The best thing about lunch at Modern Market is that eating healthier is never a drag.

Everything, including my favorite Thai chicken salad that’s pictured here, is super flavorful with unexpected little touches. There’s toasted coconut for texture, curried sweet potato, crunchy cucumber and maybe the best part of all, the peanut mango dressing that’s tangy, spicy and drives the whole Thai vibe home perfectly.

While it’s difficult not to go with my usual salad, I recently branched out and tried the Buddha bowl with sesame-glazed tofu. Now I know what you’re thinking, TOFU, seriously? I know, I know, I was also reluctant when someone recommended it, but it’s really good because of what it’s marinated in.  While I’m not exactly sure what “heirloom rice” is, it was definitely the star of the bowl along with the tofu and wide variety of roasted vegetables. Definitely not a lunch I would’ve come up with at home, which is part of what makes eating out fun.

It’s great that healthier restaurants are seriously upping their game in the taste department. I recently tried True Food Kitchen and Flower Child in Dallas and absolutely loved what I ordered. Ditto for First Watch. It almost makes me forget I’m in Texas, and I’ve suddenly been transported to California where these kinds of eateries are commonplace.

How about you? What are your favorite healthier lunch spots and why?