Sweetgreen was originally started in 2007 by three freshly-graduated college students with the hope of simplifying the way to eat healthier. Sweetgreen specializes in salads and has gained intense popularity within the past few years.  

The chain began with locations mostly limited to the East coast, but, luckily for LFHS students, recently opened a new location in Deerfield this past month. Two of my friends, Maeve Chlystek and Padraig Day, joined me on my investigation of the restaurant.

Upon arrival, we were immediately struck by the atmosphere of the building: bright and open. The layout of the food was similar to that of a Subway or Chipotle with a walkthrough ordering experience.

Maeve, Padraig, and I each ordered different items: the Crispy Rice Bowl, Guacamole Greens Salad, and Hot Honey Chicken respectively.

As a picky eater and self-proclaimed salad-hater, I always struggle to find things to eat at restaurants like these. However, I was pleased to see Hot Honey Chicken as an option. The chicken was very juicy with a nice flavor. I was also a fan of the modifications I was able to make to the meal. I substituted spicy broccoli and carrots for cabbage slaw and quinoa, which made for an appetizing combination.

With that being said, the meal was pretty expensive, with a price tag of just under $14. But even worse, I was still hungry after completing the meal. Still, I acknowledge that Sweetgreen doesn’t specialize in chicken bowls, and thankfully my friends were more than willing to sample Sweetgreen’s true specialty, their salads, for me.

Maeve was very pleased with her Crispy Rice Salad Bowl and especially the variety of ingredients included.

“I appreciated the variety of vegetables and the amazing flavor the salad had when they were all combined,” Maeve said.

Maeve admitted that her $13 salad was a little too pricey for her liking, but “it’s not too out of character for restaurants like these,” she said. More importantly though, Maeve said she would definitely return and rated her meal a 9.5/10.

Padraig was similarly pleased while indulging in the Guacamole Greens Salad. He claims to be a “newly experimenting vegan,” and took advantage of a tofu substitute for chicken.

As opposed to my own experience, Padraig was incredibly satisfied with the size of his meal.

“It was a lot, it was a big portion. I am currently very full and feel I got what I paid for,” he said.

He also enjoyed the meal for its complex flavors and was impressed by Sweetgreen’s ability to add spice with a wide variety of natural ingredients.

“They did a great job at combining everything in an intentional manner to create a healthy and delicious meal,” Padraig said.

Overall, he really enjoyed not only the food, but also the dining experience and ranked his salad a 9.7/10.

Another benefit of bringing my friends was that as co-presidents of LFHS’ Environmental club, they were able to examine Sweetgreen’s mission of sustainability. Sweetgreen puts an extreme emphasis on the environment and sources from eco-conscious farmers, builds their restaurants sustainably, and only uses compostable and recyclable materials in their stores.

“It was really refreshing to see correct environmental practices. A lot of the time a business will only go halfway, but Sweetgreen set the bar high and should be a model for other businesses,” Maeve said.

I’d say my trip to Sweetgreen was extremely successful, and the new restaurant is a nice alternative to FoodStuffs or Roti. All in all, as long as you are aware of the price, you should definitely consider going there for your next meal!