The first time I had Goop Kitchen, it was on a flight from LAX to JFK in economy middle seats. I had dinner delivered to me at my hotel. I then took it to the airport in the car and through security. (No, TSA did not take the carrot-ginger dressing). Then, a few hours after, ate it on the plane. It was not only good, but it held up well. Even though I didn’t admit it, as someone who works in restaurants, that mid-sky meal made wish Goop Kitchen was bicoastal. The upscale fast-casual temple of Gwyneth and Kim Floresca’s VP of Culinary debuted in Los Angeles, 2021. Goop Kitchen, which has 11 locations in Los Angeles, along with three recent openings, opened its first ghost-kitchen location in Manhattan. Seven more locations will debut by 2026, with a focus primarily on pickup and deliveries. The team waits for 45 minutes before testing new menu items to simulate realistic delivery times. Social media is flooded with images of whole rotisserie poultry, four different pastas and bone broth. There are also salads, bowls and rolls. You can also order most items a la carte, whether they are sauces or proteins. All items are gluten-free, free of refined sugars and peanuts and corn. There are some New York-exclusives like the chicken wrap, a riff of the traditional Waldorf in the brand’s cassava flour-wrapped version, but most La-La Land favorites still remain. The Hall of Fame OrderThe Best Salad Brentwood Chinese Chicken Salad (18.50)I really love her. The carrot-ginger dressing brings together organic chicken, shredded cabbage and bok choy, avocados (lots of them), and bright vegetables like snow peas and watermelon radish. This is the only Goop sauce I would ever use. It could have used a little more gingery kick if I were you.) The Goop Teriyaki Bowl ($18.95). The portion of grilled, well-seasoned chicken is generous, and the shiitake, brown rice, (no white rice option, sadly) holds the teriyaki nicely. The sesame-marinated, softened kale is my favorite. I also like the sliced avocado with furikake and steamed broccoli. It’s also the most filling bowl.
