One of New York’s more health-minded restaurant franchises is celebrating 4/20 with a special menu spiked with pot.
The Fresh&Co chain of restaurants is set to offer a menu of food products infused with cannabidiol (CBD) oil, according to Restaurant Hospitality.
Created by chef Craig Rispoli, the menu takes advantage of the therapeutic chemical found in marijuana without the neurological effects commonly associated with the psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, found in cannabis.
The Fresh&Co menu includes items such as a Half-Baked Salad made with hemp cakes and CBD-infused ginger cashew aioli, a Blazed Beet Sandwich made with hemp cakes, mixed hemp greens, and CBD-infused ginger cashew aioli, and CBD cold brew coffee, to name a few.
“With the growing popularity of CBD and its benefits being realized, we wanted to use our window of opportunity to offer a healthier variant of CBD-infused food items,” a Fresh&Co representative told Restaurant Hospitality.
The CBD-infused menu many not last long, however, as the launch comes after New York City gave restaurant operators and food suppliers a grace period until July 1 before cannabis-infused edible products become prohibited under compliance with current FDA regulations, according to a December 2018 notice from the Health Department.
“Our new menu is made in small batches, using wholesome, clean ingredients,” the Fresh&Co spokesperson added. “Although we do not agree with the [New York health department] ban in CBD products in food use, we understand that this is too new on a consumer level, and difficult to regulate.”
Fresh&Co’s CBD menu launches on Friday, and will be available throughout their 18 locations until April 30.
Oscar Pascual is the editor of Smell the Truth, syndicated on GreenState and SFGATE. Smell The Truth is one of the internet’s most popular destinations for cannabis-related news and culture. This blog is not written or edited by Hearst. The authors are solely responsible for the content.