HLS stands for Health Love and Soul. The restaurant is owned by brothers Arinze and Emeka and they are dedicated to serving food that is not only delicious, but also nutritious. They believe that since you are what you eat, you should be eating the best foods possible. They see the need in today’s society for fresh, wholesome food and are ready to fill it.

The atmosphere at HLS is warm and colorful, with an artsy flair. It’s the kind of place that you’d like to hang out in for a few hours. This is a low-key establishment, so don’t expect anything fancy, but HLS serves delicious, healthy food at a reasonable price, so it's a good place to have a causal meal with friends.

HLS serves fresh juices and smoothies as well as their own line of bottled juices called Jrinc. The HLS menu consists of wraps, salads and brown rice platters. About half of their options are vegetarian, with dishes made with tofu, soy meats, beans and, of course, lots of vegetables. Meatless wraps choices  include the Tempting Soy Turk’, Grilled Tofu and the Eden Wrap. Some of the salads to choose from are the Skinny Chef Salad, the Soy Thai Chic’n and a Vegetarian Caesar Salad. (Vegans should know that most of the vegetarian dishes do come with either cheese or a dairy-based dressing, but they can easily be omitted.) Side dishes include sautéed kale, spinach and sweet corn. They also have fresh cut fries and the best tasting sweet potato fries I’ve ever had!

My friend Jenna and I recently had lunch at HLS. It was her first time eating there and she really enjoyed it. She had soy Soy Thai Chic’n Wrap, which is usually my favorite. This time I opted for the Soy Thai Chic’n Salad, because I feel I haven’t had enough greens in my diet since the weather turned cooler. We both ordered fries with our meals – hers were the fresh cut fries and mine were sweet potato. We also both ordered fresh Vitamin Awesome juices, which were made with kale, carrot and apple. I love that I can get a fresh green juice with my meal at HLS!

HLS is located at 387 Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair. There’s also a second location in Maplewood, located at 1859 Springfield Avenue.