With all its recent developments – new restaurants, bars, apartments, and a new social scene has sprouted in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles. Among them, The Springs, a multi-faceted health and wellness center, recently announced a brand new menu and New York City-bred culinary team to lead their plant-based restaurant concept. Headed by Executive Chef Jasmine Shimoda in collaboration with Chase Elder and Gregg Drusinsky, The Springs new offerings featurs vibrant, ingredient-driven breakfast and lunch items as well as an extensive, traditionally-produced wine list. “We are thrilled to again offer nutritious dining options for the health conscious community here in Los Angeles,” says The Springs owner Jared Stein, “We’ve been working to expand our fare beyond raw vegan dishes, and our culinary team has the perfect combined background to bring our restaurant vision to life.”
An extensive wine list curated by The Springs manager and events director Max Gustashaw now features predominantly organic and bio-dynamic vintages. The selection showcases wines of character that pair well with the new menu and introduces a few imaginative wine cocktails such as spritzers with a pro-biotic twist, a unique blend of wine and Kombucha.
Additionally, the Springs recently launched a brand new multi-roaster coffee program which currently features Arcade Coffee out of Riverside, CA, and Sightglass Coffee out of San Francisco.
The Destination Luxury team was invited to give the new menu a whirl and provide the inside scoop on their newest dishes. Retaining their healthy, conscious and subtle textures since The Springs’ inception, the new dishes were concocted to provide a fun and flavorful experience. The chefs combine dishes from many regions in the world, delivering its core, healthy ingredients. The Springs is known for their large venue, events, yoga studio, and co-working type environment. The dishes on the menu are brand-aligned with the playful nature of the venue, matching in its names, colors, and decor.
They use raw ingredients in their smoothies, baked goods, salads, sandwiches and provide a nutritious variety of options. Here were some of our favorite dishes:
The first dish we tried was their Heirloom Tomato Toast with jalapeno cream cheese, fresh herbs, olive oil and seed bread. It was filling and rich with every bite. The tomatoes blend well with the cream cheese and add a light touch of spice. It’s a great opener to be shared amongst friends.
The La Suprema Salad brings romaine, walnut chili, avocado, coconut cream, habanero hot sauce, and pickled jalapeno. It’s the closest dish you can get that tastes like you’re consuming meat without actually eating meat. The walnut chile was the team’s favorite. Most guests consider it to be their favorite salad, although, everything on the menu will delight your taste buds.
We ended our meal with the Bam Bam Noodles. Filled with Szechuan marinated kelp noodles, cucumber, daikon, pickled shitake, and crispy ginger & garlic, it left a trail of spice, packing a punch, leaving our mouths buzzed with numb spicy flavors. We recommend drinking a smoothie if you cannot handle the spice.
Speaking of smoothies, the Springs specialty is their baked goods and smoothies. Here’s how we ended our meal.
This is the First Aid smoothie; kale, spinach, banana, coconut water, date, and lemon juice. It’s ideal for any healthy rejuvenating drinks, especially to cool you down after you have the Bam Bam Noodles.
Last but not least, you cannot go wrong with the chocolate Spirulina muffin. This was the kicker to our meal and what we took home with us to our delight. Next time you try The Springs, let their team know Destination Luxury sent you.
For more information visit the Springs and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.