Ben's Fast Food

 Fast food.  Healthy.  Not words that generally go together, but, Ben's Fast Food is just that. 

"WELCOME TO FAST FOOD, REIMAGINED. 

Healthy meals should be as delicious and affordable as traditional fast food. So we’re working on that.  We’re bringing healthy cuisine to the world of fast food to help you eat a little better, a little more often.

It’s fast.  It’s cheap. It’s healthy.

It’s “OMG SO GOOD I WANNA KEEP ORDERING” good. (in the kind words of a customer)"

At Ben's Fast Food, the entire menu is gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free, no refined sugars, no additives, yadda yadda yadda.  There are no fried items.  

Not exactly what I think of when I think of fast food, and, honestly, not the style of food I generally care for.  The menu revolves around their "Signature Bowls", all made with your choice of slow roasted protein (chicken, pork shoulder, or vegan chickpeas/potatoes), served over your choice of base (fresh greens, hearty grains, or both), with a sauce and veggie toppings.  Like I said, not your standard fast food.

I didn't actually try a signature bowl, but did try one side (spoiler: sides do NOT include fries, onion rings, or the like).  Your options are ... roast chickpeas & potatoes if you want something potato-like, millet & brown rice if you want carbs, chicken or pork shoulder to add on extra substance, or, mixed veggies.  As a dessert girl, I also tried the only dessert item.  They also sell a green smoothie.  And that is the entire menu.

If you'd like to visit Ben's Fast Food, just a warning, they have no actual restaurant to dine-in, but rather, are part of the 60 Morris St. cloud kitchen complex, along with others that I've reviewed such as Korean Burger Joint By Aria (great dumplings!), Ramen Kobo WARAKU (fantastic takoyaki!), an offshoot of Amici's East Coast Pizzeria (meh), Basil Cart (ok thai) ... and about 80 other businesses, depending on the day (!).  They do mostly delivery, although you can pick up yourself if you aren't intimidated by the location.

I placed all my orders for pickup, and they were ready fast.  The food really was fresh, healthy, and clean, just, not really my style of food, as I suspected.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

Side: Clean Vegetables. $2.95.

"Fresh broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots flash steamed for max nutrient retention."

For my savory option, I went for the most appealing thing on the menu to me: veggies.

The mix was ... interesting looking.  I actually kinda knew to expect this, as I had seen photos in other reviews, but, it still was a bit funny.  It makes more sense when utilized in one of their composed bowls, clearly.  As a side dish, it is literally a small bowl of mostly cauliflower and broccoli bits.  It wasn't mashed, but, was soft, and, well, just tiny tiny bits.  Carrots were minimal.  No seasoning.

So, a bit hard to evaluate.  The veggies were "clean" as advertised, but really these could have been any frozen veggie mix from any grocery store, microwaved.  I like bigger pieces, and, well, roasted.

I mixed it into my super rich and creamy mac and cheese (from Krispy Krunchy Chicken, which, if you've never had, I highly recommend, I'm 100% addicted!), and it worked well there.

**+ on its own though.

Side: Clean Vegetables. $2.95.

I know, I had this side before and it wasn't great, but, sometimes you need some veggies.  And maybe, just maybe, I had just stopped by Krispy Krunchy Chicken and had more insane-o mac and cheese in my bag.  I needed some veggies to round out my meal.  

This time, the mix was a totally different distribution: tons of carrot cubes, which, as you may recall, were strangely absent last time.  The cauliflower was minimal and mostly just tiny bits of mush.  Broccoli was about the same.

Again not something I'd really eat like this, but, it goes really well mixed into mac and cheese (although, the carrot forward version this time worked less well).

**+.

Dark Chocolate Cashew Pudding. $2.95.

"Sweetened with whole dates only, topped with decaf espresso and sea salt."

The only sweet item offered by Ben's, a healthy spin on chocolate pudding.  It is soy-free, dairy-free, gluten-free ... sweetened with dates rather than sugar, etc, etc.

I love pudding, but I can't say the dairy free, healthy nature was really that appealing to me.  That said, the Yelp reviews of this pudding were crazy good, and, hey, I was craving a good chocolate pudding.

It was certainly better than I would have expected from a vegan pudding.  The initial texture is fabulous, soft, fluffy, mousse-like.  However, on the finish was a bit of chalky nature, I think likely due to the cashews?  

The chocolate flavor was decent, not as dark and intense as I'd perhaps like, but, good, certainly chocolatey.  It didn't taste particularly like cashews nor dates, it didn't taste "healthy", all of which was good for me.

I was happy they used decaf espresso to lighten the caffeine load a bit, but it really was just a minimal sprinkle, and personally, I love cocoa nibs on top of my chocolate pudding.  I didn't detect any sea salt, which is too bad, as I always add fleur de sel to the top of my chocolate pudding (yes, even to a Snack Pack!).  Something about chocolate pudding + whipped cream (duh) + crunchy cocoa nibs + a hit of salt ... I'm always a big fan.

So overall, it was fine, certainly great if you are vegan or looking for a healthier treat.  The portion was pretty small, like a salad dressing container (a large salad dressing container, but still), but once I added my toppings, it made for a big enough dessert.  

I wouldn't necessarily seek this out again, but I enjoyed trying it. ***.

Dark Chocolate Cashew Pudding. $2.95.

After a few months, I had a craving for chocolate mousse, and, after a Snack Pack didn't *really* satisfy me, I decided to give Ben's healthish pudding another try.

I didn't like it as much this time.  The texture is great - fluffy, mousse-like, great.  But, the flavor was really quite biter.  I needed to add a generous amount of whipped cream, berries, banana, and sprinkles to enjoy it.

I don't think I'll get this again, as I just prefer something sweeter, but the texture really is great, and for those who like healthy "treats", this certainly counts as one.

**+.