Cava

Cava is yet another entry in the "bowls for lunch" fast casual scene, featuring Mediterranean bowls and wraps.  It is a brand I have seen all over the place whenever I visit Boston or New York, alongside Sweetgreen, Dig, etc, but not one that has really been on my radar as they don't have any locations in San Francisco where I live.  They do have locations elsewhere in California, and across the US. They are all company owned (not franchised)

The concept is pretty simple: build your own bowl (with grains, greens, or both, as a base), or a pita sandwich.  Or pick from their curated offerings.  They offer a few simple sides/desserts, and drinks, and that is it.  Mostly all takeout.

During my recent month in New York, I finally gave it a try, opting to try a salad bowl, and a dessert.  I was relatively impressed, and would return.

Salad Bowl. $12.85.

For my salad, um, I loaded it up.  This was my creation, with:

• 1/2 SuperGreens & 1/2 SplendidGreens®
• Roasted Eggplant Dip
• Full Portion Roasted Vegetables
• 2x Fiery Broccoli, 2x Fire Roasted Corn, 1x Pickled Onions, 2x Salt-Brined Pickles, 2x Tomato + Onion, 1x Tomato + Cucumber, 2x Cabbage Slaw, 2x Shredded Romaine
• Yogurt Dill, Skhug

Or at least, that is what I ordered.

It was missing both of the tomato options (so, 3 out of 14 toppings), was missing the broccoli (another 2 toppings), and seemed to have as much pickled onion as other toppings (even though I doubled the others, and not the onions), and I'm not sure if there was any slaw or shredded romaine (another 4 toppings), so I think I only got 5 of my 14 toppings.  Grr.

It came all mixed up, which I wasn't expecting as well, but this was my first time.

That all said, I did enjoy it, a good bowl experience and something a bit different from your standard salad bowls (overall, low 4/5), and I'd try Cava again, but maybe go in person for order accuracy reasons?  (The sticker on my bowl had everything listed, it just didn't actually have the items ...).  Diving into the components ...

Greens.

For a salad bowl, you have a choice of 5 kinds of greens as the base, and can pick any two.  I skipped the more simple arugula, baby spinach, and romaine options, and opted for the two branded mixes.

Super Greens

"A hardy and crunchy proprietary blend of raw cabbage, chicory, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and kale."

I enjoy everything in this mix, and thus, I was pretty pleased with this offering.  All were fresh and crisp, great crunch, and this was a good hearty base.  The kale, if you are curious, is curly kale, and NOT baby kale.  The kale slightly dominated, which I didn't mind, and the raw brussels sprouts slices added a very good crunch.  I'd definitely get this again.  4.5/5. 

SplendidGreens

"Our CAVA mix of crisp chopped greens: romaine, radicchio, escarole, chicory, and endive."

Another blend of all things I enjoy.  This was a more flavorful, but less hearty set of greens, if that makes sense.  Some slight bitterness from the chicory and radicchio.  Chopped into smaller pieces.  I'd gladly get this again too.  4.5/5.

Dips & Spreads.

Moving on to dips & spreads, which sound a bit odd in a salad bowl (e.g. dips for chips, yes, spreads on sandwiches, yes, but ... in my salad bowl?).  Here I had 6 choices, and could pick 3.  I only wanted one, as I don't care for hummus (3 of the choices), feta, or harissa.

Roasted Eggplant Dip

"Roasted eggplant that's emulsified with olive oil and lemon juice. Plus, parsley, onions, garlic. Sleeper hit!"

The eggplant dip was good.  Reminded me of babaganoush.  Nice slightly smoky flavor, well seasoned.  But a bit odd to have such a mushy component mixed in to my salad.  Likely works better on a grains bowl or in a salad.  3/5.

Mains.

For main, I wasn't particularly interested in any of the 7 options, from which I could pick 2.  Two styles of chicken (do not like), two styles of lamb (hate), steak (eh), falafel (meh), or roasted veggies.  I do like roast veggies, but more in a warm dish, not a salad.  Still, I went for them.  Since our order was delivered an hour before eating, I'm not sure if the veggies are normally served warm, as they were not when I got to them.  

Roasted Vegetables

"Brussels sprouts, carrots, and cauliflower all simply roasted for a great caramelized exterior."

I was a bit surprised to see brussels sprouts in the middle of summer, but I guess they don't switch this up seasonally?  It seems like this mix was better designed for winter (and I'd love to see winter squashes in the fall too).  Anyway, the veggies were fine.  Decent size pieces. Decently roasted.  But again, just as a textures thing, I didn't love having soft veggies in my salad. When I have cauliflower or brussels in a salad normally, I grill them, so they are more crispy/charred, not just roasted.  I dislike cooked carrots, so those were lost on me, but luckily were minimal and small.  3/5.

