Food

Healthy restaurant offers hearty options

This grilled buffalo burger is one of the many menu items at LoCal’s Healthy Joint. The alternative restaurant also offers baked chips, fruit salads and red potatoes as side dishes.  |  Darlene Campos/The Daily Cougar

This grilled buffalo burger is one of the many menu items at LoCal’s Healthy Joint. The alternative restaurant also offers baked chips, fruit salads and red potatoes as side dishes. | Darlene Campos/The Daily Cougar

With so many restaurants serving grease-filled food, it can be difficult to find healthier options. LoCal’s Healthy Joint is a small restaurant that has dedicated its entire menu to low-calorie, low-carb, low-fat and even low-sodium food.

LoCal’s says on its website that “We don’t fry, we don’t sell sodas, we use whole grains and offer low fat proteins.” Though healthy food sometimes has the reputation of being less than enticing, the plates served at LoCal’s prove that healthy food can be just as delicious.

One of the proteins featured at LoCal’s is buffalo. According to a nutritional display at LoCal’s, buffalo meat contains less than 2.5 grams of fat and over 28 grams of protein per 3.5 ounce serving. Beef, on the other hand, contains nearly 19 grams of fat and 27 grams of protein per 3.5 ounce serving.

“I absolutely loved the buffalo burger,” diner Felipe Campos said. “I felt very full after eating it, and the best part is my plate isn’t greasy at all. The meat tasted great; I couldn’t even tell that it was lean.”

The one-third pound buffalo burger is served on a 3-carb wheat bun with LoCal’s tangy secret sauce and any choice of baked chips. The buffalo patty contains no sodium, a perfect option for those watching blood pressure. A double buffalo burger is also available upon request.

In addition, LoCal’s serves its whole menu all day long, so breakfast for dinner is always up for grabs.

“I had the egg white omelet,” diner Gabriel Ortiz said. “It’s served without any yolks, which is good since I can’t have too much cholesterol. I really liked the turkey bacon, too — it tasted like regular bacon to me. The omelet also came with lots of vegetables, way better than omelets I’ve had at other places. This is my second time here. I’m definitely coming back soon.”

The egg white omelet packs on a mere 79 calories, 24 grams of protein and 279 grams of sodium. Fruit oatmeal is one of the several sides served with this omelet with only 3 grams of fat and 1 gram of sugar. The oatmeal is also sodium free.

The chicken garlic mozzarella dog is a remake of the classic hot dog, but made to be filling for the stomach and not for the waistline. The dog is served on a whole-wheat bun with any choice of vegetables. The taste is juicy with blasts of flavorful garlic and melted, low fat mozzarella cheese. This less-than-200-calorie meal contains a hearty 19 grams of protein and just 5 grams of fat.

Drinks at LoCal’s consist of calorie-free drinks, custom smoothies and freshly squeezed juice and iced tea.
LoCal’s Healthy Joint has two locations — one in Katy and one at the Houston Marq*E. The Katy location is on 1590 S. Mason Rd. and may be reached at (281) 395-3663, while the Marq*E location is on I-10 and Silber Road, Suite 225 and may be reached at (713) 534-1999. For more information, visit www.localshealthyjoint.com.

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1 Comment

  • I never heard of it, so I might check it out.

    Was there anything at all bad about the food, experience, or sevice or anything? It didn’t seem like it was mentioned at all.

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