Those of you familiar with Chelsea know of these two take out restaurants, located on opposite ends of 17th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. Both promise a vision of health, fitness and wellness, but the similarities pretty much end there.

Energy Kitchen is a New York City chain, recently re inventing it’s brand under the banner “Go Healthy”. Their process is, quite frankly, simple: controlled caloric intake and a balance of proteins carbohydrates and healthy fats. No single meal exceeds 540 calories even though the menu boasts cheeseburgers, creamy spinach and even Meatloaf. This is done by using leaner meats such as chicken breast, turkey, bison, and ostrich, low fat dairy, and little or no added salt, herbs and spices. The end result is very clean, and sometimes bland, product which will definitely decrease your daily caloric intake. I suggest Energy Kitchen as a substitute to meals that would otherwise be tragically bad for you. If you’re jonesing for a bacon cheeseburger, Energy will gladly supply you with a bison burger, low fat cheese and canadian bacon for less than half the calories. There is, however, no information as to the sources of Energy Kitchen’s ingredients, which pretty much guarantees that we are not talking about organic, natural, farm raised or sustainable product.