ORDER UP A Tender Greens employee slices chicken for the restaurants popular Chipotle Barbeque Chicken salad. Photo by James Poe.
A Fresh W Start
STANFORD MALL’S NEW ORGANIC RESTAURANT Text by DEEPALI SASTRY
50
OCTOBER 2016
HEN YOU WALK INTO Stanford Mall’s newest tenant, Tender Greens, you are greeted by friendly employees and earthy decor. The restaurant chain places an emphasis on fresh ingredients from local farms and interior design elements made from environmentally friendly products. The first Tender Greens in the Bay Area opened in 2011 in Walnut Creek and slowly but surely, more Bay Area locations started to pop up. Upon entering, one might be greeted by Sean Canavan, the Regional Chef of Tender Greens since 2012, who is in charge of the menu for the chain’s Bay Area locations and aims to ensure quality customer care. “It was at least as far back as 2013 that we had our eye on Palo Alto.,” Canavan says. “[Stanford Mall] feels so authentic and it’s a great community. We’ve received an awesome, warm welcome from the community, from the people.”
According to Canavan, the chain looks to satisfy diners of all food preferences and diet restrictions, while ensuring that each visitor gets a balanced meal of proteins and greens. Tender Greens offers “Big Plates” which are $12 and made up of proteins such as steak, chicken or falafel. The protein can be simply plated or made into a sandwich; both versions are accompanied by a “Simple Salad,” composed of any choice of greens, from kale to iceberg lettuce. If greens are mostly what you’re after, the restaurant has an alternative: “Big Salads.” Each Big Salad is $12 and comes with various vegetables and a protein, thus successfully encompassing all aspects of a hearty meal. Canavan says the restaurant’s success is due to its use of local and fresh ingredients and fine dining, made accessible to everyone. “It’s sort of democratized fine food for anyone to afford. … We don’t employ any proteins that have hormones or antibiotics. We go GMO-free whenever we can; we pay a premium for it but it’s worth it to us. ... We love our guests.” v