Foodbenders, a new health-conscious take-out lunch joint, has opened on the eastern edge of the Junction. The miniscule shop, helmed by Ottawa natives Kim Hawkins and Kevin Rickey, offers a menu of salads and sandwiches in a variety of permutations that will suit even the most intolerant of eaters. Lactose intolerant? Gluten intolerant? Meat averse? Foodbenders has you covered.

Less sensitive eaters might not even notice the health bent with options such as the espresso BBQ chicken sandwich ($8.50) served with aged cheddar, avocado and kale on Cobs’ herb focaccia. As there’s no seating, patrons will either have to enjoy their lunches in the park across the street or back at their desks.

Long-time friends Hawkins and Rickey got their start by selling their wares to cafés across the city (Jimmy’s, The Arrow and The Green Grind). Now that they have their own space, the offerings have expanded beyond lunch comestibles to include canned goods (like local buckwheat honey pickled beets), piquant hot sauces well as preservative-free roasted garlic hummus.

Hawkins, a 30-year-old yogi, is focused not just on offering healthy food, but on providing organic, seasonal options at an accessible price point. This means that while Foodbenders doesn’t use exclusively organic ingredients, they do source them when possible — Hawkins even sources some of the kale and herbs from her own garden.

While Hawkins helms front of house, her co-owner, Rickey, commands the kitchen.

“He’s the foodbender,” Hawkins jokes.

For those who didn’t catch the allusion, the name Foodbenders is a play on the children’s TV show, Avatar, wherein people known as “benders” have the ability to control elements such as earth, fire and water.

Published on: Jun 27, 2013