(underneath copper monkey and next to pita pit by campus)
One thumb up (mostly for effort)
Since last week was spring break and parking wasn't impossible, a few friends and I decided to try some restaurants near campus. The first one we tried was Designer Greens, a new "healthy" restaurant next to Pita Pit. Upon entering, we were presented with quite a spread of seemingly fresh ingredients: lettuces, avocados, hard boiled eggs, tortilla strips, tomatoes (there must have been two dozen different fresh ingredients on hand). This pleased me greatly, as fast food seems to be taking a turn for the healthier/fresher. Also, I was satisfied to find out that what appeared to be a corporate chain was actually a small Florida based operation with only two stores currently open.
I ordered the half sandwich and half salad option and opted for the hummus sandwich, featuring hummus, tzatziki, tomatoes, red onion, feta, and black olives. All of the sandwiches came on pressed flatbread (think thick pita). The salad I chose was the "Avocado," featuring romaine lettuce, avocado, mandarin oranges, red onion, hard boiled egg, corn, candied pecans, goat cheese with citrus dressing. The sandwich was quite small and unfilling but the salad was surprisingly big for a "half."
First off, the sandwich was quite tasty, but felt extremely unhealthy. All the ingredients should be fresh and light, yet the sandwich managed to have a heavy, weighed down texture to it. Like I said, it was tasty, but it really seemed like it had some thick, unhealthy ingredients in it. Feta, yogurt sauce (tzatziki) and hummus don't get that creamy on their own.
Second, the ingredients in the salad seemed to have been compiled by either a child or a madman. Mandarin Oranges and Avocado? Corn? Egg and candied pecans? The salad was very unsettling. Even though this place started in Orlando, this salad epitomized Gainesville cooking mentality: throw a whole bunch of unrelated rich flavors together and pass it off as gourmet.
As with most places in town, I have to step back and realize who they're catering to. Sure, most health conscious college kids might be psyched to eat here. But with a 9.50 price tag for my lunch, I'm not sure they can afford it.
I like Designer Greens and am a pretty regular customer. While I agree that the salad you had is a little wacky this place doesn't claim to be gourmet or healthy. Maybe your perception is that they are gourmet because of the $9.50 price point but I spend $9.50 at Tijuana Flats right around the corner every Moday(I have a midtown lunch routine) and they are certainly not gourmet. I think that's just the reality of eating out these days unless you go to a place like Subway or a restaurant that is not in a prime location. And almost all the toppings are unhealthy(wontons, bacon, croutons, cheeses, candied nuts, salad dressings, etc) so how you think they are healthy is a little beyond me. But then again that is the problem with Americans...they automatically assume salads are healthy when in reality they are usually loaded with 2x as much fat/cal as a burger.
ReplyDeleteI think it's less that we felt the place was actually healthy and more that they seem to put themselves out as a healthy option. Also, my specific comment was that the items on the sandwich I ordered aren't inherently unhealthy, or don't have to be. I felt that they added ingredients to make them richer, which is the problem I had.
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