Unbreaded

Trend Watch: Organic, Local, Healthy Fast Food

Burgerville, a chain of restaurants in the Pacific Northwest, has partnered with farmers, ranchers and producers in local communities to deliver fresh, local, seasonal food. They offer a nice selection of burgers and veggie burgers, chicken and turkey sandwiches, even halibut and sole fish sandwiches, all with virtually no trans fats. Seasonal items, like fresh Oregon strawberries, are rotated onto the menu in the form of their balsamic strawberry and goat cheese panino. Burgerville is committed to supporting and enriching the communities in which they operate, and we appreciate and encourage these practices.

Elevation Burger, based in Virginia, has opened up the first of eight planned locations in the Philadelphia area. Organic free-range grass-fed beef burgers, fries cooked in olive oil without trans fats, even sustainable building practices for their stores. With lots of toppings for the burgers and two kinds of veggie burgers to choose from, Elevation Burger is making a clear statement that fast food doesn’t just have to be junk and fat slapped together.

Even venerable KFC has debuted a healthier line of marinated, grilled chicken with zero trans fats. Parent company Yum! Brands (which also own Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Long John Silver’s) has rolled out a program called Keep It Balanced aimed at educating people about healthy living and eating. KFC is telling us to Unthink what we thought about KFC with their Unfried products (which also happen to be Unbreaded, wink) and though the grilled chicken has yet to make it onto the sandwich menu, we hope it does soon.