Tender Greens
Monday, June 26, 2006 16:05Culver City is rapidly becoming the new restaurant row of Los Angeles. Sony Pictures creates a huge gravity well with which to lure restauranteurs hoping to find a trendy location, that has both a strong lunch and dinner crowd. So enters Tender Greens into the mix.
Tender Greens has been around since, well, Friday. We were literally the first few customers they served, having opened two hours previous. So, opening day jitters, inefficiency, and mistakes are a given. It is miraculous how many people don’t realize that, as I listened to numerous crochety old women wheezing about the wait, long line, and how they would never step foot inside the restaurant again. This was even after someone told them they had only been open two hours.
Like its neighbor next door, Ford’s Filling Station it has a light, woody and breezy atmosphere. Lighter cast in the palette than Ford’s, it also strikes some more modern notes.
The food and marketing philosophy are not my favorite. Tender Greens philosophy is based on large, satisfying salads sourced from hand-picked, organic farms. So, right away you have the words “salad” and “organic” flapping a big red flag in my face.
The line was excrutiating, but it was presided over by a hot chick, so that made the wait pleasant for a time. I was also with some co-workers, so we were able to BS for the twenty minutes we stood there. Yes, inefficiency marked the afternoon, mostly because of the unexpectedly huge turnout. I had received no less than two emails about the opening, so there was already a buzz about the place.
Everything is prepared in an open environment, so the kitchen staff has to be fast, efficient and on their best behavior. That’s a serious detraction to a kitchen. It’s much easier to handle a lunch rush behind closed doors when you can have the freedom of telling the stupid customers off because they want to make changes or additions (re: What Chef Dan Says about ‘On The Side’). I commend them for doing the best they could in a difficult situation. It also made me question the logic of opening a restaurant on a Friday, but it might be to get the kinks out over the weekend for the first full work-week.
Nonetheless, they do offer four sanwiches, and I went for the flatiron Angus steak sandwich with a side of caeser. They also offer free range chicken and line caught Ahi sandwiches. More feely-good keywords, but whatever, as long as its good. All others ordered salads.
The salads are substantial, you can get them with any of the meat components. The biggest gripe was that they didn’t give enough leafy material, and they kept it mostly uncut. Most of the people I went with wish they had chopped it a bit finer, and gave more roughage. Fair enough.
There must be Orcs nearby, because the silverware is glowing blue.
My sandwich was very good, and it sidestepped the problem often found in thick-cut steak sandwiches that make it impossible to chew all the way through the meat before pulling out the entire chunk. The steak was medium-rare and tender enough that I cut through it with my teeth effortlessly. Nice job! That is the first steak sandwich I had that I didn’t ultimately have to deconstruct to eat with my knife and fork.
For a place that specializes in salads, the caeser was a bit weak. Again, I can only evaluate Tender Greens on the merit of having only been open for a couple of hours, I am sure they will assimilate all the feedback and improve the product and kitchen chreography.
As I said, the biggest gripe with the food was the need for more greens in the warm salads. In fact, we had waited in line so long, that by the time we got to pay, one of the people’s ahi salads had been sitting there for the whole time (probably someone earlier changed their mind). She had them make a fresh one, which added even more time.
Overall, this place is pretty good. They will be popular among the Whole Foods Hippy Crowd, that’s for sure. They also offer enough Man-Food to entice me to come back and try some new stuff. Oh, of course, they are pricy. Organic food (remember what I said about organic being latin for 40% markup) dictates that a simple sandwich, lemonade and 20 grams of side-salad equalled $13.
One more thing that Los Angelenos may be put off by, is Mr. Bada Bing. He’s clearly an old-school showman, probably from Jersey or Philly. He was working the room, making sure everyone was ok. Very exhuberant and outgoing, and that will scare the LA crowd. Back East, friendly and gregarious staff is the norm, out here, it is decisevly frightening to the uninitiated. I could see the old hags cringing when he’d try to get the whole room to say “Bada Bing.” But that’s their fault, not his.
Tender Greens
9523 Culver Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
By Zteve (see more of his posts). You can find more of Zteve's writing at his own website Gastrologica
KT says:
June 27th, 2006 at 10:16 am
Thanks for the review. I have heard about this place so much, I thought it was open long before Friday. It sounds like a good place for work lunches … I wish we had something like it nearby where I work. I get tired of tacos and don’t have time to wait for Hugo’s. Hmph.
