DC Food Review: Chop’t

I hope you all appreciate this post today. I walked 5 blocks in the searing hot DC sun and humidity to venture to restaurant Chop’t (near Dupont Circle) for my first restaurant/food review.

I noticed Chop’t a couple of months ago. It took the place of a sad little noodle house that, I guess, had hardly any patronage. However, Chop’t always seems to be packed with lines darting out the door.

Chop’t is basically a salad joint on steroids. You can pick either a salad, or a salad sandwich (salad toppings wrapped in a whole wheat pita). The sky is the limit with toppings – there are even over 20 different salad dressings to choose from. And all choices are great if you’re watching your figure. There are plenty of low-carb/low-cal/low-fat choices on the menu. If you feel totally overwhelmed by the topping choices, there are also standard menu items to choose from too.

I usually opt for the salad sandwich with crisp baby greens, tangy sun-dried tomatoes, fresh grilled chicken, red onions, cucumber, black olives – all topped with home-made balsamic vinaigrette and wrapped in a warm whole wheat pita. Sounds tasty right?

Also, the preparation of the food is also a key to the significance behind the restaurant name. I don’t know about the salads, but the salad sandwich toppings are all piled together and placed on a cutting board. The chef then takes a mezzaluna knife and finely chops up all the toppings into little bite sized pieces. It’s actually pretty cool.

Check out their site for more details, and all their DC and NYC locations. I highly recommend this place. And for DC, the prices are excellent. Everything is basically under $10. And as far as “design” goes, they must have a great marking team! The restaurant interior, menus, and website are fantastic and aesthetically cohesive.

And by the way, Chop’t is pronounced “Chopped”. Not “Chop It” or “Chop-Tee”. (!)