Sunday, November 14, 2010

Chopped Leaf

I have been trying to practice Meatless Mondays. I was a vegan for about 7 years and have been feeling the need to cut down a bit on the carnivorism. With it being Monday and Courtney not eating pork or fish on a regular basis, we headed out for a lunch adventure. We decided on the Chopped Leaf.

Chopped Leaf is relatively new to the Robson Street food choices. From the outside they seem to be a Jugo Juice/Wrap Zone hybrid. Their website indicates they are a franchise that focuses on the healthy and environmental factors of eating.

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The decor is quite nice on the inside. Very clean and fresh. Not a lot of seating offered. There were 2 table of 4 to one side and then some bar seating along the window. Very much a get your food and go atmosphere.

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Their menu offers wraps, soups, salads and some very limited hot entrees. You can order the "chef designed salad and wraps" or you can make your own from quite a large selection of items. The staff were very helpful in making our lunch choice, which was a theme of this meal. I have never had such amazing service at a "fast food" type place. We decided to sit in for lunch that day and the staff came around a few times to make sure we were enjoying our meal. Other people have said they had this experience there as well. Very nice.

I decided on a wrap and soup. I chose the chef designed Sunshine wrap.
SUNSHINE-grilled chicken, spring mix, cucumbers, mozza, avocado & apples with goddess dressing

If you don't want the meat you can substitute 2 more veggie items from their menu. I chose to add in walnuts and cherry tomatoes. I like that they let you choose what you want to add in. Nowhere on the menu do they tell you what is in the dressing. Goddess dressing? No idea.

I chose the corn chowder soup as an add on. DINING TIP: If you eat your meal in, you get a full size soup rather than the add on size!

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I was quite impressed with the presentation. They are really trying hard here. The soup was really tasty and everything in the wrap was really fresh and plentiful. It was a really large portion of food. I think that I would order the salad version instead of the wrap next time.

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Still no idea what Goddess dressing is.

Courtney ordered one of the hot items, the Chipotle quesedilla. CHIPOTLE: chicken, peppers, black bean corn salsa, cheddar.

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Like the wrap, it was made to order. Courtney said it was really good. She also said the salsa was way hotter than she had expected. She ordered the tomato soup.

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The house special is a fruit water. For $1.50 they give you a water cup with fresh fruit in the bottom and then you can choose from 2 different fruit infused waters to drink, a strawberry kiwi and watermelon strawberry. The drink come with unlimited refills.

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At first I thought this was a lot for water, but it is the same price as a bottle and cheaper than a pop. They even switched me over to a to go cup (made from corn, compostable!) with more fresh fruit so I could take advantage of my free refills.

This was not a cheap lunch option. I think we both paid over $15.00 for our meals. Both of our meals were fresh made to order and really tasty. Courtney pointed out that it would be a great place for a quick take away dinner.

The Chopped Leaf on Urbanspoon

5 comments:

  1. These guys remind me of O Tooz. Remember O Tooz? I loved them so much. Thank- you for posting this, I'll check them out.

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  2. I first came across Goddess dressing while working for the 4 seasons in 2003. I'd never heard of it either:

    The dressing is named for its green tint. The most accepted theory regarding its origins points to the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in 1923, when the hotel's executive chef Philip Roemer wanted something to pay tribute to actor George Arliss and his hit play, The Green Goddess. He then concocted this dressing, which, like the play, became a hit. This dressing is a variation of a dressing originated in France by a Chef to Louis XIII who made a Sauce Au Vert (Green Sauce) which was traditionally served with 'Green Eel'.

    In the early 1970s, salad dressing maker Seven Seas produced a bottle version of this dressing. It is still made in limited quantities, although the company has since been purchased by Kraft Foods. It is sold at online outlets like The Vermont Country Store and Wal-Mart.

    Trader Joe's makes a version called simply Goddess Dressing, which is made with tahini and is not green. Also, Annie's Naturals, a maker of natural salad dressings and sauces, manufactures both an ovo-lacto-vegetarian variant of the original dressing called Organic Green Goddess Dressing and a vegan creation of their own similar to the original called Goddess Dressing, which, similarly to the Trader Joe's version, is also made with tahini.

    who knew!

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  3. ps. Great post. I think the price comes from the fact that it's downtown on Robson. I'll check it out next time I'm down there!

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  4. Holy Veggies Melissa! Did you just know all that? And I hope I never come across the dish, "Green Eel".

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  5. Sweet Cherubim has a Goddess Dressing too...
    thanks for post, good tip for veggie eating DT

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