Whole Life Times: Coral Tree Express

April 2006 | Tastebuds

Coral Tree Express

An organic oasis in the food court desert

by Jenny Rough

Confession: I’m not a foodie. So why read a restaurant review written by a plain Jane (or, in my case, a plain Jenny), instead of one penned by a gourmet with a discriminating palate and the ability to detect the most subtle variances in flavor? Because, if I may guess, most of you reading this aren’t foodies either. You’re just looking for fresh, healthfully delicious food. And you’ll find it at the new Coral Tree Express in the Century City Shopping mall.

To someone who’s often frustrated with the unhealthy choices in food courts, Coral Tree’s wholesome organic menu is a welcome change. No overcooked noodles sitting in warm tin dishes. No scoop-and-plop service lines. No processed poultry and stamped-out meat patties. Instead, Coral Tree’s meat and poultry is antibiotic, hormone- and nitrate-free, and the restaurant doesn’t use any hydrogenated oils. All food is prepared fresh on the spot, and even the 100 percent organic bread is homemade (baking begins at 4am). This effort results in a slight wait—we were provided with a buzzer that let us know when our order was up—but no more than 10 minutes. Trust me, it was worth it.

Normally I eat the same predicable items no matter the restaurant, so I was tempted to order my usual grilled chicken and black coffee. I refrained. After all, I was on official restaurant review duty, so I felt an obligation to branch out. Plus, my friend Kari was along. Kari likes dishes that “pack a punch” and “electrify” her taste buds, so with her as my guide, we tried a variety of lunch salads and sandwiches.

We dug into Chinese Chicken Salad ($8.75). Alarcon’s version of this classic promised “a twist”—in the form of pomegranate seeds and dressing (is it just me, or are pomegranates experiencing a serious revival?). We also sampled the Orchard Salad ($7.95)—mixed greens with grapes, Granny Smith apples, toasted walnuts and Danish blue cheese, among other goodies.

I’m typically not a curry fan, but I enjoyed the Curried Chicken Sandwich ($8.25) and Kari gave it an enthusiastic two thumbs-up. And while I almost never order tuna salad in a restaurant unless the menu specifies light-mayo, Coral Tree’s is mayo-less—they sub extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar instead.

Desserts, like Cinnamon Bread Pudding, are also excellent. And there are a variety of fresh-squeezed and smoothie drinks at the juice bar, as well as loose-leaf teas.

If you’re an early shopper, don’t despair—Coral Tree is one of the only Century City restaurants open for breakfast. Its morning menu is packed with pancakes, breakfast panini and egg scrambles. At the other end of the day, it stays open until 11pm on weekends, catering to the late-night movie crowd. Speaking of catering, the restaurant also offers professional catering services.

Since Coral Tree brews its own organic coffee, I couldn’t resist grabbing a cuppa Joe on my way out. That reminds me—my favorite menu item? Hands down, the Grilled Chicken Panini.

Jenny Rough is a new contributor to WLT. For more of her work, check out her blog at JennyRough.com.

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