SmartWorld's Salads Refreshing, But Leave You Hungry for More

In my travels around Morristown, there has been one constant companion–coffee. Thankfully, there are numerous options around town when I am too lazy to brew my own.

SmartWorld Coffee's has been one of the consistent go-to's for joe. But, besides the coffee, which the store touts as organic and fair trade, SmartWorld also has a decent selection of muffins, rolls, sandwiches and salads.

But, what about that price? It was the first thing I noticed the very first time I went into the chain's (they started in Denville a few years ago and just recently opened another location in New Milford) South Street cafe. $4.95 for all sandwiches and salads? Really? What's the catch?

"It was just to be competitive," said Nichole Fortier, a barista at SmartWorld for over a year. She also said the price decrease had not changed portion sizes in any way, it was just a method of staying ahead of the curve with competing coffee shops.

On a recent afternoon, I decided to try a salad with grilled chicken and dried cranberries, with a side of house-made balsamic vinaigrette. I had seen another customer happily munching away at one once and thought I'd give the sandwich menu a rest.

My first impression: that house-made balsamic vinaigrette is really good. A little creamy, not at all artificial, it was a delightful complement to the crunchy lettuce, mild chunks of fresh mozzarella and sweet dried cranberries.

The chicken was...chicken. Nothing more, nothing less. In fact, it didn't taste like much. But, it was moist and presented attractively over the main salad. 

The plate, while pretty, felt a little light. Granted, it was only $4.95 (which, in terms of cafe items is an absolute steal), but the whole thing, while enjoyable, had me wondering, "OK, what's next?"

What's next was a sandwich at home. Hey, a man cannot live on salad alone.

With a medium coffee, at $7.01 there are worse (and more expensive) ways to spend your lunch hour. If salads don't cut it for you, though, also try the lemon caper tuna salad sandwich or the mozzarella and tomato panini with basil pesto. Just make sure you order before 5 p.m., as they stop making sandwiches then.