Fresh Cutt Carving Grill, and the New Fast Food (Hopefully)

Fresh Cutt

Recently there've been a number of new fast food restaurants opening, not just affordable but environmentally-
savvy and health-conscious. We're talking about restaurants like Veggie Grill and Bawarchi, and now Fresh Cutt Carving Grill. For the sake of comparison, if Bawarchi is an eco-conscious Indian Subway, then Fresh Cutt, which opened last Thursday in the former Dressing Room location in Sherman Oaks, is like its snappily-dressed cousin who, despite living in the valley, speaks with a somewhat Mediterranean accent.

Fresh Cutt's horizontal bamboo-pannelled walls are imbedded with Plasma screen televisions and the glass-enclosed shelves display neat piles of whole fruits and vegetables, in a kind of preface to the assembly line of fresh ingredients, which are pre-cut for your convenience.

The build-your-own meal options -- like hummus and baba ghanouj spread over lavash, pita or flat bread and topped with meats, then marinated overnight then slow roasted on a spin grill and carved to order; or vegetables and add-ons aplenty -- reflect owner Karina Diana's acute awareness of what the valley community wants: fresh, clean, and fast. And the fact that at $9.95, the weekend specials -- roasted turkey breast on Friday, garlic lamb on Saturday, BBQ beef brisket on Sunday -- are the most expensive items on menu is none too shabby either.

Fresh Cutt Carving Grill: 14622 Ventura Blvd., #103, Sherman Oaks; (818) 788-8077.