Foodie: Chick-fil-A Has New Salads! Visiting Santa Barbara’s Newest Restaurant

From left to right (me, Shavaughn, Chick-fil-A Cow, Caroline, Rebecca)

Last month, my girlfriends and I had the opportunity to take a road trip to Santa Barbara and experience amazing salads at one of the city’s newest Chick-fil-A restaurants.  What an awesome and fun experience!  We were invited by Chick-fil-A to taste their new salads and to tour the new restaurant, which just opened on February 7, 2013.  Chick-fil-A in Santa Barbara is located at 3707 State Street and has a drive-thru and free wi-fi, not to mention amazing food!

When we arrived at the restaurant, we were immediately greeted by the staff behind the counter and the store manager.  They even had a small section of the restaurant set up and waiting for us to taste our salads.  But first, we were gonna take a tour of the store.

Throughout the store, I noticed the signage.  There were signs on the wall and then cardboard signs standing up.  My favorite was the fireman-cow.  Too funny!

The Chick-fil-A in Santa Barbara also has an outdoor patio.  This is perfect for dining during the summertime or when it’s warmer outside.  I love how the lights were all turned on as it was getting darker.  So pretty!

Next was the tour of the kitchen and to see how the chicken and salads were made, but this required each of us to put on a Chick-fil-A hat.    We were laughing so hard at our hats because they kept falling off (ok my hat kept falling off), but it made it a lot more memorable!  As we went into the kitchen, Manager Carol Ruiz brought us each a glass of their fresh squeezed lemonade.  Wow – it was good!

I was so impressed by the quality of Customer Service at Chick-fil-A.  Chick-fil-A strives to be the premium fast food restaurant of choice for choosy people in a hurry.  Chick-fil-A promises to serve each customer with fresh high-quality food.  They do this by making less food more often with a “lean” production process.  I love the idea of fresh quality food all the time!  Now we were gonna learn about the salads.

As we walked into the kitchen, we noticed a stack of salads on the counter.  Those were waiting for us – woo hoo!  But before we had the chance to eat them, we were gonna learn how to make the different salads.  Did you know that salads are made fresh and “happily handcrafted” daily by team members in each Chick-fil-A restaurant?

Chick-fil-A has done a few things to ensure healthier salads, including:

– Replacing iceberg lettuce on current salads with more romaine lettuce, which increases vitamins/minerals.

– Salads have 16-20 percent of the recommended daily value for fiber and Grilled Chicken Cool Wraps have 60 percent of the recommended daily value.

– Each salad offers two full servings of vegetables.

– Chicken-based salads offer a lean protein, low in fat and saturated fat.

Now it was time to eat our salads – yes!!!!  We were all so excited and couldn’t wait to dig into the different salads that Chick-fil-A has just introduced.  The featured salads included the Chick-fil-A Cobb Salad, Chick-fil-A Asian Salad, Chick-fil-A Grilled Market Salad, and Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap.  These new salads rival the taste and quality of salads served by full-service restaurants but offered at a fast food price point of $6.79.  Plus, Chick-fil-A has amazing dressings, which are relevant to the tastes of you….our customer.  Each salad is paired with a high-quality dressing to enhance the unique flavors, including Zesty Apple Cider Vinaigrette, Avocado Lime Ranch (our favorite) and Honey Sesame.