Restaurant Review: Sweetgreen

Restaurant:
Address: 68 Coulter Ave. Ardmore, PA 19003
Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 stars
Style: Eat-In / Take-Out
Food: Healthy, Organic & Locally Grown
Atmosphere: Clean & Casual
Parking: Metered Lot
Service: Friendly Counter Service
Price: Under $10
Unique Feature: Though the menu selection is limited to wraps and salads, there are hundreds of different combinations that can be created. 

At one time, in not so distant memory, going green was considered a trend; a fad, practiced by those on the fringes of society. Finding unprocessed foods with origins unquestionable required a quirky health food store, with off beat offerings.

Today, it’s a lifestyle choice and it’s becoming much more readily available, approachable and affordable to live, work and eat green. So much so that there’s a small chain that has popped up offering locally grown, organically raised, fresh, healthy menu items.

opened in Ardmore’s Suburban Square about . It’s one of just 10 locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC And it’s doing the locavore thing right; sourcing from the areas it serves.

On a recent trip to the new Mecca of sustainable salads, I was delighted to find so many seasonal, organic and locally grown items. On the menu were mushrooms from Kennett, spinach, mint and jalapeños from New Jersey and an array of items that came from Virginia and Maryland.

The menu is simple. Choose a pre-determined Sweetgreen mix and have it as a salad or a wrap for around $8. Or create your own, choosing from an array of local, healthy ingredients for $6.95. Obviously, this is a vegetarian friendly place, but they even offer vegan items.

I ordered the seasonal Fire & Desire, as a salad; a late August mix of watermelon, mint, feta and golden tomatoes. It was dressed with a cucumber basil yogurt, a squirt of Sriracha, held together by chopped romaine lettuce and accompanied by a hearty slice of whole grain bread.

The mix of creamy yogurt, the brine of fresh feta, the spice of Sriracha, the sweetness of the watermelon and the firm freshness of the tomatoes was a mix that left me happily plowing through my salad.

It had been served in a compostable plastic container, to be eaten with a compostable plastic fork. Many hours of eco-conscious market research had obviously gone into the concept and execution of this establishment, and its dedication hadn’t been lost on me.

The second item I ordered was also a Sweetgreen mix; The Curry Gold. I opted for a wrap and watched as it was assembled. Baby spinach, cucumbers, raw beets, dried cranberries, toasted almonds, a scoop of roasted chicken and a curry pineapple yogurt dressing were all tucked into a whole grain wrap.

The mix was much more fall inspired, and deliciously chosen. The baby spinach and chicken took a back seat to what was more of an accoutrement-lovers wrap, and it was delicious.

Like a Salad Works on organic steroids, if that’s not too much of a contradiction in terms, my Sweetgreen lunch offered me bite after bite of crunchy, sweet, salty, spicy and creamy, with all of the excitement of take-out, and none of the greasy guilt.

I knew my lettuce was pesticide free, that my yogurt based dressing had come from a happy cow and that the chicken in my wrap had lived cage-free. OK, maybe I just hoped that all this was true, but as trusting chain restaurant’s philosophies and farmer’s lists go, Sweetgreen had me at hello.

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