We have this salad place called Green Tango here in Durham. It's had to have been in existence for a couple of years, but I didn't get around to going there until today. After a five-hour day in the office and then running some errands (for work), I figured it was time to bring my full-time volunteering ass on home. The laundry mounts.
I've been feeling guilty that the kid hasn't been getting enough leafy vegetables and that I'll pay for that one day by having a hyperactive child. I didn't really feel like coming home and making a salad because that entails work, so there we go.
I went in and looked at the menu board and felt the kid faint from surprise in my uterus at the prices. Granted, a "premium" salad at McD's will cost you around $6, but for $6 at this place you pretty much get lettuce with four ingredients added. I don't know how spartan you like your salad, but I have to have at least the following to be happy with taste and texture: cucumber, hard-boiled egg, salted sunflower seeds, and sharp cheddar cheese shreds in addition to lettuce and dressing. That's four things, but damn, if given the option I'd like to add a little banana pepper or some cottage cheese or strawberries without having my wallet raped.
I ended up ordering the Fiesta salad for a whopping $8.99. The grilled shrimp lured me in. It would have cost me $2 to have added them into a build-your-own type thing, so there's really no good way to get away from the price.
I should have been kicked in the ass for that. I felt like such a poser: it's one of those places where people go and say things like, "You know, it's so good for you," as they shovel cottage cheese-covered spinach leaves into their mouths. I can't afford $8.99 and I'm SO PISSED at myself for paying that. For $8.99 plus tax I could have bought all the ingredients and made something like 4 salads.
Oh, and because there's no Green Tango near you, let me explain something. These prices don't reflect a sit-down dining experience. You go in and stand in line like you're at a Subway restaurant.
*growls, unsatisfied*
Posted by Tiffany at August 10, 2006 01:40 PM | TrackBack