INTRO
It was a chilly and overcast day at the Francis W. Parker School, even colder in the auditorium. As the Curriculum Committee heads declared the first Cookie proposal session, Owen, Sascha, and Zoe collaborated and thought diligently. Together, they were to create something big, something engaging, something fueling, and thus, “Battle of the Bowls” was born. In this Cookie, we were to taste, discuss and rate a variety of both savory and sweet bowls from popular attractions around Chicago. With 27 different people and taste buds, we were able to manufacture various unique reviews, and in collaboration with our different journalism and writing experiences, we could produce meaningful and diverse critiques and reviews.
These reviews ranged from fruity, sweet, acai, and pitaya bowls from well-known food chains such as Playa Bowls, Pure Green, Deep Purple, and Jamba Juice, all the way to protein-directed, full-meal, and entrée bowl chains, like Chipotle, Cava, and Moonbowls. These various bowls were critiqued on a scale of one to four stars in categories such as texture, sweetness (for the sweetbowls), and sustainable packaging.
BEST SWEET
Ava Farhat and Lila Gupta
Out of all tested acai bowls, the bowl from Jamba Juice was undeniably the favorite. We enjoyed the balance of sweet and tart flavor, and the color of the acai compared to the other bowls we tried. After each of us rated the bowl, the average came out to 4.3/5 stars–the highest overall. “It’s the perfect balance of runny and thick,” one taster said.
Acai berries are not naturally sweet, and Jamba Juice honors the authentic taste of the berry by preserving its tartness and not watering down the flavor, like many of the other bowls our testers assessed. “This process made me forget what acai is meant to taste like–until I had the acai primo from Jamba Juice,” one tester said.
BEST SAVORY
Ayla Pressman and Sloane Kins
We put the four of the top big corporation bowls to the test: Chipotle, Cava, Moonbowl, and Tacobell. After much deliberation, tasting, and discussion about the bowls through a variety of categories such as taste, texture, and price, we decided that Cava was the best bowl overall.
The majority of the bowls missed the mark by a wide margin. Chipotle felt generic and significantly dry, with several testers noting that the chicken lacked seasoning and desperately needed more moisture. Moonbowls was a hit-or-miss experience, with some finding the rice bland and the cauliflower greasy. Others found the fried cauliflower to be flavorful, especially with the flavor sauce (which many tasters missed). However, Taco Bell was the biggest disappointment; the Cantina bowl was described as “runny and wet, and overall really uncomfortable to eat.” Between the mushy texture and the non-existent flavor, it sat at the bottom of the list.
Cava easily took the crown for the best savory bowl. The reviewers were impressed by the high-quality, fresh-tasting Mediterranean bowl. One reviewer said, “The ingredients felt fresh, and the mix of ingredients led to a bowl full of flavors.” The ingredients included onions, rice, hummus, chicken, tzatziki, tomato, cucumber, feta, and arugula. These ingredients were all regarded as well together and the healthiest feeling among all the bowls. The overall rating of the Cava bowl was 4.06/5. The only complaints about the Cava bowl were the price being at $28.40, 11 dollars more than the second most expensive bowl. Most people found that the other categories outweighed the high price.
WORST BOWL
Sascha Keller
Fresh ingredients, sustainable packaging, a consistently delicious taste no matter the temperature or age of the meal: all aspects of the Taco Bell Cantina Burrito bowls that were utterly absent. While this bowl was admittedly the most economically friendly, it still wasn’t a bang for our buck because of the lacking quality, artificial tasting ingredients, and suspiciously textured meat.
When we thought about what made a quality bowl, what helped a bowl rise to the top of our “Battle of the Bowls” rankings, we prioritized a multitude of aspects, previously mentioned, to determine which bowls would rise to the top of our rankings. Taco Bell scored low in every category except for price, scoring the highest in this category because of its cheap fee of just eight dollars, compared to the average 15 dollars spent on other savory and sweet bowls. These bowls, however, had nutritional substances like leafy greens and meat with tasteable quality, making the price well worth the filling and overall nutritional value.
Maybe it was my and Owens mistake for searching for a nutritious, filling meal at Taco Bell, a dining institution known for late night snacks that can barely be considered natural food. While our initial perception of the bowl may have been tainted by our flavorful addition of a Baja Blast, which Owen claims “makes you feel more alive,” other tasters agreed with my assessment of the bowls: its underwhelming taste and unappealing flavor.
