I heard that a new Japanese bowl spot was opening up in East Village, so I was excited to go try them out. I didn’t do much research on this establishment beforehand, and I somehow was under the impression that they are a “Japanese eatery” serving Japanese food. I then discovered they serve bowls with “Japanese-inspired” ingredients. It is hard not to be inspired by delicious and healthy Japanese food… And with many of us who added some “Pandemic Weight,” we are looking for more healthy food options. The last healthy eatery spot we found was Just Salad. Let’s see what kind of food AO Bowl offers.
They had a nice outdoor seating, and a small indoor dining space. Nowadays, everyone has an outdoor seating, which is nice for customers.
The inside was nice and modern, clean and even though they are “fast casual” eatery, it felt upscale. Just look at these beautiful white pots! I like how they are keeping the interior simple, without anything really loud on the wall. We got to meet the owner/manager, Zack, who told us about how he came to create this shop, with some extra funny stories of his experience while he was living in Japan.
Their menu offerings are also simple. They offer more of a breakfast bowls with acai, oats, and granola. And then, they have “entrée” bowls with buckwheat, yams, rice, etc. Since we were there during lunchtime, we went with the entrée bowls. You can pick any two for $10.85, or pick any three for $14.85. There are some proteins you can add for additional cost.
The first custom bowl of choice was Pick Three with Buckwheat Umami, Pineapple Yams, and Miso Brassica. We also added Herb Crusted Salmon (Alaskan & wild caught) (additional $4) and Poached Onsen Egg (additional $2), making this bowl to be $20.85. The salmon was popular that day, so they had to cook more salmon for us right there and then, which took extra time. But I say I love freshly cooked salmon, and we were not in any rush, so it all worked out.
They really care about their ingredients, and they only use organic, locally sourced, plant-based ingredients, including the oil they use. All dishes are organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, with no refined oils and no added sugar. Are you feeling healthy just by reading this? I bet you are… But what about the taste? The Buckwheat Umami is made with Sautéed buckwheat, hibachi veggies, shiitake, spinach, scallion, corn, tomato. It was plump and packed with great flavor. I was able to sample a small spoonful before I decided on it, and I was very happy with the choice. Pineapple Yams is made with Japanese yams, pineapple glaze, kale, pecans, cinnamon, black sesame. They were cooked just right, soft yet leaving a slight firmness. It has no added sugar but you can taste the natural sweetness from the pineapple.
Miso Brassica is made with Miso-charred broccoli, Brussels sprouts & red cabbage, sesame. It had a nice salty flavor, I liked the bit of crunchy texture in here. This one was a fun and tasty item for sure! Poached Egg was served in a different cup, with some scallion and broth. I like how it gave us the option to dump it in the bowl, or dip the ingredients in the egg cup.
Herb Crusted Salmon was flaky and moist, with nice flavor. It is a bit pricey add on, but I think it was worth it. Since we were a bit hungry, the salmon helped us getting full and satisfied. I really like how they did not overcook the salmon, while carefully checking the temperature to ensure it is cooked right.
For the second bowl, we did Pick Three with Azuki Rice, Curried Cauliflower, and Miso Brassica. We added Herb Crusted Salmon (additional $4) to this bowl as well, making this bowl $18.85.
Azuki Rice is made with Black & brown sushi rice, Azuki beans, crisped kale, sesame, kombu, dulse. It had natural sweetness from the Azuki beans, soft and moist. I actually didn’t think it will be anything special, but they were really tasty! Curried Cauliflower is made with Japanese curry-crisped cauliflower, daikon, pepper, onion. It had a real Japanese curry powder flavor to it, which was nice. Cauliflowers were cooked just right. I liked the little crispy edges. The salmon was again nice and flaky, moist, with really good flavor.
They added a small amount of pickled cabbage on top. Since most of the ingredients had some natural sweetness to it, having the acidity from the pickles balanced out the sweetness. We could tell that the each ingredients were made with care, and high in quality. They are certainly helping people to discover that the “healthy” food can also be “tasty” food. We certainly enjoyed everything we tried. Again, the price point might by higher than other “fast food” spots, but you are getting something healthy, and high quality. If you are looking for tasty healthy food, try the AO Bowl!
My inquisitive mind wanted to know the reason/concept behind the name “AO Bowl” and discovered some pretty cool creativity! “AO” is short for “Eiyō” which means nutrition in Japanese. They wanted something short and flashy, so they went with “AO”. When most Americans say the letters “AO”, it kind of sound similar to “Eiyo.” I say that is pretty neat!
AO Bowl (栄養 ボウル) – 82 St. Marks Place, New York, NY 10003