Lifestyle

Fast food in jars is the latest lunch craze

So much for brown bags — a growing number of NYC foodies are reaching for the jars.

Several eateries around town are now courting convenience-loving takeout crowds with supernutritious meals stacked in clear screw-top containers. Call it the Jar-den of Eden: Offerings from several spots sampled by The Post were richly layered with flavorful riffs on plant-based ingredients, from turmeric quinoa to honey-mustard beets.

Tyme is located in the heart of Times Square.Annie Wermiel/NY Post

Sure, the rainbow-filled jars are Instagram bait. But their eye-candy quality also heightens excitement about eating healthy, says Julie Garden-Robinson, Ph.D., a nutrition professor at North Dakota State University and an expert on the visual impact of meals.

“You enjoy the natural beauty of food and benefit from its nutrition,” she says. “[Clear jars are] an excellent way to encourage eating the recommended 4½ cups total of vegetables and fruits per day.”

Not to mention, strategic stacking helps preserve the texture of ingredients (for instance, by putting crisp greens on top of soft pickled veggies). And unlike a flimsy clamshell container of sad desk salad, a screw-top jar is unlikely to leak in transit.

Here’s where to find your plate-free fixes.

Fast food for foodies

Annie Wermiel

Tyme co-founder Phil Winser, the restaurateur behind Lower East Side farm-to-table eatery the Fat Radish, says his new jarred-takeout chainlet isn’t a gimmick; it’s part of a culinary tradition.

“Food has been in jars for generations, for preserving and carrying,” he says.

Still, the flavors on Tyme’s all-vegan jar menu are very much geared toward modern palates. The popular Soba jar stacks pickled cucumber, tamari mushrooms and tahini-roasted broccoli upon protein-packed noodles. Tyme’s Original jar, another top seller, layers honey-mustard beets with green tahini and black rice.

In dreaming up the concept for Tyme with co-founder and former Burger King exec Felipe Hallot, Winser says portability was key. “It’s about being about to grab something and just throw it in your bag,” he says. Winser adds that he was inspired by chef friends who transport their own meals in plastic quart containers.

Tyme’s jarred meals weigh 19 ounces and sell for $10 each. Delivery is available through Grubhub, Seamless, UberEats and Delivery.com, as well as through Tyme’s Web site. The company also runs seven brick-and-mortar hubs — including a new kiosk in Times Square, at Broadway and West 46th Street — where you can return your empty jar for $1 off your next purchase. Locations throughout Manhattan; TymeFood.com.

Jars à la française

Nicholas Doyle - nsdoyle.com

Conceived by French entrepreneur Chloe Vichot and made possible in part by a 2016 Kickstarter campaign, Ancolie encourages customers to follow an “epicurean ethos”: Set aside 30 minutes to unplug and savor every bite of a balanced midday meal, while producing minimal waste.

The West Village-based eatery makes that easy. Here, meals are sold in glass jars to safeguard texture and temperature, cut down on disposable packaging, and show off Ancolie’s superfresh ingredients.

The eatery’s namesake jar is “the most French,” Vichot says. With layers of lentils, diced shallot, goat cheese, chopped carrot, walnuts, Queens Crisp lettuce and classic French vinaigrette, the Ancolie jar is also satisfying. Another menu standout is the Asian-style Rainbow salad, with red cabbage, turmeric-spiked cauliflower rice, carrots and lettuce, and a miso-and-rice-vinegar dressing. Both 22-ounce jars start at $12.

Return your jar to Ancolie’s storefront for $1 off your next order. And and on the off chance your used jar contains any leftover scraps, the restaurant will compost the waste. Delivery available via Caviar. 58 W. Eighth St., Manhattan; Ancolie.co.

Sweet starters

Tamara Beckwith

Portable breakfast parfaits made with nutrient-packed vegan chia pudding are the speciality at Jar Bar NYC, a Midtown-based delivery operation. Founder Jenna Heller’s aim was to create “perfect grab-and-go snacks” — wholesome, filling and dairy-free. Among Jar Bar’s popular offerings is the Cinnamon Apple Pie jar, which layers Heller’s chia-pudding base with apple chunks and almond-butter overnight oats. The Dark Chocolate Delight jar, which alternates almond-butter oats with a rich cacao chia pudding, is another fan fave. Starting next month, you can wake up to Pumpkin Spice jars, brightly striped with pumpkin-sweet potato puree and sweetened with maple syrup.

Also pretty sweet: Jar Bar’s social mission. The company partners with NYC nonprofit Fedcap to hire culinary workers with disabilities.

Jars are sold in two sizes and in various combinations. Six 4-ounce jars are priced at $27; for $30, you get four 8-ounce jars. A $25 delivery minimum applies. For smaller orders, Jar Bar occasionally offers a free pickup option at its 43rd Street commercial kitchen (see the Web site’s checkout page for details). JarBarNYC.com.