While this is my personal opinion, I don’t think it would be an insane generalization to say that consumers don’t want to eat food that is described as “icky” and “uncomfortable” to eat. It wasn’t just the strange salsas occupying different corners of the bowl that made it quickly fall in our rankings, or the strange squishyness of the supposed-to-be-quality chicken that made many tasters repulsed by the bowl, it was the overall sub-parness of the Taco Bell bowl compared to the notably high quality of all the other bowls, both savory and sweet, that makes me question why anyone would sacrifice that much quality to save a few dollars on a filling, nutritious lunch.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BOWL
William McCloskey and Isaiah Jakobe
18,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia, human beings first began eating out of bowls. Fast-forward to 2026, and you’ll find that bowl dishes have remained relevant in human culture all over the world, and in the United States have even taken on a new light. Thanks to social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, modern bowl dishes consisting of fresh proteins, vegetables and grains have become increasingly popular, as more people are prioritizing healthy and convenient food. But where did it all start?
Fast backwards 16 years and we arrive at the Big Bowl Boom of 2010, when bowl restaurant chains such as Chipotle, Cava, and Sweetgreen began bursting onto the scene. Operating under a business model that centered healthy eating, they began doing extremely well in wealthy urban areas, like Chicago. Thanks to the simplicity in preparing a bowl meal, they were also just as convenient as fast food, with anyone being able to simply walk in and walk back out with a meal in a matter of minutes. The health, convenience, and overall trendyness of these restaurants was able to reach more people as social media became more mainstream, which led us to where we are today.
Despite this long history of the modern “bowl”, the modern idea of a bowl is wrapped around one fast food restaurant—Chipotle. Founded by Steve Ells in 1993, the popularity of this fast food company has exploded among lifters, students and everyday citizens. Linked to a boom in “bowl culture” in the 2010s, chipotle has taken the fast food industry over by storm. From lettuce, to honey chicken to rice, Chipotle bowls are so customizable that they are perfect for everyone. Just in the last few months, Chipotle has already had three different special meats, from Carne Asada to Chicken Al Pastor to Honey Chicken, Chipotle has maintained its relevance through an ever changing menu. However the biggest breakthrough of Chipotle was creating the modern customizable bowl. This allows the bowl to be perfect for everyone’s dietary needs without becoming overly expensive. It offers a great source of carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats.
But why are these bowls so popular? Not only are they cheap and healthy, but they are also very convenient. Whether you are at your home, in your car, or even on the go, you can order a chipotle bowl wherever you want. Another common reason for buying a chipotle bowl is the incredible amounts of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats. For instance, in one bowl with steak, rice, beans, cheese and guacamole you could have upwards of 60g of protein, more than most people need in an entire day. This fact alone makes it perfect for lifters on the move, because they don’t need to give any effort into their diet, and the food is only a few clicks away. Chipotle not only creates efficiency, it also creates memories. In the in person restaurant, the chipotle employees are always kind, and will take your order immediately, and will never let you down by getting your order wrong or not giving you enough portions. Finally, Chipotle is sustainable, the bowls, packaging napkins and silverware are all compostable. All of these great attributes in combination are what allow Chipotle to have the dominance that it does. From health, to cost, to convenience to taste, Chipotle is one of the best.
The convenience and aesthetics of a good bowl joint fit perfectly with a neighborhood like Lincoln Park, so it’s no wonder that they’ve become a staple of the average Parker student’s diet. So the next time you Doordash a bowl, take a moment to appreciate the rich history of this seemingly simple dish.
START SPLITTING
Mia Scala and Josie Laufer
In our attempt to order our lunch, us being indecisive, we could not come to a conclusion on what to have. However, we have come to the conclusion that there are far too many bowl options to choose from in Chicago. After countless debates on what we both wanted, it was clear that there was no way we could settle for one option. This led us to our decision where we would both order a bowl from two different places, and very conveniently, split them. We ordered two bowls, one from Bowls of Rice, and one from Cava. Our order from Bowls of Rice was a steak and rice bowl, while our order from Cava was a chicken and rice bowl. By just hearing the names of our orders it can appear that they are quite similar, yet this was far from the case. The Cava bowl was Mediterranean style with hummus, tzatziki, and pickled cucumbers, letting us experience Greek cuisine. The Cava bowl also consisted of perfect grilled chicken, fresh arugula, brown rice, pita on the side for dipping and a greek sauce. On the other hand, Bowls of Rice is a Japanese cuisine, consisting of sesame style steak, and delicious steamed rice. The two contrasting bowls were each better than we had expected. Once both of our orders arrived, we shared our meals, feeling fulfilled in our decision. Looking around we noticed others who settled for their meal in a single bowl, and couldn’t help to realize how quickly their palettes overcame their singular choice. Luckily for us, this same sad phenomenon did not happen to either Josie or I. When finishing our meal, we decided that we made the best choice, in splitting and in our bowl choices.
