There is an inverse relationship between commute time and cooking time: the longer you spend commuting on a workday, the less time you spend cooking dinner that night. Lee and Megan Mokri, commuters both, were intimately familiar with this mathematical construct. So familiar, that they launched a business to provide convenient, healthy meals to others burdened with limited cooking time: 180Eats.
180Eats, based in Mill Valley, offers almost ready-to-eat meals that are delivered to your door within three delivery windows (4:30-5:30, 5:30-6:30 or 6:30-7:30). Order as late as 4 p.m. for meal delivery that night. Then follow a few simple instructions (provided on the package) to finish cooking the meal and your meal is ready to eat within about 30 minutes. Unlike restaurant meals, where the meal is completely cooked before being packaged, 180Eats chef Jefferson Sevilla prepares each day’s meals to ensure that they do not become soggy before delivery. The final step of finishing the dish at home gives the meal a fresh character utterly unlike restaurant meals and allows the diner to fine-tune how well each dish is cooked.
Roasted chicken with cauliflower fried rice
Chef Sevilla, who came to 180Eats after six years at Google, brings a foundation in sustainable sourcing and grasp of global flavors to the mix. Two meals are available for delivery each day and all meals are prepared in Marin
“There is always a meat or a fish option and a vegetarian option each day,” says Lee Mokri, “and 100 percent of ingredients come from within a day’s drive.” Priced at $10.95, meals such as kale-quinoa salad with orange braised cannellini beans and avocado dressing, or pretzel crusted pork loin with sweet potato puree & sauteed Swiss chard, reflect the customer’s interest in well-priced, seasonally-inspired, healthful meals, updated with modern flavors and an eye towards the comfortable and familiar. Roasted chicken with cauliflower fried rice (very paleo!) was a nice size breast, glazed in a mildly gingered sauce. A heap of minced veggies (mostly Capay Organics cauliflower) was deceptively rice-like and easy to love. The side of Brussels sprouts was simply seasoned and a bit too al dente after their additional cook time in my oven, easy enough to correct in the microwave. I was satisfied after eating this meal but my dining partner would have liked an additional leg or thigh piece to complete his meal. Topped with crispy garlic chips, tofu vegetable coconut curry with brown rice was warmly spiced, the tofu firm without being fried. The side of green beans was simply seasoned and a bit too al dente. Again, an easy fix in the microwave.
Kids meals are in the works ($5.95 – think breaded and baked chicken strips with roasted carrots and baked yams) as are guilt-free desserts ($4.95).
Launched in October, 2014 with a delivery area is from Hamilton in Novato to the bridge, 180Eats is quickly redefining meal delivery for Marin. With global flavors, a focus on health and sustainability and meals designed to be finished in the oven or microwave, 180 Eats answers the question: “what should we do for dinner?”
Find 180Eats at http://www.180eats.com/ or 415-858-0180.
