Daniela L.
Yelp
Businesses are closing in Midtown left and right, but Sweetgreen has made it clear they aren't slowing down any time soon. One of their newest locations, 1740 Broadway, is close to Columbus Circle, which, despite current events, remains a heavily trafficked area. I stopped by during the first few weeks of the store's opening, and was immediately struck by the layout. The space isn't large by any means, and its arrangement is cognizant of this limitation, as the line leading to the counter allocates enough room to comfortably maintain one's distance from others. When I was there, they didn't allow more than four people in the restaurant at once (not sure if that's changed since then), but it's reassuring to know that customers won't be crowded together inside when they start increasing the store's maximum capacity.
Admittedly, I'm not a frequent Sweetgreen customer, and when I am in the mood for a salad, I typically customize my own. This time, however, the seasonal miso eggplant rice bowl caught my eye. Atop a base of warm wild rice and baby spinach was a nutritious blend of shredded cabbage, spicy broccoli and sunflower seeds, roasted eggplant and peppers, basil leaves, and sesame tofu. The roasted vegetables were cooked well, slightly charred and packed with flavor. If this bowl didn't have a limited run, I might have made it a recurring order.
My only criticism is that the portion sizes are noticeably smaller here, although it's possible that Sweetgreen is scaling back universally.