By Claire Latsko | Newport Area Editor
Keenwah Super Food Eatery, located on Broadway in Newport, is a sweet spot for vegans or vegetarians, customers looking for a healthy meal, or for anyone who is obsessed with super foods. If you want to unlock your inner yogi that sips on smoothies and eats veggie burgers, or totally up your Insta food game, then this is the place for you! But if words like “vegan” and “kale” and “tempeh” scare you, have no fear because they serve meat, too.
The first thing that caught my eye when I entered Keenwah was the bright green color of the walls and the back wall that is entirely covered in a chalkboard menu. The wall not only serves as a menu, but a beautiful piece of décor. There are potted plants on shelves and the floor amongst wooden tables and chairs, as well as comfy armchairs.
The menu itself contains an array of options including sandwiches, wraps, pizza, burritos, salads, burgers, smoothies, coffee, and fruit and yogurt bowls. Some of the items have adorable names (i.e. Local Yokel, Popeye Goes Vegan, Fish & Chicks, and Purple People Pleaser), and there are plenty of options for vegetarians, vegans, and even meat eaters. Every dish is packed with super foods and other yummy ingredients.
I would highly recommend ordering a smoothie. They are cold, creamy, sweet, and very refreshing. All smoothies are about $7, which is more on the expensive side, but each one is packed with super food goodness.
Keenwah has two types of smoothies: yogurt based or coconut based. Yogurt based smoothies, such as the 
Green Scream, use yogurt to create a creamy base amongst the mango, pineapple, and spinach. This is the first “green” smoothie I’ve tried that doesn’t taste like leaves. The Coconut Creamsicle is a coconut milk based smoothie that contained lots of tropical fruit and goji powder, a newer player in the super food craze.
Although I do usually enjoy vegetarian dishes, I decided to play it safe and ordered a chicken salad sandwich. The Ezekiel bread came toasted, and nicely layered on top of my chicken salad was avocado, tomato, lettuce, and red onion. The chicken salad itself was delicious. It contained pumpkin seeds and goji berries, which I wasn’t expecting to work in chicken salad, but I was happily surprised. I realized later that those two ingredients probably substituted for other nuts and grapes/raisins that chicken salad sometimes has. The whole sandwich itself was a little messy, but still really good. It came with apple slices, and I ate pretty much everything on the plate.
My friend ordered the Machu Picchu Burrito, which contains quinoa, spinach, walnut pesto, scrambled eggs, feta, and sundried tomatoes. The burrito itself is like a small breakfast burrito, butcontains a hefty amount of protein that will keep you satisfied all afternoon. When I took a bite I could taste the quinoa, eggs, and pesto right away, but the sun dried tomato and feta flavor was lacking. I would have loved to take a bite that was jam packed with all the ingredients. It comes with roasted sweet potato and orange wedges on the side.
I was kind of disappointed with the amount of food that you receive for the price that you are paying for it. I had expected the portions to be larger. At first I felt cheated out of my money, but then I did some thinking. Although the portions are small, the food is hearty and filling; I felt satisfied and wasn’t craving more. Their food is meant to nourish. Also, the ingredients being used in Keenwah’s food is natural, organic, and local, which tends to cost more.
So you’re technically paying for a good quality and hearty meal that will make you feel full, but not in a not overly stuffed way, which is much better for your health. Personally, I would rather feel satisfied instead of needing to unbutton my jeans.
Our food came out pretty quickly, and all of the people working there were friendly. The cashier told me that I needed to come back and try their bacon because apparently it is amazing.
Keenwah is a great place, and has a good atmosphere. I will definitely go back there soon because there are more things on the menu that I want to try (especially the veggie burger and the acai bowl). I would say that Keenwah is an excellent place to go to after a workout or a yoga class; you can fill up on protein without overeating, and feel good about yourself while doing it.
If you’re considering trying a meal at Keenwah, then make sure to look out for their logo: the green farmer on Broadway.
