There’s a new restaurant that opened nearby my office in River North called Protein Bar. They are all about choosing ingredients that are both healthy and great tasting and believe that every ingredient has a purpose. Their recipes have a ton of fresh and healthy vegetables and instead of rice or pasta, they serve a lot of quinoa, which has the most protein of any non-meat food.

So, that is all great. Whatever. How does it taste? And what was my experience? First of all, the Protein Bar has been getting SLAMMED. If you don’t go at the right times (late/early) there are lines out the door. Crazy. But this is testament to the fact that the Protein Bar is tasty, healthy, and pretty reasonably priced. Also< I just love the decor of the restaurant and how nice everyone working there is. It has a great vibe. I also like how they are very open about the nutritional values of their products. Their menu is posted on a huge wall in the restaurant and all the nutritional values are posted in-line by each item. This info is also available on their paper menus and on their web site.

Since the beginning of June, I've visited the Protein Bar maybe something like 6 times. Here's what I got:

The Protein Bar doesn’t have burritos. They have bar-ritos. Get it? Groan. The good thing about the bar-ritos is that they have half the calories of a burrito because instead of rice they have quinoa and instead of a flour tortilla they use low-calorie whole wheat wraps. I think the bar-rito is an ok size, although I did sort of wish I’d gotten a side on the day that I ordered mine. I got the Guac & Roll, a chilled bar-rito with all natural chicken or tofu (I got chicken), avocado, diced tomatoes, onions, house-made cilantro lime dressing, and the Super 6 Salad Mix (470 calories, 9 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 695 mg sodium, 66 g carbohydrates, 12 g fiber, 9 g sugar, 30 g protein). I thought this was great. I’ve heard a few of my coworkers complaining that they got a bar-rito and it was too dry, but I didn’t find that to be the case with the Guac & Roll.

This is the Southwest Salad. I’ve gotten this salad a couple times. Since taking this photo they have switched to a more eco-friendly pacakaging for their salads. Still, it is a large serving. Probably the best bang for your buck on the menu. I really liked the salad. Plentiful quinoa and toppings – chicken/beef/tofu, seasoned black beans, shredded cheddar, fresh avocado, tomatoes, and Cholula hot sauce. Yum. (460 calories, 16 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 515 mg sodium, 44 g carbohydrates, 7 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 33 g protein)

I have also had this buffalo bowl a few times. It’s great! Chopped chicken mixed with quinoa, house-made buffalo sauce, carrots, cucumbers, and blue cheese. The vegetables give a nice, crisp freshness to contrast the spicy buffalo sauce. And the blue cheese is not overwhelming but adds a bit of creamy richness. (405 calories, 12 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 595 mg sodium, 36 g carbohydrates, 7 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 36 g protein.)

The Protein Bar is expanding into a few more locations in the Loop and I can understand why. We need another one right next to our office, just to serve all the crowds swarming to the current location!