Original Chop Shop: Focus on Fresh

After the excesses of the holidays, it’s good to find a place focused on healthy eating. The Original Chop Shop is built on a simple concept, executed simply, and summed up succinctly in the restaurant’s tagline, “Just Feel Good Food.” Fresh, whole ingredients go into the scratch-made menu, from “between bread” (sandwiches) to protein shakes to the name-sake “chops” (salads). “We bring in a ton of produce,” says co-owner Kyle Frederick.

GRINDER Ham, turkey, soppresata, provolone, mayo, tomato, house greens, onion, banana pepper, red wine vinaigrette. $9

Now with five locations around the Valley (with a sixth on the verge of opening this month), the Original Chop Shop offers a different experience at each — from the Old West décor at the Original Chop Shop’s original Old Town Scottsdale store to the more contemporary openness of the latest store that opened recently in Paradise Valley.

Protein bowls are a core focus of the menu, providing guests with three key essentials: greens, grains and proteins. The most popular is the Teriyaki Chicken Bowl, with a pleasantly light touch on the teriyaki, which can be served with super-food forbidden rice, brown rice or sweet potato hash.

The Moroccan Turkey sandwich stuffs a flavorful mix of avocado, roasted red pepper, red grapes, cucumber and house greens — tossed with a yogurt sauce and red wine vinaigrette — with slices of turkey between two slices of crusty 12-grain ciabatta. The sandwich-sliced turkey’s fresh, buttery taste is attributable to the minimal use of sodium.

Additional signature menu items include the Acai Bowl, which is also a super-fruit, topped with shredded coconut, bananas, strawberries and agave nectar; the Danish salad, which includes Danish bleu cheese, smoked almonds and red wine vinaigrette; the Cheat Day Wrap, served with bacon, egg, avocado and ham or turkey; the Power Green and the Daily Detox fresh juices; and the Muscle Malt and the Jacked Up PB + J protein shakes.

Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, Original Chop Shop suits the time constraints of a workday lunch especially well, with its order-at-the-counter style of self-serve (or, even faster, online ordering) combined with the best of friendly service when the order is brought to the patron’s table.

Original Chop Shop
Multiple locations around the Valley