LifeCafe: Eatery at Bixby fitness center offers healthy, tasty options
BY SCOTT CHERRY World Scene Writer
Thursday, May 03, 2012
3/28/13 at 8:37 AM
With amazingly fit people of all ages coming and going through the LifeCafe area at the new Life Time Fitness Center in Bixby, I started feeling all healthful, like I wanted to go pick up a barbell or something.
Then I wisely thought the better of it and focused on the sandwiches and salads on the plates in front of us in the bright and airy cafe located just inside the entrance of the gigantic facility.
The public may dine in the deli-style cafe by signing in as a guest at the front desk.
The LifeCafe food items are marketed as having no artificial coloring, preservatives, flavors, sweeteners or much of anything with a negative vibe. The motto: "If it's here, it's healthy."
"It was tricky and a lot of work to keep out ingredients in our foods that we think are best to avoid and still have food that tastes great," said John Reilly, Life Time senior vice president. "We wanted to create a space where a member can come in from swimming or working out, shut their eyes, grab anything out of the coolers and know they are making a good choice."
We picked a prepared Cobb salad ($6.99) and packets of ranch dressing out of the cooler and ordered two sandwiches, roast beef stacker ($7.99) and grilled salmon ($8.29).
Diners order at the counter and are given a number, and food is brought to the table. It's not fast food; it took awhile for the sandwiches to arrive. Then again, the 11 granite tables and 12 high-top island counter seats were filled to capacity with teens, families and singles about 6:30 on a recent weeknight.
Never mind the health benefits our sandwiches might have provided. They were pretty darn tasty.
The roast beef sandwich featured an impressive mound of meat layered with tomato, Swiss cheese, mixed greens and pepper mayo on ciabatta bread. The thick piece of mild-tasting salmon was complemented with tomato, mixed greens and herbed remoulade, also on ciabatta. The sauces carried the flavor in both sandwiches.
The sandwiches came with a small side of romaine lettuce sprinkled with a zingy balsamic vinaigrette and two slices of Granny Smith apples.
Some of the lettuce in the Cobb salad had gone a little limp, but overall it was a flavorful mix of avocado slices, hard-boiled eggs, tomato, shredded cheddar cheese, bacon, chicken and bleu cheese crumbles. The creamy ranch had a spicy edge to it. Other dressing choices included Asian vinaigrette, honey mustard, chipotle ranch, blue cheese, balsamic vinaigrette and jalapeno lime.
The cafe offers a full range of breakfast sandwiches and wraps, regular sandwiches and wraps, salads, quesadillas, pizzas, shakes and smoothies.
Ages 12 and younger may order cheese quesadilla, cheese pizza, baked chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, turkey and Swiss sandwich or peanut butter and jelly sandwich with baked chips, seasonal fruit and choice of organic milk or natural juice for $3.99 each.
This is the first of the national chain to be located in Oklahoma. Reilly said it probably would be 2014 before further expansion would be considered here.
LIFECAFE
10642 S. Memorial Drive, Bixby
918-364-8500
Food: 
Atmosphere:
Service: Order at counter
(on a scale of 0-4 stars)
6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 6 a.m.
to 9 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday,
9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday; accepts all major
credit cards.
Original Print Headline: Healthy but tasty, too
Scott Cherry 918-581-8463
scott.cherry@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
The roast beef stacker sandwich with Swiss cheese, tomato, mixed greens and pepper mayo on ciabatta bread is served with a smoothie. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World
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