March 15, 2014

One more update for Mixed has me pretty firmly settled on a three star average for their decent salads and less than par sandwiches and wraps. Ultimately, I'm feeling pretty Mixed (see what I did there?)

My first visit to Mixed was shortly after they opened, almost a year ago now. Original review below.

I enjoyed my lunch at Mixed, though yes there was a bit of confusion among the assembly line of employees. For example, a friend in front of me was offered to have her salad chopped. I wasn't offered this choice and had to ask for it... minor confusion, which I'm sure will get sorted out with time.
We arrived right at 11:30 (highly recommended as the line stretched almost out the door only 10 minutes later).

I opted for the 'Green' size Hot Harvest salad with a mix of romaine and spinach. The menu reads that it's topped with a "warm Mixed blend of grilled chicken, black beans, pinto beans, mixed peppers, corn, picante sauce & topped with crisp tortilla strips". The impression I have now that I'm thinking back to three days ago is that it was more like a chili on top of a salad. Not really spicy, but it tasted good. Sour cream was an option as well, which I got on the side.

Choices for 'side' items with a meal are a bread stick - Fazoli's style, a pickle, or bag of chips. Random... I opted for the pickle, though none of these options really 'went' with my salad. But this was enough of a meal for me. The 'super green' salad bowls looked about the size of large mixing bowls. I don't think I've ever wanted a salad that big, but it's available if you want it.

Nutrition information is available online also, always a plus in my book! They also have a nice 'you pick two' kind of option, that appears to be half-portions of full menu items (salad, wrap, soup, panini slider). I'm looking forward to coming back for more.
Then this year, I stopped in to try out the Mixed take on breakfast. My motivations were mostly due to the fact that I somewhere have a $20 gift card for the place and it's close to my office. ("It" being the restaurant and not my gift card, it turned out).

But since I had already ordered, might as well roll with it.

Decision time brought me to the 'omelette breakfast wrap' on a wheat tortilla. Diced ham, what tasted like Italian sausage, scrambled egg and an array of raw vegetables (green peppers, red onions, roma tomatoes) as well as some un-melted shredded cheddar cheese.

Omelette Breakfast Wrap
The whole thing was griddled on a panini for a bit (maybe 5 minutes total with a flip in the middle?) but it was surprisingly cool when I ate the first half in the car. After some delicate microwave cooking, the cheese was melted and everything was at least borderline warm... but raw vegetables for breakfast aren't really my cup of tea.

Plus raw onions first thing in the morning coupled with coffee breath?

This is why I keep a spare toothbrush at work.

Luckily I found the gift card and so gave Mixed a couple more tries.

But as far as breakfast panini's go, the A.M. Swiss didn't fare much better. After eating this sandwich the only adjective I can really come up with is 'sterile'. Though 'soft' is another good one. While the bread had grill marks... or are those indentations... it wasn't toasty at all. The egg (patty) and swiss cheese (product) were on an equal playing field with the flaccid bacon.

A.M. Swiss Panini
If you haven't already suspected, I wasn't a fan of this one either. It probably shouldn't come as a surprise that both times I visited for breakfast I was the only customer in sight.

Lunch wraps are kind of in the same wheelhouse. Okay, but nothing more exciting than one you might pick up from the grocery store.

If I were writing my review based on these items, we'd be back at a 2-star for sure.

For my final try, I went back for the salads... and these, at least, are worth note. I tried both the Caribbean Crunch (with chicken, craisins, grapes, cucumber, granola and cinnamon sugar) and the Opah (green peppers, olives, feta cheese, tomato and black olives). Sadly, kalamata olives were not an option. But I was allowed to substitute chicken for the black olives... strangely.

Caribbean Crunch Salad
These salads were good, with fresh ingredients aplenty. After all, I don't mind eating raw vegetables when they're in a salad. It's nice that you can choose your greens also - spinach, iceberg or spring mix.

Decent salads, nice variety, fresh ingredients. And if you're looking for a regular sized or GIANT salad, Mixed has you covered in that regard. I'll be back for those salads, but won't be trying any more sandwiches or wraps.
Mixed on Urbanspoon

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