Ozark Natural Foods Co-Op Gets 3.5 Stars (Business Lunch Review)

We used to think “healthy” meant “bland,” but not any more.

On a recent lunch junket to the Ozark Natural Foods Co-Op in Fayetteville, we were impressed by the entrees, swayed by the soups and clobbered by the collard greens.

It was like eating organic soul food.

One diner in our group started off with a cup of black-eyed pea and beef chili ($1.89). Big chunks of tomato and the perfect mix of spices made this a perfect appetizer.

For an entree, he had the lemon-thyme grouper ($5), a thin grilled filet that was tasty and light. For side items, he chose the jasmine wild rice and turnips and collard greens. The folks at the health food store didn’t cook the veggies down as much as grandma would have done. They were a bit al dente but good nonetheless (and probably retained more vitamins that way).

For a beverage, he had a large carrot orange juice ($3.79), which was half orange juice and half carrot, both of them fresh squeezed. The sweet orange juice provided a dessert-like vehicle for the beta carotene-rich carrot juice.

Another diner thought the cheese tortellini ($5) was delicious. He complemented it with medium-cooked carrots and the turnips and collard greens. After a trip to the build-your-own salad bar ($4.19 by weight), he felt like a rabbit in clover.

ONF’s salad bar has to be the cleanest and freshest-tasting one of its kind in Northwest Arkansas. The strawberries in particular popped with flavor, and the vinaigrette dressing tickled his taste buds into an impromptu tap dance.

For dessert, we split a slice of key lime pie ($2.79). It was light and slightly sweet, nothing like the tangy key lime pies you get at some places. We thought that was a good thing.

During lunch, we were serenaded by Effron White and Emily Kaitz, two local folk singers perched atop stools next to the juice bar.

The music was great, but we wondered if it would be possible to have a business lunch discussion when performers are at ONF. You might want to check ahead of time if you want to ensure a quiet talking environment.

On your way out, you can also do a little grocery shopping.