I lava the cava! Sorry, had to.
I hadn't heard about Cava Grill until their grand opening in Westwood. They offered a free meal plus drinks all day long! Who would have guessed that the line would take around 1.5 hours--oh wait, we are in a college town after all.
While contemplating about the mysteries of life (and the finals that I wasn't studying for), I had ample time to look around at this latest addition to our (good) food-deprived Westwood. With a modern dining hall ambiance, Cava attempts to bring Mediterranean to LA in a fashion that we are ever so catering more towards: the "give me my damn food fast but also let me choose every tiny thing about it so I feel like I'm in charge of some aspect of my life" kind of lifestyle. Or in foodie terms: chipotlefying. Oh, am I the only one who says that? They seem to be Chipotlefying everything these days (may I direct your attention to Shophouse a few shops down). Also they are neighbors to Chipotle. I guess this stretch of Bronxton is the place to go for all you customizing, hodgepodge-loving connoisseurs.
The service is extremely friendly, checking up on how you are doing and how the food is, something that would never happen at any other fast-shop stop. But then again, who knows if they will keep this up after a few days or if they are just trying to suck in a lot of return customers on the first day.
For my base, I chose the supergreens (a collection of odd greens like brussel sprouts--who even likes brussel sprouts anyway?) and the saffron basmati rice. I personally don't like brown rice. For the dips, you get to choose 3! I ended up with the Tzatziki, Crazy Feta, and Eggplant. Proteins, you can do half/half, so I chose half chicken and half lamb meatballs (which means 2 meatballs). For the toppings, you can put as many as you want ranging from romaine, to pico de gallo (oh, but I don't think they call it that), to kalamata olives! I hate onions, so I got everything but those nasty buggers. And to top if off, I got the yogurt dill dressing.
Then the drinks (usually almost $3) included selections such as Ginger Carrot Lemonade. Yeah, they are playing that game--the one where you smash a few random fruits and veges together and make the next Whole Foods fad. All kidding aside, the drinks actually carried the meal! I honestly would go back just for the drinks.
Everything about the bowl was so fresh that even Kanye would wear that sh--tuff. If you aren't into yogurt dips in your food, don't go for the tzatziki (Yeah, I'm just telling myself for next time). I enjoyed the Eggplant dip, providing a nice savory kick. Crazy feta is just crazy feta like what more can you say. They give a lot of chicken for half the protein. If you like your protein, I'd say don't go for the meatballs, since you'll only end up with 4 tiny bites of disappointment. I also thought the pickled banana peppers and the olives were way too overpowering in the bowl, so I'd recommend staying away if you aren't looking for a puckered mouth by the end of the meal.
Overall, it was a very refreshing meal. That kind of feeling you get after eating at lemonade, except Mediterranean. Like a Mediterranean Lemonade meets Chipotle.
Has Cava changed the food scene in Westwood? Not one bit. But it probably is here to stay, so all you Instagram foodies better get on it. read more