Eat drink Williamson
Name: Chopt
Location: 211 Franklin Road, Suite 160, Brentwood
Website: www.choptsalad.com
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Sundays
Expense ranking: $6.50-$10.50
Ambiance: This new addition to the Hill Center area in Brentwood offers a fast-casual lunch option with both indoor and patio seating. The interior is simple and bright with ample windows that fill the dining room with natural light. The patio offers outdoor seating under umbrellas to maximize a pretty day without too much heat from the sun.
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What to eat: Am I the only one that loves my salad chopped up into bite-sized pieces? Being an avid salad-eater, I struggle when someone puts a salad in front of me that has greens the size of the plate and they have to be cut and cut and cut in order to get them into my mouth. I thought it was probably just me, but with the opening of Chopt, where everything is chopped up into bits and pieces right in front of your eyes, I am starting to think maybe I am not alone.
At Chopt, you can order a salad directly off the menu, such as the Palm Beach($9.99), which is grilled chicken, avocado, grape tomatoes, English cucumbers, hearts of palm and romaine with hot honey vinaigrette, or the Smoky Santa Cruz ($9.99) made with grilled chicken, corn, scallions, tri-color quinoa, black beans, kale, spinach and purple cabbage with chipotle vinaigrette.
But the best part, in my opinion, is you can also build your own salad. I opted to modify the Classic Cobb Wrap ($10.49) into a salad with grilled chicken, avocado, smoked bacon, hard-boiled egg, blue cheese and grape tomatoes. In light of the recent romaine scares, I opted for a spinach/kale base instead of romaine. All of Chopt’s salad dressings, which range from classic to bold to light, are made from scratch daily and are gluten free.
Chopt also offers wraps, such as the Mexican Caesar Wrap ($8.99) with grilled chicken, cotija cheese, jalapeño peppers, tortilla chips and romaine with Mexican Caesar dressing, and Mexican Chicken and Red Curry Lentil soups ($4.49 or $3.49 for a cup).
Other highlights, in my opinion, are clearly marked calorie counts (my fitness app thanks you, Chopt) and an array of locally sourced ingredients that are clearly marked on a board as you enter the restaurant. Even the farms out of town are listed, so you know exactly where your food is coming from.
What to drink: Chopt offers the usual assortment of dispense-it-yourself sodas along with a grab-and-go cooler full of waters, sparking waters and other fruit juices. One note to the water drinkers: Opt for the bottled water in lieu of the plastic shot glass you get when you order tap water. It will save you about 27 trips back inside to refill.
VIA TENNESSEAN
