KnowFat Lifestyle Grill
Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA
September 9, 2005
http://www.knowfat.com/home.htm
“I’ll have one of those,” I hear myself blurt out. “Those “ were a plate of a 1/3 lb. sirloin burger topped with American cheese, turkey bacon (I thought it was the real deal but it looked soooo good), lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles on a multi grain bun and a side of “air fries”. I intended to order a pretty authentic hunk of lean cuisine at the KnowFat! Lifestyle Grill and assumed that I’d fallen off the low-fat wagon.
To my amazement, the 591 calorie burger plate was only 88 calories more than the Sirloin Fajita Wrap (beef sirloin, refried beans, tomato, steamed peppers and onions, fat free sour cream, cheddar jack cheese in a whole wheat tortilla) that I intended to order after reviewing the easy to read menu over the wide ordering counter.
The menu here makes it impossible not to take responsibility for your choices. Under each item are listed calories, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, fat, and sodium. Knowledge does not always lead to sound choices but today, any choice I made here would have been healthy.
The business began in its storefront location on Arsenal Street in Watertown five years ago. Two thirds restaurant, one third health food emporium, it’s a pure play life style business. With successful small cafes in Woburn and Shrewsbury, the owners intend to launch it, under the name Get Low, this summer.
The menu ranges from Grilled Protein Plates between $9.99 and $10.99; Better Burgers (ground sirloin, turkey, bison, and veggie, from $5.49 to $7.99); Signature Wraps, hot and cold, between $5.49 and $6.99; and Smoothies and ProLattas, pretty awesome looking affairs made with protein powder, $4.79 for Smoothies, $5.79 for ProLattas; Breakfast Wraps from $4.99 to $6.99, served all day; and a Kid’s Menu from $4.99 to $6.99; Plenty of vegetarian choices populate the menu.
The average body mass index of today’s customers seems to be in the range of a college cross-country team. From the suits to the workout crowd, there’s nary a flabby belly to be seen. Take-out business is brisk, whether for multi taskers or those who might enjoy a quieter setting. The place sounds like an old Hayes Bickford on steroids. The clatter of plates being set up or piled into the bus trays (no paper here, thank you) and an exhaust fan that could compete with a 727 engine idling on the tarmac are prominent. The color scheme is cheerfully loud as well. A bright yellow ceiling and accents of lime green, burnt orange, and mauve splashed liberally around the room give one the sense of eating inside huge fruit bowl. A dozen yellow “deuces”, a long black granite counter facing the street, and a small ante room between the restaurant and the health food store accommodate the diners.
Photo taken a month after visit
As busy as the place got, at no time did it remind you of the line from Hell, tormenting you with smells and sights of delectable food, your stomach doing flips while you practice the children’s game of Statue. There were 8 people behind the counter, four taking orders, and four facing the huge stainless steel backsplash who were furiously preparing food.
The Air Fries served here deserve crisp paragraph. As a helpful server informed me, “They come pre-cut and pre-cooked specially for us. We put them in a convection oven and blast them with hot air at about 500 degrees. They’re not greasy and you’ll love’em.” He was right.
As healthy as this burger was, I prefer the juicier versions made with ground chuck mixed with sirloin, the kind that squirt red down to your elbows when you take the first bite. And I had to eat my scrumptious air fries quickly so they wouldn’t chill out under the whirring overhead fans. A return visit is definitely in the cards to sample a ProLatta and perhaps even try that Fajita Wrap I ditched today.
The calorie counts may be low but expectations are high for this little eatery. “We intend to put them in every nook and cranny in the United States,” vows entrepreneur George Nadaff. The good news for locals is that one of the new locations will be an expanded version of the present storefront down the street.
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