The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mentor CoreLife serves up creative fast-casual
CoreLife in Mentor offers more than healthy eating with its inventive options
I’m not a health-food guy, per se, but I do try to avoid processed foods, refined sugar and artificial ingredients. That’s why I was glad to see CoreLife Eatery join the expansive Mentor food scene a little while back.
CoreLife is a national franchise that’s devoted to clean eating. There are no chips, desserts or sodas. Everything is all-natural and locally sourced as much as possible. Beef is grass-fed, chicken is antibiotic-free, and there are no GMOs. The Mentor location opened in 2018 and is one of five CoreLife places in Ohio, where the franchisee is regional restaurant group Red Letter Hospitality.
I had not visited until recently, when my son and I were out and about and needed a quick lunch that wasn’t unhealthy. Online ordering is available, but we were right there, and outdoor tables were available, so we went in.
The space itself is large and modern with an industrial-chic vibe. Wood tones and black metal abound. There are a lot of large windows, and contemporary pendant lighting adds to the brightness of the place. It’s got a big, open feel, and there was upbeat music playing in the background.
It was inviting until we got to the counter.
We were ignored for a few minutes by the two people working there — no acknowledgment, not even a glance. A third employee rushed to the counter area from somewhere and was a little brusque, as if we had interrupted her. It was offputting, but I tried to shrug it off. It’s not a five-star restaurant, after all, and working in the food-service industry right now can’t be fun.
Ordering at CoreLife is a lot like other fast-casual restaurants, along the lines of Chipotle. You can build a salad, rice broth bowl by selecting a base, then adding toppings. There are specialty salads and bowls, too, in case you don’t want to be in charge of putting ingredients together yourself. We weren’t really in the building mood, so we ordered a few of the signature items.
My son went with a buffalo chicken mac and cheese ($10.25), which, no, does not sound exactly healthy. But even with ranch dressing atop the buffalo chicken, the dish packed only 620 calories, according the menu. That’s not a LIGHT lunch, really, but I’d have expected it to have more calories than it did.
The dish wasn’t drowned in the buffalo sauce, ranch or cheese, which is probably why it wasn’t the dietbuster one might imagine. The portion was large enough that my 13-yearold, not a particularly light eater, ate half and took the rest home for later. I sampled only a couple of bites, but the sauce, cheese and chicken all were very good.
Likewise, the chicken on my kale Caesar salad was delicious. The kale — the most I’ve eaten at one sitting in my life — seemed very fresh, and the dressing was as good a Caesar dressing as I’ve had (though I’m no Caesar-dressing expert). There could have been a tad less of it, but it was outstanding, as was the parmesan cheese. The small-bowl portion was enough to satisfy my hunger without feeling stuff.
I paired the small-sized Caesar bowl with a side of maple bacon brussels sprouts; at $9.45 for the combo, I think is an exceptional value. The shredded sprouts were perfectly cooked and full of flavor. I don’t believe there’s possibly a way to eat brussels sprouts without bacon or maple syrup, but I did learn that I can go lighter on each the next time I make them at home.
There are a handful of tacos on the menu, too, all priced at $3.70. I wasn’t going to not try a taco while I was there, and I landed on the steak fajita version, which had a lot going on.
It was lean tri-tip beef with an interesting pineapple dressing and shredded cabbage, cotija cheese and an avocado crema, along with the peppers and onions you’d expect with fajitas. It was served on one of those shells that’s more pita than tortilla. The highlight of the meal for me, it was a fantastic mix of tastes and textures. I will come back just for that taco. A highlight within the highlight was the crema, which was superb.
We somehow didn’t get drinks. It was perhaps the first time in my life I wasn’t asked if I’d like a drink with my meal, and it never dawned on me to ask. Had we gotten drinks, though, we both would have skipped the beet lemonade. It’s cool such a thing exists, though. There are a few other handcrafted options, plus bottled water.
I was really surprised at the quality and inventiveness of the food. It was above and beyond what I’d expect from a fast-casual place. The atmosphere is cool, both inside and on the patio. The whole concept comes across as wellplanned, especially the menu.
I hope I just happened to