Devil’s Greens, the salad bar on the first floor of Taylor Place along Taylor Street, intrigued me long before its Sept. 25 opening. Over the summer, the boarded up doors and windows displayed pictures of young people smiling and holding salad bowls and large vegetables, as if college students had been clamoring for a chic, late-night salad bar. What legitimate college campus doesn’t have that?
While Aramark’s vision for Devil’s Greens is unclear, that is part of what makes it unique. It certainly has found a niche as Phoenix’s only salad bar open until 1 a.m. seven days a week.
The bottom line for a good restaurant is the quality of the food, so Devil’s Greens’ bottom line is … wavy. While its specials, which are available for purchase with Maroon and Gold Dollars, are some of the best salads downtown, the meal plan option (available after 9:30 p.m.) is disappointing. Rather than the all-you-can-eat buffet meal the dining hall provides, an employee selects one plate of food and hands it to the diner.
On my first visit, the restaurant seemed split in two. The right side had a salad bar with numerous do-it-yourself options, three kinds of soup and a salad special. The left side had one meal option, three kinds of fruit and a sign that said “Meal Plan Exange.”
I chose the right side and tried the special, a Greek chicken salad with feta, olives and vinaigrette dressing. The drink options were surprisingly unhealthy: no iced tea, milk or real juice.
While custom salads are priced by weight, the special is $5 and drinks with free re-fills are $1.59, so students can get a quality meal for about $7 with tax.
The special may have converted me into a salad person. The chicken wasn’t amazing but the feta, olives and dressing went well together. I had a feeling this wasn’t as healthy as most salads, but I didn’t care. These salads are to be enjoyed.
I finished my meal with a bowl of chicken noodle soup, which did not seem to be taken out of a can. It had big hunks of chicken and thick noodles.
During my meal, I admired the restaurant’s sleek, modern design. The counters are curved and have a space-age look and the floor has a sort of tiny moon crater design. By college dorm standards, its aesthetic appeal grades highly.
But as I ate, one thing was overwhelmingly negative: the acoustics make the restaurant feel like a prison cafeteria. There is no music playing and the air conditioning is louder than my company’s conversation. Maybe the ceilings are too high, because the continuous din of the room makes it an unpleasant place to sit and talk.
Devil’s Greens isn’t the swankiest place in town, but it will attract students with its convenient location and late hours and draw them back with its salad specials. After all, where else are they supposed to find a good salad at midnight?
Contact the reporter at john.l.fitzpatrick@asu.edu
