Best known as having "LA's Best Salad Bar" and being less than a mile from my house, I already knew that this micro-grocer would provide a treat, a convenient one at the very least. Well folks, I wouldn't call their salad bar "LA's Best," but the choices were a-plenty and everything was very fresh. Their protein selection was particularly impressive with a wide variety of marinated meats and bean mixes (curry-flavored chicken pieces and savory quinoa salad, ftw!).
But with every fresh salad bar, I frequently face the (common?) problem of overloading, so by the time I get to the cash register, I realize that my while my salad is still healthy, it now has a serving size of two... or even three. That would be fine if I were planning on sharing it... (portion control -- what's that?) My overeager appetite always gets the best of me, and yes, too much of even good things is actually kind of bad.
With all this said, Loose Leafs still holds the Best Salad in LA spot in my book. Although it's not a salad bar it the truest sense, the Jae family is so welcoming and amenable to your tastebuds' fancies and tummies' cravings that it's all okay. Speaking of, is DTLA the only location? The only other I find is in the BU GSU. Go figure. :)
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cuisine: Vegan/ vegetarian
location: Santa Monica (two locations in SM; one location in West LA)
website: { yelp }
price: $7.95/lb.
attire: Casual
parking: Street
notes: The Colorado Blvd. store is located on the 1st floor of the Water Gardens business complex so it's easy to miss. Park on the street because the underground parking structure can be $$. There's also a make-your-own sandwich bar too. This place is way better than Trimana for sure. Go green!
fun fact: Every Friday, if you can guess the exact weight of your salad, the entire salad is yours for free!