Toppings.

The toppings lineup isn't your standard salad shop mix of simple raw ingredients, but rather, all are generally dressed in some way (usually with olive oil or some kind of vinaigrette and herbs/spices).  For example, you don't just pick tomatoes, you can pick between diced tomatoes/cucumber/parsley or marinated grape tomato halves with onions. There are 13 options total, all vegan besides the feta.  You can select up to 14 toppings, doubling up on any items you choose (but not more than doubling, even if you don't want other things).  

I loaded my bowl up fully, and selected 8 different items, doubling up most.  However, I only received about half of them.

Fiery Broccoli

"Fresh broccoli with a bite. Chilies and red wine vinegar deliver bright, smoky spice and a pop of texture."

This was missing from my bowl, even though I ordered 2x.

Fire Roasted Corn

45 Cal

"Inspired by Greek street corn, our fire-roasted version is tossed with herbs, spices, and garlic dressing."

This was good.  I like corn, and this had a bit of char to it.  Good for textural element as well.  4/5.

Pickled Onions

20 Cal

"In-house pickled onions with a welcomed sweetness. A CAVA menu staple—guests would mutiny if they disappeared!"

I actually really liked the pickled onions.  They were juicy and had a nice acid level, not too pungent.  I only ordered 1 portion, but I was glad they were so generous with them in bowl.  Would get these again.  ****.

Salt-Brined Pickles

5 Cal

"A mellow pickle brined in vinegar that banks on savoriness over saltiness. Great crunch."

Great pickles.  Smaller size, sliced.  Crunchy and not mushy.  Would get these again.  4/5.

Tomato + Onion

20 Cal

"Grape tomato halves mixed with diced red onions, oregano, and red wine vinegar for a nice sweet tang."

Ordered 2 portions, but was missing entirely.  I really missed the fresh juicy component this would have added.

Tomato + Cucumber

10 Cal

"A go-to Mediterranean pairing, plus parsley for extra freshness."

Ordered one portion, but was missing entirely.  Again, I missed the fresh juicy element these would have added.

Cabbage Slaw

35 Cal

"A crunchy, colorful, and slightly tangy cabbage slaw tossed with olive oil and lemon juice."

I ordered 2 portions, but I think this was missing as well.  There was a bit of cabbage, but I think that was from my SuperGreens base.

Shredded Romaine

5 Cal

"A fresh and simple green that's great for adding crunch and texture."

I ordered 2 portions, but I'm not sure if I actually had either.  It might have just been lost amongst the SplendidGreens, which did include romaine (although bigger pieces).  I didn't find any romaine that I thought was really shredded.

Dressings.

There are 8 dressing options, you may select up to 2.  On the side, light drizzle on top, or full serving on top are the options.  I quickly ruled out everything with tahini or vinaigrettes, as I don't care for either.  This left me with 3 choices: yogurt dill, garlic dressing, and skhug.  I picked two, on the side.

Yogurt Dill

"A refreshing dressing with Greek yogurt, lots of dill, cucumbers, lemon juice. It brightens up everything."

This was very dill forward.  Very very dill forward.  Great if you love dill!  Light yogurt base.  Not what I wanted with my bowl actually, but I gladly used it later as a dip for veggies.  3/5.

Skhug

"There's so much herby goodness happening in this jalapeño-laced dressing. Skhug for president."

This was good.  Flavorful and herby.  Mild heat.  I'd get it again.  3.5/5. 

Side Pita.

"Our warm, fluffy, and perfectly chewy pita is made exclusively for CAVA by Brooklyn-based Damascus bakery."

Much like Sweet Green and others, Cava gives a free piece of bread (in their case, pita) with your order.  I got it to try, and was not really impressed.  Made by a local bakery, but it didn't seem special in any way, nor that fresh.  It was just ... pita.  Thin style. 2/5.

You can also opt for pita chips or a full size pita for an upcharge.

Greyston Blondie. $2.80.

"A blondie with a super soft, almost-gooey inside. Handcrafted by Greyston Bakery for CAVA."

I ordered online, so I didn't realize that the dessert I picked (and probably all 3? The others are a brownie or cookie) was a packaged item.  

It was a pretty reasonable blondie.  Fairly soft.  Small chips, not tons of them, but enough.  Sweet but not too sweet.  Slightly buttery.  I didn't really detect butterscotch or other notes I'd expect from a blondie though.  Kinda small size.  3/5.

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