Across from a recent theater was a salad bar chain called Salata. You walk down the line picking your items and a server helps create your salad by adding what you chose to the lettuce, mixing you greens, and adding your dressing. While I love the notion of picking out exactly what I want for my salad in a quick easy method, this place does two things wrong in my book.
1. My salad was 10 bucks with chicken. I understand that a salad with meat should be a little extra, but I can get a huge salad at a Cheesecake Factory type resturant for roughly the same price. If I am going to an express shop, I am doing it because I want the convience of having a salad my way, I want it fast, and also to save a few bucks because of the experience. I think $8-9 would have even been more reasonable. $10 bucks could have bought my groceries to make my own salad.
2. After I was done selecting my items for the salad, the young server mixed in my dressing, tossed it all together then asked if this was "for here, or to go?". I decided to sit and enjoy my meal so I picked the first, "for here." She handed me over the large mixing bowl for me to eat my salad out of. No putting it on a nice plate or nothing. Just eating out of a mixing bowl. Eating my meal out of the enormous bowl kind of made me feel silly. Like some lonely guy in the corner of an apartment that is short on clean dishes. No presentation, no comfort, just eating lettuce out of a big bowl. Lame.
All that to say, I wasn't a fan. Yes, its an option for those needing something quick and within their diet, but the price and presentation makes it hard for me to enjoy them. If they retool their model a bit, I could get on board, but not just yet.
Now, you serve me Cap't Crunch in a bowl that size, we have a deal.
1. My salad was 10 bucks with chicken. I understand that a salad with meat should be a little extra, but I can get a huge salad at a Cheesecake Factory type resturant for roughly the same price. If I am going to an express shop, I am doing it because I want the convience of having a salad my way, I want it fast, and also to save a few bucks because of the experience. I think $8-9 would have even been more reasonable. $10 bucks could have bought my groceries to make my own salad.
2. After I was done selecting my items for the salad, the young server mixed in my dressing, tossed it all together then asked if this was "for here, or to go?". I decided to sit and enjoy my meal so I picked the first, "for here." She handed me over the large mixing bowl for me to eat my salad out of. No putting it on a nice plate or nothing. Just eating out of a mixing bowl. Eating my meal out of the enormous bowl kind of made me feel silly. Like some lonely guy in the corner of an apartment that is short on clean dishes. No presentation, no comfort, just eating lettuce out of a big bowl. Lame.
All that to say, I wasn't a fan. Yes, its an option for those needing something quick and within their diet, but the price and presentation makes it hard for me to enjoy them. If they retool their model a bit, I could get on board, but not just yet.
Now, you serve me Cap't Crunch in a bowl that size, we have a deal.
