If the traffic that has intensified since Chestnut Hill Square opened has not worn you out, a day of shopping at the trendy new center certainly will! From Anthropologie and Athleta to Francesca’s and Sail Loft (and, of course, Wegman’s), the Square offers a variety of places to pick up everything from gowns to groceries, as well as a bank and Beth Israel-affiliated medical center. It is truly a one-stop shop for the non-stop shopper.
Fortunately, the Square also offers a variety of popular refueling stations. In addition to Starbucks and the afore-reviewed Brio (see last issue), there is a new pair of “sweet“-ly named eateries each of which makes for a visit-worthy stop and both of which make for a perfect combo of healthy and rewarding.
Founded in Georgetown, SweetGreen (www.sweetgreen.com) has quickly expanded up and down the east coast and has further plans to bring truly healthy fast food to the massive American masses desperately in need of a diet makeover. With three locations in the Boston area (the others being across from the BPL on Boylston Street and in the Fort Point region), SweetGreen is well situated to serve the Greater Boston area as a quick health stop and destination dining experience.
And what an experience it is! As soon as you enter the clean and bright dining area, you are surrounded by health consciousness and customer consciousness. From the library shelves stocked with cookbooks and herb plantings to the chalkboards describing the local farms from whence the bounty comes and even photographs of the farmers who bring it, the focus on healthy food is evident without being overwhelming. Past the simple wooden tables and between the broad shining counter and the wide open preparation area (food this good and healthy has nothing to hide!), a smiling team of energetic salad makers and servers stand ready to take your order or to help you put one together from the seasonal selection of sweet greens and other fresh colors.
In addition to their signature line of salads, which includes a monthly special as well as a standard menu of guac and greens medley, the Earth Bowl of warm grains and cool cheese with grape tomatoes and spicy broccoli and the District Cobb combo of shredded kale, roasted chicken, goat cheese, hard boiled egg and other pleasantly filling fare, as well as vegan options with soba noodles, raw corn and seeds or chickpeas and baked falafel (which is worth ordering on its own!), SweetGreen also offers (and encourages) diners the chance to put together their own signature combinations. After choosing a base green (all of which are organic and restocked fresh every day) and up to four ingredients from a menu of over two dozen (including raw beets, red and green peppers, organic sprouts, roasted sweet potatoes, organic spicy quinoa and many more tasty temptations), diners can then add “premiums” that range from local goat cheese and feta to citrus shrimp, roasted chicken and organic roasted tofu. After these choices have been made, it Is time to choose from among the 16 gluten-free dressings, which include cucumber basil yogurt, lemon tahini, miso sesame ginger, and the ever-more-popular sriracha.
While the list of possible combinations is literally endless and the servings generous and inexpensive (especially considering the quality and speed with which it all comes together), the SweetGreen staff is always happy to make suggestions and offer tastes. They can even customize your salad in terms of how much of each intriguing ingredient to include so that you always get just what the doctor ordered and, more importantly, what you wanted.
While the name may speak of salads, SweetGreen also offers an array of other sweet and savory selections, including some of the best and freshest gazpacho around (made even better with strawberries or avocado) and other seasonal soups as well as cold-pressed juices, housemade lemonade and organic black tea that go together perfectly in a DIY hand-crafted Arnold Palmer.
As there are so many possible flavors from which to choose, many people come back to SweetGreen multiple times each week (if not each day). In a further effort to encourage such dedication to their food and your health, SweetGreen also offers a Passport program that offers frequent diners free classes at such popular fitness centers as Barry’s Bootcamp in Downtown Crossing and Soul Cycle in Chestnut Hill Square. In addition, SweetGreen often moves their tables aside and hosts their own in-store yoga and fitness classes. The more healthy food you eat, the more healthy benefits you get- what could be better?
Well…
You may have noticed that there were no desserts mentioned on the SweetGreen menu. The truth is that, while some stores have organic Stonyfield frozen yogurt, the Boston-are stores are currently not among them.
Never fear- Just a few doors away is one of the sweetest desserteries around!
Doing its part to keep the cupcake craze going, Sweet Bakery (www.sweetcupcakes.com) combines health- and community-consciousness with treats that may make you lose your mind, if only for a moment.
From traditional chocolate, red velvet and an organic carrot cake to cappuccino-flavored delights, their Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bean-based confetti cupcake and a chiffon cake-based Boston Cream Pie that puts the Parker House to shame, Sweet has an entire cookbook of flavors (cookbook sold separately) that includes treats for your gluten-free and vegan friends and your four-legged ones as well. If you want to make any of the options extra special, toppers and toppings can be added for private events or public displays of gastronomic bliss.
Each cake in the gleaming, drool-inducing case is fronted with a card that explains its nature in terms of what type of cake and frosting it contains and what has been lovingly added to the top to make it extra special. While calorie counts may not be openly presented, most people take care of that at Sweet Green and its Passport partners and come to Sweet for a reward for being so good.
For those who want just a bit of what is usually the best part of the cupcake (though many of Sweet’s recipes are universally appealing), Sweet offers shots of frosting.
In addition to house-made coffees, espressos, and cappuccinos, Sweet also serves San Pellegrino, Snapple, Stewart’s and Izze’s juices and sodas. So whether you have just finished a spin class and want to get the calories back in right quick or whether you just need a quick break from a withering day of shopping in Chestnut Hill Square, Harvard Square, Back Bay or Downtown Crossing, Sweet offers a shot of reward for any reason at all!
Even in centers as well-laid out and organized as Chestnut Hill Square, shopping can be hard and it can take a lot out of even the most dedicated consumer. Fortunately, at this new retail center and at others around the area, there are now places to fuel up, sugar up, get healthy and get happy and go on with your day. So if you want a salad or a sweet, a cup of soup or a cup of frosting, SweetGreen and Sweet are a great one-two combination, wither of which works well on its own.
SweetGreen
210 Boylston Street
Chestnut Hill, MA
617-916-0788
659 Boylston St
Boston, MA
(617) 936-3464
372 Congress St
Boston, MA
857 263 7916
Sweet Cupcakes
210 Boylston Street
Chestnut Hill, MA
617 965 2253
11 School St
Boston, MA
(617) 227-2253
49 Massachusetts Ave
Boston, MA
(617) 247-2253
225 Newbury St
Boston, MA
(617) 267-2253
www.sweetcupcakes.com