It’s hard to find fast food restaurants that are simultaneously delicious and healthy, but luckily, Salata offers many options. It first opened in 2005 in Houston, Texas by Berge Simonian, and soon expanded to many locations, including McKinney and Frisco. With an average 4.0 star review at their location on West University Drive, it is available after 11 a.m. for dine in, takeout and no contact delivery.
I was concerned while driving the 15 minutes, because as I was scanning the menu, the website seemed to feature their catering service, and it didn’t have the prices listed for each individual, pre-created salad, so I wasn’t sure if they offered smaller portions. There wasn’t much traffic, and only a few cars in front of the stone building when I arrived. Their logo, a black ‘Salata’ with a green line representing grass on either side of the ‘L,’ was emblazoned on the front of the building, above black windows lined up next to the door.
In contrast to the light exterior, the walls were slate and the wood floor toned different shades of gray. The tables and chairs were the same, but the divider from the seating area to the order line was white. A bright lime green permanent partition, the same shade as the to-go containers set aside, was hanging over the ordering counter and immediately caught my eye. There were several aesthetic wood boards hanging on the walls, some saying inspirational quotes, one by the counter describing how to order, and one with a green avocado depicted. To the left of the avocado sign was a ‘tea tap,’ according to the words above the station.
A rival of Salata, Salad and Go, has a delicious harvest salad, so I was curious if Salata’s measured up. There were two size options, normal, and large, but the price difference was only one dollar, so I ordered the latter. The cost was surprising, averaging to about $16 dollars for a large salad, though it did last me three servings. The meal was prepared before me and customers have the option to customize the ingredients, but I remained with the original recipe: lettuce, apples, grapes, walnuts, cranberries, pesto chicken, feta cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The staff seemed happy to accommodate, although two out of the three of them serving didn’t speak to me. The woman at the register was friendly, as she made sure I knew there were nuts in the salad that could be allergens. If customers do have any food dietary restrictions, they have options for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and no peanuts or tree nuts.
The process of creating the salad was interesting, as they didn’t just make it directly in the to-go container, but mixed it in a metal bowl and then transferred it. Their method didn’t affect my experience, but if done often, might increase the amount of dishes the staff has to wash. However, as they put my order together, they went ahead and added the dressing, which makes a salad go bad quicker. I also asked for my order to go but they didn’t provide me with a fork, so I waited to eat, which was probably a good idea as it was filled up to the brim of the container.
The meal had pros and cons; the dressing was a burst of tangy flavor in my mouth, and surprisingly suited the pesto chicken. There was so much dressing on the salad, that it was fortunate it tasted good, or else the entire salad wouldn’t have been pleasant. The lettuce wasn’t as fresh as I hoped, but that didn’t affect the taste, moreso the texture. Grapes were a nice addition, but they were halved and overpowered the apples, which were chopped in tiny squares and hard to taste. The dried cranberries were as expected, but the walnuts weren’t caramelized, which was disappointing. A whole-grain croissant came with the salad, and although it looked dry and unappetizing, it was buttery, soft, and altogether delightful.
I would recommend this franchise for multiple reasons, including the taste, the restaurant atmosphere and the efficiency of the staff. Although the distance can be a negative factor for some, for those who crave delicious meals, it was worth every minute.
