Normally I do not go out to lunch. I usually bring it to work but when payday falls on a Monday, and you can’t get to the store right away, you have to improvise. A colleague was talking about a new place in The Promenade in Fair Lawn NJ called BITE. He usually frequents the one in Hackensack NJ. BITE is housed in the old B.Good location. I LOVED B.Good. Anyway, after viewing the menu for some healthy high protein options, I chose the cobb salad (greens & romaine, hard boiled egg, turkey bacon, onion, tomato, blue cheese, & avocado). I added grilled chicken. Did I need to add the grilled chicken? No, but you can only hear from your trainer and your trainer friend “UP YOUR PROTEIN” so many times. I have been complying. I left out the blue cheese as I am not a fan at all.
Let me start with the positives. As you can see from the picture, the presentation makes this salad extremely appetizing. When I removed the lid, it was aromatic. It was most likely the smell of the lemon herbed grilled chicken. Taste wise? It was fantastic and fresh. I ate the whole thing. Instead of regular bacon, it contained turkey bacon. That works for me and cuts down on the fat which is another positive. I substituted out their “Goddess Dressing” because I didn’t know what ingredients were in there. I opted for the Apple Cider Vinaigrette. I believe I still received the Goddess Dressing because what was provided didn’t taste like Apple Cider Vinaigrette. Even though lunch was at 12:30pm I was definitely fueled up for my workout at 5pm.
Now the negatives. The dressing was too small of an amount. It was like an equivalent of 1/4 cup. I also asked them to sprinkle cheddar cheese on my salad instead of the blue cheese if they had it but I guess they didn’t have it because there wasn’t any cheese on my salad. The parking, forget it. It’s heinous and you’re lucky to find a spot. There’s a lot going on in the Promenade. It’s booming. Now the biggie. Listen I understand the economy is bad, there is inflation and costs are on the rise but never in my life have I spent $19.19 on a salad. NEVER. The cobb alone was $12.00 and to add grilled chicken it was an additional $6.00 plus $1.19 tax.
I absolutely believe in treating myself every once in a while but for $19.00 I could have bought a steak to cook for dinner. The gourmet deli around the corner from my job offers a create your own salad and when I do that, it usually comes to $13.00. If you go to a diner in NJ, the cobb salad with chicken is in a much larger bowl for $16.95. My friends and I went down to the beach yesterday. A chicken cheesesteak and basket of fries was $20.00. This isn’t an insult to the food by any stretch of the imagination because it was legitimately satisfying and definitely worth trying. My mouth even watered at their breakfast menu, but for a $19.00 salad, I’m not sure I’ll be going back any time soon. Here’s to the ladies who lunch!
BITE
2140 Promenade Blvd
Fair Lawn, NJ 07410
https://www.bitefoodcoffee.com/
The Food Connection 