Signature Dish: Try The Paleo Bowl (Or Build Your Own Creation) At Bolay
Story and Photos by Julie Unger
Eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring, bland and tasteless. Curating a fast, fresh and bold way of eating, Bolay is an innovative build-you-own-bowl restaurant with creative, satisfying and nutritious offerings. They’re so good, you’ll forget it is good for you.
“What we have done is put the consumer in the driver’s seat,” explained Outback Steakhouse co-founder Tim Gannon, who created the Bolay concept with his son Chris. “He comes in and says, ‘Wow, look at all this food. Now, here’s how I want to put it together.’ Enabling a consumer in customization is critical, which gives us endless variety and creativity. We’ve taken it from the hands of the chef, creating something unbelievable, to the hands of the consumer, letting them create. That is the engaging part of this enterprise.”
The concept is simple. You choose the size bowl you want. Then, you choose your base, or bases. With options like a marinated kale and currant salad, Peruvian quinoa, forbidden black rice, aromatic basmati rice and gluten-free cilantro noodles, there are plenty of flavorful and delicious choices to set the theme.
Atop the base are unique vegetables, such as smoky cauliflower, paleo sprouts, maple-roasted butternut squash, balsamic mushrooms and broccoli with a ginger orange glaze. Following the vegetables are proteins such as sesame tofu, Ponzu tuna, barbeque chicken, lemon chicken, pork tenderloin and Caribbean spiced steak.
Adding another layer of flavor are the sauce offerings and additional add-ons. Spicy Thai sauce, cilantro pesto and carrot ginger sauce, along with minted tomatoes, goat cheese crumble, parmesan and an Asian herb mix help to create an endless array of possibilities.
Chef Martin Oswald, a former protégé of Wolfgang Puck, helped create the Paleo Bowl, and the Bolay team created the other two signature bowls, the Aspen Bowl and the Thai Bowl.
The Paleo Bowl features kale, a nutritional powerhouse, with quinoa, mushrooms, sprouts, barbeque chicken, Caribbean steak and a carrot ginger sauce.
Everything at Bolay is 100 percent gluten-free. The only dairy is in the cheese topping offered, and instead of sugar in their desserts, they use agave. The restaurant doesn’t use fryers and utilizes small amounts of coconut and olive oil for flavor.
Everything at Bolay is about putting together nutrition and flavor, Tim explained.
Chris, who won the U.S. Open Polo Championship at age 16 on Outback’s team, has studied trends, and realized that when people go out to eat there is an innate curiosity as to how others eat. With the trend of eating healthier, people want fresh, clean food quickly, he explained. “We’re trying to grab all of those things by being fresh, clean and quick,” Chris said.
The high-protein forbidden black rice, Chris explained, is seasoned with ginger, cilantro and kafir lime leaf. There’s a variety of flavor in every bite. “Our restaurant has 20 sauces that we make every day,” he said. “Each item has its own marinate and its own sauce, and with that comes incredible flavors.”
Tim is bringing what he learned about flavor at Outback to Bolay, without the heavy calories.
“Here, we want to bring all that flavor that you love at Outback, and we want to infuse it with healthy ingredients,” he explained. “We’re that place that you want to go in, eat great, have great flavor, but walk out and go hit the tennis court, ride horses or exercise. That’s how much energy you’ll have.”
Bolay opened in late February in the new Buckingham Plaza on State Road 7. It has already been active in the community. They were at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce’s ColorFest 5K and Nic Roldan’s Sunset Polo & White Party at the Wanderers Club benefitting Brooke USA, as well as other community functions.
“The beauty of this concept is that it has got endless possibilities for creativity and change,” Chris said. “We’re really going to listen to what the guests like. That’s the most important part — not what we think, but what the guest wants.”
To wash down the fresh bowls, be it cultivated or designed by the guest, Bolay offers cold-pressed juice, infused teas, and craft beer and wine.
Bolay isn’t trying to be a health food restaurant, Chris explained, but rather a restaurant with bold flavors and incredible food that just happens to be healthy and good for you.
Bolay is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. For more information, visit www.eatbolay.com or call (561) 899-0111.
