An employee prepares salad ingredients at Sweetgreen.
I am a big fan of salads — the crazier, the better. My friends constantly ask me to bring salad to potlucks because they know I’m not going to show up with something straight out of a bag — there are going to be nuts, expensive cheeses, different kinds of dried and fresh fruits and a ton of veggies. So, it seemed natural I would like Sweetgreen — one of the many new restaurants now on Route 1 near the University View.
The best way to approach Sweetgreen is by constructing your own salad or wrap, instead of trying to figure out which of the choices listed on the menu suits you. In a sad instance, one of my friends decided to walk out of Sweetgreen without ordering anything because she didn’t like any of the listed salad combinations. Her big mistake was not looking at the sheer number of food items on the other side of the counter, sitting pristine and fresh, just begging to be added to a salad bowl or wrap.
My own salad-making guru was extremely patient with all the questions I had for him about the many fixings. Yes, those are really pieces of cooked sweet potato. That is not chicken, it is tofu. Those are hearts of palm, and of course you don’t have to have just one kind of salad green, you can have all four. Salad-making heaven.
The highlight of my dish was the candied pecans. I found myself digging through my greens trying to find yet another giant, sweet, caramelized nut that I could pop into my mouth. The bright red, crunchy beets were clearly fresh. Just by glancing at the menu, I could find exactly which local farm each ingredient in my bowl came from.
This keep-it-fresh, keep-it-local strategy does mean the menu changes as supply does and it can come with an extra price. The make-your-own salad is $6.35 — but let’s not kid ourselves, you’re not going to stop with the salad greens, four veggies, a crunchy topping and dressing. You’re going to want to add some protein ($1-3), cheese ($1) and maybe a few extra vegetables as well ($0.50 each). Be aware that the enticingly spicy free-range, hormone-free roast chicken is $2.25 and avocado is $1.25.
Overall, your meal will end up costing about the same as a salad at Saladworks but with a fresher, more creative flair. These salads come in compostable bowls (or recycled bamboo bowls, as seemingly everything in Sweetgreen is environmentally friendly) and are big enough to last you two meals.
Dressings are playful (such as carrot chili vinaigrette and curry pineapple yogurt) and free samples are offered before anything is drizzled on your salad or put in a side container. I did eye the organic plain tart froyo which could be piled with fresh fruit (berries or roasted apples), granola or candy toppings, but I decided to save that for next time.
Sweetgreen is a great place to get a delicious, feel-good salad — not just for your health but also for the environment — any day of the week.
diversions@umdbk.com
