Spicy Southwest salad review
My thoughts on the Spicy Southwest salad from goodlife super food co.~
Hey guys! Emmett here with my first food review on Substack! ♡
Today, we’ll be trying out the Spicy Southwest salad from Fort Street’s goodlife super food co! This little salad bar is super popular with the nearby office workers and students, especially during lunchtime.
Full disclosure, I have a friend who works here, so I’ll have a bit more info about this shop than the average customer. But don’t worry! I have no loyalty to this place, and won’t let my judgement be swayed!
goodlife super food co
Location: 47 Fort Street, Auckland Central, NZ 1010
Opening Hours: 8am – 3:30pm
Spicy Southwest Salad
Price: $16
Ingredients: Kidney Beans, Corn, Capsicum, Cucumber, Cherry Tomato, Quinoa, Cos Lettuce, Lime Sriracha Dressing (Sriracha, Lime Juice, Salt, Canola Oil)
Allergens: sulphites (from the Sriracha)
Other dietary info: dairy-free, vegan, nut-free, gluten-free (but no guarantee since the other salads are made in the same kitchen)
Buying Experience
The salads are all premade, and are all in the open display cabinet near the doorway (it’s impossible to miss unless the shop is super full). The uniform brown salad boxes are stacked neatly- the ones with meat are on the bottom level, while the vegetarian and vegan salads are on the middle level.
The salad buying process:
- First, pick up the salad you want (I picked the Spicy Southwest) and bring it to the counter.
- The worker at the till will ask you if you’d like the salad mixed. They’ll toss the dressing in with a little salt and pepper.
If you said no
- you can just pay and leave with the salad. (this is what I did!)
If you said yes
- They’ll ask if you’d like extra avocado ($4), chicken ($5) or egg ($3). You can get a slice of sourdough ($2, +$0.5 with butter) too if you want. The salad’s fine without the add-ons tbh.
- Then, you’ll be asked for your name. They’ll call you when mixing is done!
- Finally, you’ll be prompted to pay and your salad will be added to the queue.
- Now, you just need to wait for you name to be called. Once they do, you can take your order and leave.
I’d say the staff are pretty friendly, though I might be slightly biased in this regard. It gets real crowded from 12pm – 1:30pm. Most of their stock gets sold at this time.
If you don’t get your salad mixed, the buying process is nice and quick. For the Spicy Southwest, I recommend asking for no salt (the dressing has salt already).
Side note, you can also get add-ons without mixing. You won’t be prompted, so you need to let them know before paying.
The shop also has wraps, smoothies, acai bowls, pitaya bowls, smoothie bowls, oatmeal bowls and hot soup. There are some benches outside if you want to eat there.
Eating Experience
Now, for the important part!
Without the dressing, it tastes exactly like how it looks – fresh!! but bland…
I easily mixed my salad with a sturdy metal spoon, though a few bits of quinoa flew out.
The lime sriracha dressing is tangy and not too spicy. The consistency is viscous enough to coat everything just right. It lightens the otherwise dense kidney beans, making them less cumbersome to eat. The dressing works especially well with the quinoa, bringing life to each bouncy little grain. Mixing the salad loosens the pile of quinoa, which allows it to stick to the other ingredients.
Making my way through the salad, I felt the spiciness starting to build. Luckily, each bite into the thick cut cucumber slices brought reprieve from the onslaught. I wish there were more cucumbers though. The corn tasted like canned corn to me, but I can’t confirm.
Each mouthful of the Spicy Southwest had a good mixture of textures - the crunchy veggies, the dense beans and the chewy quinoa. I didn’t feel bored eating it!
The box itself is sturdy and can be held easily with one hand.
Satiety
The Spicy Southwest wasn’t all that filling for me. It just left me wanting more! I had to get a snack after finishing this.
This might be great if you’re looking for a light lunch!
Waste Disposal
Lid
The lid is made from recycled PET (#1), so it can be recycled. Remember to rinse it or wipe it first!
Box
Unfortunately, the box can only be composted but not recycled. As great as composting is, it doesn’t really matter unless you have access to home composting or a composting bin.
For the average person, the box will have to go in the general waste bin, directly to landfill. Sigh….
Also, since the salad’s pre-packaged, bringing your own container doesn’t make a difference. The shop will just put the salad in your container and trash the box and lid (for hygiene purposes).
Feel free to bring your own container for their soups, smoothies and bowls though!
Conclusion
I really liked the Spicy Southwest salad! Though it didn’t exactly fill me up, it was a joy to eat. The buying experience might be a liiitle complicated at first, but it’s actually pretty straightforward.
I don’t like “out of ten” ratings. So I wont give it one.
I’ll just say that the Spicy Southwest salad has ⋆。˚⋆ Emmett’s Seal of Approval™ ⋆。˚⋆!
I recommend that you go try it at least once!