Off-campus lunch is one of the joys of coming to the senior high as a junior. A world of lunchtime foods is opened up to you: Einstein’s Bagels, Pizza by Marco, Cane’s, El Queso, all a short drive from campus, easily within reach for a midday pick-me-up, curing the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and cafeteria pizza blues.
However, a diet of burritos, fried chicken and pizza has most students finding unwanted extra inches adding up around their waistlines after a couple weeks of a fast food regimen, leaving students searching for healthier options for lunchtime fare.
“I love eating off campus because it gives me a break from school,” senior Crystal Tse said. “I’ve been eating out less often this semester, though, because the food at restaurants isn’t very healthy.”
Opened late first semester on the southwest corner of Park and Parkwood, Snappy Salads gives students the lighter, fresher meals they have been looking for. Friendly to vegan, vegetarian and meat-eating palates alike, Snappy Salads stands by their motto, “So good, even guys like our salads.” Options for salads, nicknamed “snaps” by the restaurant, and wraps are nearly limitless, with a gourmet salad bar containing 36 different toppings waiting to be mixed and matched into custom creations. These toppings range from garbanzo beans to roasted red peppers and kalamata olives to jicama root, dried cranberries and gorgonzola cheese. Customers have their pick of 19 rotating salad dressings, including many low fat or fat free options. For those who prefer a chef-created combination of ingredients, Snappy Salads offers a variety of menu salads, like the Artisan, a bowl of fresh basil, green onion, dried cranberries, walnuts, queso fresco, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and fried artichoke hearts on a bed of fresh lettuce. Salads come in half and full snaps, both sizes containing a sizable mountain of delicious fruits and vegetables for $6.93 or $9.01, respectively. The half snap comes with eight topping additions, the full comes with twelve.
“Snappy Salads is delicious, healthy, and I love it,” senior Sara Palagyi said.
The restaurant is committed to bringing fresh ingredients of the best quality to its customers, only using three-leaf quality balsamic vinegar and California Olive Ranch extra virgin olive oil in its dressings.
In addition, Snappy Salads has a dedication to all things eco-friendly and sustainable. Snappy Salads uses cups and salad boxes made from corn that can be broken down into compost; its biodegradable to-go utensils are made from potato starch. The tables are made of reclaimed wood from an old warehouse in Fort Worth, and the countertops are tiled with recycled glass.
“I love Snappy Salads,” senior Elizabeth Kerr said. “It tastes really good and it’s always fresh. I eat there at least once a week.”
