Low-cal on Clean Eatz’s menu

A new restaurant emphasizing health arrives at Blue Moon Gift Shops on Racine Drive just in time to fulfill New Year’s resolutions aimed at losing weight.

Clean Eatz, 203 Racine Drive, serves meals that all contain less than 500 calories and 10 fat grams, co-owner Don Varady said.

Varady and his partner Evonne White plan to open Clean Eatz around mid-January.

The $4-$10 café menu features snacks, salads, sandwiches, frozen yogurt, protein smoothies and Build Your Own Bowls filled with diners’ choice of meat, vegetables, carbohydrates such as pasta or rice, and seasoning sauce. The bowl’s ingredients are steamed before serving.

Turkey, bison and tofu fashion assorted burgers. The Teriyaki Turkey Burger sports pineapple, green peppers and teriyaki sauce. Barbecue chicken, vegetables or Philly cheesesteak fixings are among toppings for flatbread pizzas.

Additionally, Clean Eatz provides pre-packaged meals, starting at five for $35, that may be refrigerated or frozen and reheated at home.

Varady has a carpentry background; White has worked as an x-ray technician, but both owners are into fitness, too, so much so that they decided to operate the restaurant, Varady said. 

Clean Eatz grew from the Lo-Cal Café the pair operated near St. Louis, Mo. They have been in the health food business for four years, Varady said.

Chef Chris Lubben revisits downtown

After a 13-year hiatus, chef Chris Lubben is back in the downtown mix, this time as executive chef at Mixto.

Lubben in 1999 was a chef at downtown’s Reel Café. More recently, he and his wife, Kristin Lubben, operated Chris’ Cosmic Kitchen, a popular Eastwood Drive restaurant open from 2007 to 2011.

From Chris’, Lubben headed to Mayfaire Town Center’s Happy Days Café, which closed shortly after his arrival, then The Kitchen on Military Cutoff Road and, finally, The Isles Restaurant in Ocean Isle Beach.

When The Isles closed temporarily for the winter season in 2012, Lubben went on a job hunt. He started at Mixto on Monday.

“We’re excited about having Chris in the kitchen,” Mixto co-owner Gil Johnson said, noting Lubben brings years of experience to the restaurant’s culinary team, which will continue to include chef Josh Burris.

Burris stepped in as executive chef when former chef Trinity Hunt departed in mid-2012. Burris will return to the sous chef position he has held at Mixto since the spot opened in 2010, Johnson said. 

Mixto’s menu won’t change immediately, but by spring owners plan to return to the contemporary Latin offerings they originally had in mind, Johnson said.

For now, Lubben said that he is getting acquainted with the existing menu, but he’ll feature specials as he moves toward development of a new menu.

Can diners expect to see “Latinized” versions of Lubben’s much-loved Chris’ Cosmic Kitchen cheesecake and shrimp bisque?

The bisque is a maybe, Lubben said, but a dulce de leche cheesecake he served Mixto owners during the interview process helped him win the job.

Joe’s Crab Shack eyeing Wrightsville Beach location

A Houston-based company is trying to bring the seafood chain restaurant Joe’s Crab Shack to Johnnie Mercer’s Pier in Wrightsville Beach.

Ignite Restaurant Group has applied for a conditional use permit allowing Joe’s to move into a 270-seat indoor/outdoor dining space at the pier, Wrightsville Beach planning director Tony Wilson said.

The conditional use permit is necessary because town ordinances require more parking spaces than exist around the potential restaurant, Wilson explained. The permit would allow the restaurant an exception to parking lot rules.

The conditional use permit is likely to be on the town board of adjustment’s Feb. 28 agenda, Wilson said.

Ignite operates 130 Joe’s Crab Shacks nationwide, according to the restaurant’s website.

Joe’s serves seafood steam pots, fried seafood platters, steaks, ribs, chicken, salads and various appetizers ranging from spicy mussels in their shells to crab nachos, according to the restaurant’s website.

Ignite Restaurants was attracted to the pier because of its oceanfront location and the vibrant community there, company spokeswoman Tracy Aiello said. Ignite became a public company May 11 of last year.