Where to chow down on greens in the Big Apple
Photography by Lexie Jeuniewic
As anyone who knows me will tell you, salads are my main meal of choice.
“How boringggg,” I hear you say- well yes, if I was confined to an iceberg/tomato/cucumber combination, I highly doubt my addiction to green bowls of goodness would be as fervent.
Nowadays, salads are somewhat of a mystical unicorn of a meal.
They can be anything you want them to be, just as long as they are built upon a foundation of leaves.
Before venturing to NYC, I thought I had my ideal salad down to an art.
Iceberg+spinach+ red onion+ cucumber+ steamed zucchini+mushrooms+ can of italian style Sirena tuna= heaven in a bowl.
But just like my outlook on the world, the Big Apple’s salad scene tossed and turned my ideologies with vigour.
Unlike Australia, where takeaway salad is predominantly found in sub-par Sumo Salad or vacuum packed in the refrigerator aisle of Coles, New York has an affinity for freshly made “chopped” salad.
You pick your green base. You then proceed to select salad ‘extras’, ranging from portobello mushrooms to quinoa to any vegetable under the sun.
They then chop it up- right in front of you-with the coolest crescent chopping blade you’ve ever seen.
It’s safe to say in my three weeks of being a Manhattanite, I chowed down my fair share of salad bowls, so with great pride and a belly brimming with chlorophyll, I present to you my definitive list of NYC’s best places to grab your greens.
Best value: Food Emporium (810 8th Avenue)
Situated just off Times Square, the Food Emporium will whip you up a bowl of goodness with SEVEN extras (everything from basic beets to far-out artichoke and heart of palm) for the unbelievable price of $6.99. Delicious and doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket.
Best mega-chain : Just Salad (various locations)
Ah, Just Salad. So much more than just salad.
With one located every few blocks, JS, as I affectionately came to call it, was my most frequented salad bar. And for good reason.
Featuring the best choppers in town ( seriously, these guys had guns that would put spinach-fuelled Pop Eye to shame) and a host of fresh, season-specific ingredients like roasted portobello mushrooms, JS was reliable and consistent, offering an easy and highly customisable salad experience.
Best deli salad bar: Smiler’s (532 Madison Avenue)
Pre-made salad bars were ubiquitous in the countless delis lining the streets of NYC, but Smiler’s was by far my favourite scoop n’ weigh choice. Featuring inspired salad combinations like spinach and blackberry, as well as chilli and coriander dusted avocado, Smiler’s had me smiling for all the right reasons (dapper business men may have played a part in aforementioned beaming).
Best overall/ life changing salad bar: Sweetgreen (1164 Broadway)
It was on a stroll through NoMad in which I uncovered the salad nirvana that is Sweetgreen.
With a seasonal menu featuring next-level ingredients like nori, butternut squash and cracked farrow, Sweetgreen elevates the chopped salad to somewhat of an art form. Although there is a hefty wait period, once you are scooping up morsels of “Rad Thai” or “Kale Caesar” goodness and sipping on their signature Matcha Fresca, you’ll thank the arugula angels for delivering you to this Gotham gem.