available; then, unless you’re a masochist purist, you pick a sauce/dressing. The resulting dish is neither hot nor cold but somewhere in the middle. “The vegetables are mostly steamed, roasted, or pickled,” says Reilly, the better to keep the nutrients in. Most ingredients are organic—with a few exceptions such as minor ingredients (such as ginger) in smoothies—and local whenever possible. If you want to speed things up, you can grab one of the chef-created options from the refrigerated case, to which your starch or greens is added. Just so you know, I tried the Yorgasm Bliss Bowl (minus the beef and with the delicious go-chu-jang sauce) with a Yorgasm smoothie. Yes, I had multiple Yorgasms.
Besides smoothies, Yorganic serves frozen yogurt, cereals and oatmeal, fruit salads, and juices. “We’re all about healthy fast food,” says Kim. “For people to eat healthily every day, it has to be at the right price point.” He says that BMCC students have been asking why they can’t have something like Yorganic near where they live.
Kim wears his pharmacist coat to prove that they’re serious. You can add boosters to your food and buy what he says are “physician-grade” vitamins: “They’re clean—no fillers. If you take certain inactive ingredients long enough they can be harmful.”
The space is contemporary and fresh, with lots of glass and wood, but there’s no seating. A good part of the business appears to be delivery—in which case you might find a handwritten note, perhaps with a vitamin pack stapled to it, with your order. Juices, meanwhile, are delivered in pharmaceutical-style brown-glass bottles; you get a small refund if you bring yours back.
Yorganic is at 275 Greenwich (between Warren and Murray), 212-732-8888; facebook.com/yorganic. It’s open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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I love Yorganics. My husband and I are very happy to have them in the hood!
Yoganic is great – for summer or winter, i am always up for a Yorganic treat!
you saved DB dining menu! healthy options makes staying at work late worthwhile!!
I had their oatmeal and it was really great.