Inside Fast-Casual Salad Spot Garden Bar, Open Now

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[Avila, 2/20/14]

Portland apparently prefers to consume its vegetables in smoothie or juice form, because it's somehow taken this long for the first local, fast-casual salad bar to debut. Garden Bar — a concept by Davis Street Tavern and jamison owner Christopher Handford — is now open in the Pearl District space that once housed the Moreso/Mio Gelato revamp, offering create-your-own salads and a handful of predetermined "Chef's Salads." But unlike other salad bar concepts, Garden's greens come with an unlimited number of veggie add-ons (including everything from Brussels sprouts to roasted mushrooms to jicama); $1 extras (like most cheeses, bacon lardons, and quinoa) or $3 proteins round out the bowl. Big spenders can opt for a $5 shaved truffle add-on.

The spot's signature salads, meanwhile, include a classic tuna Nicoise, Cobb salad, and a "Cowboy Up" option with two kinds of greens, steak, onion, roasted chickpeads, fingerling potatoes, and chimichurri. Juice-heads can still find nourishment in a selection by the Portland Juice Press. Garden Bar is currently open for lunch, with plans to launch dinner hours soon. Hours of operation: 11a.m. to 5p.m., Monday through Saturday.
· Garden Bar [Official site]
· All Previous Garden Bar Coverage [Eater PDX]