Meet the Women Behind Echo Park's Healthy New Hotspot Honey Hi

Lately it seems like everywhere you look on LA's eastside, you'll find a new eatery swinging open it's doors. Not that we're complaining — as equal opportunity food fans, we're always happy to have our options. But when it comes to finding a spot that's as wholesome, healthful, and mindful as it is convenient, that's not such an easy task.

That's where Echo Park's latest offering, Honey Hi, comes into perfectly play. The cute cafe offers a menu that is heavily reliant upon organic, seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, entirely gluten free, and happens to be completely delicious and satisfying. And that was precisely the niche owners Kacie Carter and Caitlin Sullivan were looking to carve when they set out to open Honey Hi. 

The friends, who met in college, both previously worked high-stress jobs, Kacie as a high fashion stylist and Caitlin as a producer in advertising. These occupations had taken a toll on their health and Kacie made it a personal mission to learn everything she could about nutrition, even attending (and completing) school for the subject. Opening a restaurant was a big risk for these two, but one which they're both incredibly passionate about. Their airy cafe offers easy and affordable solutions for breakfast and lunch seven days a week, boasting dishes like gluten free sourdough tartines, bone broth, and bowls full of wholesome ingredients as well as probiotic drinks, smoothies, and bulletproof coffee.

We headed over to Honey Hi for a bowl of sprouted quinoa, pumpkin seed arugula pesto, veggies, and a turmeric poached egg (oh, an then there was the gluten free lemon pistachio raspberry cake) and a few words with Kacie and Caitlin to get to know the gals behind this bright new eatery, including what they'd eat for their last meal on Earth and their bacon-inclusive food philosophy. 

What do you love about being in Echo Park?

This is our community! We love our local farmers market and we source from them as much as possible. We love the dynamic cultural diversity that makes Echo Park what it is.

The menu isn't vegan or even vegetarian, though totally healthful and mindful. Can you explain your food philosophy?

Honey Hi is a little café with delicious food that makes you feel good. Our kitchen is inherently free of sugar, vegetable oil and gluten. We source organic and from the farmers market as much as possible and veggies are the backbone of all our dishes. We don’t think of ourselves as a “health food restaurant,” this is just how we like to eat. We’ve definitely flirted with vegetarianism, raw, and “paleo” styles of eating at different points but we wanted to take all of the best things from the philosophies that have inspired us and make it a welcoming place for everyone.

What gap do you hope for Honey Hi will fill in terms of the LA food scene?

We believe that you should be able to eat delicious food and not have to pay with your health. Honey Hi a place you can eat every day and feel good. 

Describe your ideal last meal on earth.

Kacie: I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I would have salmon and avocado or something. If I’m being entirely honest, I would eat 500 english muffins slathered in butter and a bunch of chocolate croissants because I’m gluten intolerant and if it were my last day on earth it wouldn’t matter. Or the bone marrow at Bestia.

Caitlin: Chicken fingers!

Finish this sentence: if you are what you eat, I'm...

Caitlin: Pesto.

Kacie: An excess amount of garnishes.