By Rachel Heller
Five ingredients or fewer—that’s the formula for every salad dressing, sandwich spread, sauce and marinade on the menu at HealthyCA.
“I try to keep it simple,” explains Maki, the North Hollywood eatery’s founder and chef. And you can’t get much simpler than the HealthyCA motto: “Tasty food conducive to good health.”
Since 2005, this small café with a confusing name (the CA is pronounced ka) has been serving casual gourmet fare that celebrates, above all else, the versatility of fresh, locally sourced veggies. HealthyCA is not strictly vegetarian, but the menu accommodates herbivores and carnivores alike with symphonic salads, savory hot dishes, and handhelds that—vegetarian or not—can only be described as “meaty.”
There’s one catch—sampling of HealthyCA’s delights is limited to daylight hours. Only open for lunch and only on weekdays, the café nonetheless attracts throngs of loyal patrons craving a midday meal designed to nourish and energize.
The generous salads are a good place to start. My perennial favorite, Mediterranean Soy, is a bursting-with-color mix of edamame, crunchy carrots and celery, tomatoes, cucumbers, grilled sweet corn and baby greens topped with garlic croutons, marinated grilled tofu and an ample scoop of succulent albacore tuna salad. Always refreshing, the eponymous HealthyCA salad layers avocado, green apples, jicama and hearts of palm over asparagus and baby greens, with zesty mandarin oranges and spicy pecans crowning the medley.
Diners can choose from a vast array of house-made dressings, but the vibrant lemon-olive oil blend steals the show for me 
every time.
HealthyCA’s sandwiches are hearty and satisfying, packed with fresh veggies and juicy proteins. The Venetian features grilled chicken breast, tofu pesto, roasted red peppers, provolone and purple onions; while Almost Raw is piled high with grilled tofu, hummus, tomatoes, avocado, carrots, cucumbers and sprouts, with house-made olive spread. Impressive bread choices include whole wheat ciabatta.
If early-autumn weather has you craving something more substantial, try one of HealthyCA’s hot dishes. Citrus Chicken, marinated and served with roasted tomato-edamame salsa, never disappoints. Entrees come with a choice of sides, including herbed quinoa salad and my favorite, coconut curry vegetables. Balance these savory dishes with one of a dozen creative fruit smoothies, such as Fresh Mind, a crisp blend of orange, mango, melon, mint leaves and lemon.
Maki, who goes by just the one name, worked as a chef in Los Angeles for more than 20 years before opening HealthyCA. Creating gourmet cuisine for the Patina Group and other high-end restaurants, he honed both his culinary talents and his health-conscious philosophy, which he now puts into practice full-time.
“In our supermarkets most of the foods for sale are full of preservatives,” said Maki, who sources 90 percent of his ingredients from local farms in Oxnard and Fillmore. “I try to make the restaurant an example that you can eat healthy, wholesome food at affordable prices.” And with most menu items under $10, he’s not kidding.
A note about the location: don’t come for the ambiance. Seating is scarce—the dining area consists of only one, count it, one table for eat-in patrons, plus two small counters. Most of the interior is taken up by a large, open kitchen where cooks are perpetually busy filling orders for delivery and HealthyCA’s catering service. Guests wishing to eat on site can sit at one of four bamboo tables outside, but plan on a line during the noon rush, when office workers from nearby Universal Studios and other local businesses stop in.
Responding to his appreciative audience, Maki is opening a second HealthyCA location in Hollywood in about six months. He’ll be true to his guiding philosophy, so don’t expect to find more than five ingredients in any of the condiments he’ll make for it.
4724 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, 91602. Open M-F, 11am-6pm. 818.505.1035
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