Restaurant Review – Cava

Does this sound familiar?

You are out with the family and everyone is hungry (and getting hangry). No one else has adopted this way of eating and their choices for restaurants proves they are not interested in helping you maintain this Whole Food, Plant Based (WFPB) lifestyle. You are the one making the ultimate sacrifice, agreeing to go to a fast food restaurant serving the staples of the SAD (standard American diet). Burgers, fries, and soda. You get the side salad (way over paying for the amount of lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes you get) and water. They are happy, though they don’t understand their body is not happy with their choices. You are left unsatisfied, but proud that you resisted temptation.

I can’t be alone in that situation. In my life, this is an all too common occurrence.

My adult children introduced me to a restaurant while visiting them in Maryland that is a game changer! It’s fast food that meets the needs of us WFPB adopters while providing choices to satisfy the tastes of non-adopters! The name of the restaurant chain is Cava and it serves Mediterranean food in a manner similar to Chipotle, but with more choices, fresher ingredients, and larger portions (of healthy food)!

The menu is packed with information that allows you to make WFPB-compliant choices. Every menu option is identified as Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, and Soy Free. Essentially, you can look right down the list of Vegan-compliant options to create your dish.

Your dish is created in 5 steps.

1. Build it. Here you decide if you want a grain bowl, a salad, grains and greens, a pita, a mini pita, or a mini pita with soup.
2. Choose your dips and spreads. Here there are six options, three of which are vegan. As you can have up to three of the dips and spreads, you are sufficiently covered.
3. Pick a protein. Vegan options include falafel and seasonal roasted vegetables.
4. Choose your toppings. Of the fourteen choices, thirteen are vegan! Even better, you can have as many as you like!
5. Add dressing. Again, there are three vegan options.

Every component has the caloric content and spice level identified.

Prices are extremely reasonable. With tax, it works out to about $10 per meal. The mini pita options are less expensive, but more restrictive in options.

I had the Greens and Grains with Super Greens and Black Lentils. My dips / spreads were the hummus, roasted red pepper hummus, and harissa. I had the seasonal roasted vegetables for my protein and topped it with every vegan topping. I chose the lemon herb tahini and green harissa as my dressing.

Result? Heaven! It was the most delicious fast food dish I have ever had. I remember when I first discovered Chipotle and thought it was the best thing ever. Cava’s options and how they prepare and deliver your creation is far superior to anything else I have seen.

But I do have a problem. Cava is only in eleven states and Georgia is not one of them! How am I supposed to get my fix on a regular basis?

So if you live near a Cava location, I highly recommend you try it out! You can visit www.cava.com to find their locations and a full description of their concept and menu.

Wishing you the best of health…

Stephen