Following the demise of the Highland Village’s Pieology, a fitness and lifestyle restaurant, Crisp & Green, has been introduced to St. Paul’s inhabitants. Although it has locations in Minneapolis and outer Twin Cities suburbs, the Ford parkway location signifies its breakthrough to St. Paul. 

Crisp & Green opened officially on Thursday, but it had a “soft-opening” on Tuesday for a Highland Park Senior High fundraiser. It is already a designated hangout space for young adults, from just out of college to just starting high school. 

Walking in the location, its layout is not that different from Pieology. It has the same do-it-yourself spread, where you can ask for a specific menu item, or customize it as it’s made in front of you. The pricing isn’t too much to ask- each salad and bowl is around $12 each- for its big sizes. Mostly everything is gluten-free, and they will be more than happy to replace chicken or turkey for another protein substitute.

Each meal has a creative name, with bowls like “Chef Curry 2.0,” “#Thai & Stop Me,” and “#SquashGoals” that make eating healthy seem fun and not always like a chore. While adding ingredients to the bowls and salads, the employees mix it right in front of you. 

The bowls are amazing- the “Chef Curry 2.0” tastes like a way healthier version of comfort food. It has warm yams and ginger sauce, as well as cauliflower, rice, and tofu. Their “Chicken Caesar Salad” is refreshing… or to put it bluntly, crisp and green, with crunchy asiago cheese crackers as well as chicken, tomatoes, and an infinite amount of greens. 

What’s especially distinctive about Crisp & Green is that it offers group workout opportunities. As it’s in a more metropolitan area, Highland Park’s Crisp & Green does not have space to host these workouts, instead partnering with local businesses such as Crossfit, but suburban locations such as Wayzata and Edina host yoga sessions and pilates, among other things. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