When going to lunch with friends and you are debating over your order, splitting is a great way to go. The more Mia and I find ourselves going out together, the more we have been splitting everything. We find that not only does splitting make the decision easier, it also ensures that both of us are happy with the two dishes. Instead of us each getting our own individual dishes and having a little portion of each other, we each get two dishes and split each in half. Splitting allows two friends to experience two different dishes while only paying for one. A classic split that works for us every time is a classic caesar salad and pasta; we each get the lightness of the caesar salad and the thickness of the pasta. Splitting also enables us to try different foods, foods that alone we would not have gotten for ourselves. For example, today Mia got a rice bowl with steak, a meat I usually do not find myself gravitating towards but today I highly enjoyed. When you split, you do not get bored with your own dish because you always have two to choose from. We have also found that splitting helps reduce waste because when we have two different options, we are more likely to finish both. Additionally, when you have only one dish, it is easy to get sick of the taste and you want something to cleanse your palate. When really thinking about it, splitting is a perfect method to a perfect meal. Not only do you get the gratification of two delicious meals, but you also get to enjoy your meal in good company. Though it can be argued that one singular meal can be enjoyed while still being around your friends, the experience of splitting is so much different. When splitting, you get to have a mutual shared experience in your meal. If we really start to think about this analytically, a culinary experience is an art form. So when eating together, and splitting the same meal it can even be a bonding experience like no other.
RANKINGS BASED ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Ella Rosse and Marley Ross
Rating Scale: Poor, Good, Great
Chipotle – compostable fiber-based bowl with aluminum foil lid that is recyclable: really good for the earth and they are using no plastic, bags and napkins are compostable too (GREAT)
Playa – Plastic container, plastic lid- made from recycled plastic water bottles, spoons are plant-based, biodegradable, or compostable (GOOD)
Cava – Plastic lid but made from recycled plastic and compostable bowl (GOOD)
Moonbowl – Bowls are entirely compostable and the lid is made out of recyclable plastic; additionally their takeout bags are 100% recyclable (GOOD)
Pure Green – All plastic items they have are made from plant-based materials rather than plastic and are 100% compostable (GOOD)
Deep Purple – Plastic cups and lids- but is partnered with “ToGoodToGo” – a mobile app that connects consumers with local restaurants, cafes, and grocery stores to buy unsold, surplus food at heavily discounted prices, usually 50% to 75% off (POOR)
The influx of to-go packaging has only increased since COVID-19, but which are the most sustainable? We bought, reviewed, researched, and tested the environmental impact on the packaging of bowls across Chicago, and some will surprise you. While most of these bowl containers are plastic, they hold unknown benefits to the earth. Playa Bowls, for example, reuse plastic water bottles to create their bowls and plant-based spoons help fill the stomachs of the hungry. It isn’t just Playa Bowls though who have hopped on the positive side of plastics. Pure Green uses both plastic lids and bowls, yet they are made from plant-based materials. In general, all brands who used plastic packaging received a “Good” ranking, since it’s known that plastic is bad, yet it is all sourced or created sustainably.
With this being said, some of the bowls weren’t made out of plastic, but compostable materials. Places like Cava, Moonbowls, and Chipotle obtain containers with bases made out of compostable materials, though their lids don’t follow this material. Cava’s lids are made out of plastic, Chipotle’s are made out of recyclable aluminum, and Moonbowls have recyclable plastic lids.
Pure Green, Moonbowls, Cava, and Playa bowls receive a “good” rating because the materials that are used in these bowls are either recyclable or compostable, yet they all use plastic, the factor preventing these places from receiving a better rating. Putting the label of “recyclable” on to describe the materials used veers the view of how poor it actually is for the environment. Plastic takes over 1,000 years to decompose, it never truly biodegrades, and is one of the major factors of pollution in ecosystems. Deep Purple received a “poor” rating because although they are partnered with “ToGoodToGo”- a mobile app that connects consumers with local restaurants to buy unsold food to prevent waste- all of their materials are made out of plastic, making it the least sustainable bowl company in this battle. Lastly, the one bowl location to receive a “great” rating was Chipotle, as their materials are both compostable and recyclable aluminum, with no usage of plastic in its entirety. In conclusion, Chipotle is the winner of the most sustainable and eco-friendly bowl in our “battle of the bowls”.
