Veggie New Lunch
A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to receive the installation of Side Steps for my Jeep from PL. I was totally stoked about this as I would not have been able to get them on my own for quite a while. After we picked up my Jeep at lunch time, myself and my boss stopped off at Tropical Smoothie Cafe for lunch. This was indeed my first time actually eating at one of these locations and I was not sure what to expect. I will say, that I did not order a Smoothie. Silly, if you think about it. Go to a place with Smoothie in the name and not order one. But, lucky for me, we are proud owners of a VitaMix and I consume a whopping 48 ounces of smoothie goodness everyday. Smoothie aside, this was gearing up to be a Veggie New Lunch.
We arrived and were short on time. Having never been here before, I quickly scanned the menu to find an item that sounded good. I spotted the Southwest Chicken Salad and went with this. We waited only a few short minutes before our food was brough out. Once it was brought, I was presented with a somewhat small salad. This was okay with me because this was a weekday and this was lunch – my normal lunch consists of 1/2 cup beans, 1 serving carrots & 1 whole grain tortilla with tanini…so, anything is an upgrade. The bowl was full of lettuce and also had chicken rice, black beans, tomatoes and onions (though I asked for these to be left off), all served with containers of guacamole, salsa and dressing. I dumped on the salsa and guacamole, and began to eat.
The first thing I found was that the salad itself was very fresh. While I doubt the guacamole was made on site, it was quite good. Very fresh tasting and chunky enough to give it some character. While the salsa was nothing special, it provided the proper consistency to the salad. The beans and rice were there but, actually didn’t play too much of a part. I found most of the flavor to come from the guacamole and the salsa. As for the chicken, it was not my favorite. The pieces were few and far between, and tasted like they had been microwaved. Luckily, the other salad toppings and fillers helped the taste of the chicken greatly.
I had no problem finishing this salad and feeling full. No, I wasn’t stuffed but I was full enough to get me through to afternoon snack. If I return to Tropical Smoothie, I would probably try something else. It’s not that this wasn’t good its just that I wasn’t overly amazed by it. I do give props to Tropical Smoothie on providing some great flavor in the guacamole and salsa – both were above what I would have ever expected. If only the chicken was a bit better, I may be calling this my favorite new lunch. But, so is not the case, so, this will simply stay as a Veggie New Lunch.