I’ll add it to my ever-growing list of places to try if I ever go to Culver City. I think we may be planning a trip to Surfas … but they have that handy cafe now!
Zteve says:
June 27th, 2006 at 11:29 am
Yeah, and just so I’m clear, I’m not slamming the place or anything, but they obviously were going to have to work out some kinks. Despite it being pricy (name a trendy restaurant in LA that isn’t), I thought it was a good value, really filled me up. I’m just partial to complex caesers that have croutons, parmesan, cracked pepper, anchovies, and this was a more stripped down version. It was good though…but not like Johnnie’s.
romello ruiz says:
July 7th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
long wait. excellent food. BUT DON’T ORDER THE BERRY LEMONADE UNLESS YOU WANT TO DRINK FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP AND PAY 4$ FOR IT. MY MISTAKE JUST ASSUMED THIS TYPE OF FRESH FOOD PLACE WOULD SERVE FRESH FRUIT DRINKS NOT ARTIFICIALLY FLAVORED FRUCTOSE.
Zteve says:
July 7th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
Funny you should mention that because I found the lemonade to be very sweet and minty…It did taste a little fortified.
Lily Liu says:
July 10th, 2006 at 12:46 pm
I was attracted to the casual atmosphere and unique concept of this restaurant, but unfortunately, I can’t comment on the food, because I left before I took a bite. After witnessing an employee wiping down his bloody cutting surface with a dirty rag, wiping his hands off on his stained apron and then using those same unwashed hands to pick up my steak, I complained to the manager, but was sharply rebuffed. The manager interrupted me with defensiveness, condescension, and no apology. A pity, because I’d heard good things about their food.
Zteve says:
July 10th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
That is dismaying that they would casually dismiss your concerns like that. Not only were you correct in pointing out unsanitary conditions, but to take that posture with a customer will only ensure bad word of mouth…just like what you wrote here.
BL says:
July 14th, 2006 at 8:35 am
I’ve eaten at this place several times, and I have to say I love the food. I found their service to be excellent as well, and I’ve discussed the wait issues with the manager there. I know they didn’t expect to be swamped in the opening weeks, and they’re working on it. I can only pity them given the high maintenance customers they are attracting (see the complaint above–talk about obsessive-compulsive disorder, my god. And I saw this very same complaint on City Search–does this woman have a vendetta against this place or what? Hey, they gave you your money back AND they wear GLOVES, AND one of the owners apologized in writing on City Search–give them a break, OK?). I think this place was long overdue. As for the comments about price–it’s cheaper than their competitors and the quality is there.
michelle says:
July 16th, 2006 at 8:37 am
Honestly people give them a break!! The food is so tasty, fresh and yes very affordable. Where can you get a plate with steak, salad greens, and a pile of mash for 10bucks?
Thanks above for the comments-I couldn’t agree more!! Obviously brand new place, still working things out. Friendly staff, awsome patio, great eats!! Thanks Tender Greens.
Zteve says:
July 16th, 2006 at 8:47 am
Went there again on Friday. The line was long but substantially quicker. They are obviously getting into their rhythm. There are usually hot chicks to look at, so that makes the line fly by, also. Had the same flat iron sandwich, and it was tender and the bread was soft. Not a fan of the pickled peppers, so I took them off. Problem solved. The lemonade is susbstanially tart-er this time, so they have definitely adjustes the lemonade from ultra-sweet to zingy refreshing.
Lien says:
August 28th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
I went there yesterday, discovered it by accident on the way to Surfas but had been thinking of trying for a while.
I ordered the flatiron steak, yukon mashed potato, and simple tender green salad with sherry vinaigrette. I think the $10 meal was a steal giving the quality of the meat, potato, freshness and beauty of the greens. Will definitely come back soon. Tender Greens has my best wishes.
Bubba says:
January 20th, 2007 at 10:23 am
I love the place. I eaten there twice and found it to be outstanding. The Chipolte Chicken was all white meat and the greens were the best. I ordered the staek sandwich the 2nd time and it was fabulous. Will be back guys.
My small complaint is that the salad didn’t fill me up. However, I will tell you I weigh 260 lbs. Maybe I should order two salads next time.
Organic Food Man says:
January 29th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Just ate there this past week and once again, was very satisfied. I think if you’ve become accustomed to GIGANTIC portions at restaurants, then it’s not the place for you. Otherwise, simple and plenty of good, fresh food.