New Athletic Menu at West of Edens
Track and Field athletes show off the official Iron Wolf Menu poster.
May 21, 2018
Local restaurant, West of Edens, created a menu that serves West athletes with healthier and more nutritious meals. The menu was created in hopes of helping athletes with their training diets and giving them better access to healthier meal options.
The idea for pairing up with a restaurant to create an athletic-style menu started with strength and conditioning coach Fernando Perez. Disappointed with the school’s limited selection of lunches and tired of seeing athletes eat at typically unhealthy fast-food chains, Perez searched for a restaurant that would be willing to work with him to create a menu of meals that would be better suited for athletes. Soon enough, he found West of Edens.
“It’s been a couple years that I’ve been thinking of creating something like this, but I didn’t know exactly what it was going to be. Year after year of hearing the challenges from athletes when it comes to their nutritional side with their sport involvement, I started trying a bunch of different things but nothing was working,” Perez said. “After working with nutritionists, the owner was very open to this idea. We both didn’t have a clear vision of what we wanted, but after talking over, we were able to put something together.”
The menu was helped put together by Perez and West’s Iron Wolf Club, a club whom helps with weight room managing. The menu, named the Iron Wolf Menu, features many meal options that are full of protein and nutrients, and are often served with steamed vegetables. Iron Wolf Club member, senior Natalie Scalero, describes the menu.
“We created the Iron Wolf menu by picking the healthiest options already given on the menu. The athletes at Niles West have easy and accessible options when they go to eat at West of Edens and they will get the nutrients they need. The food here is delicious and you get a lot of bang for your buck,” Scalero said.
“Prices are at a reasonable cost and the food is done in a way that doesn’t turn the athlete off. [The restaurant is] a great social environment, but the athletes are also still able to focus on their eating,” Perez said.
Many West athletes ate at West of Edens on Wed., May 16, the day of the menu’s debut. The athletes are impressed and excited with the selection, taste, and nutritional value. Varsity basketball player, junior Richie Noparstak, describes his West of Edens’ Iron Wolf Menu experience.
“It’s very beneficial nutritionally and everything an athlete needs and wants with the variety provided. The food was incredibly amazing and I would highly recommend this restaurant to all athletes and to friends and family,” Noparstak said.
Be sure to visit West of Edens restaurant and ask about the all-new Iron Wolf Menu.
