CAVA grill, a Washington D.C. based, fast-casual Mediterranean style restaurant is set to open in Rye Ridge Plaza later this month. CAVA offers a quick, assembly line type service with healthy and high-quality foods.
With an expansive and DIY menu, you can choose between having a salad, grain bowl, pita, or soup as a base. Then, you can pick one of CAVA’s signature dips and spreads. These include tzatziki, crazy feta, hummus, harissa, roasted red pepper hummus, or an eggplant and red pepper dip. Next, you can choose from their protein sources which include falafel, spicy lamb meatballs, braised beef, roasted seasonal vegetables, grilled chicken, grilled meatballs, and braised lamb. They also offer a number of delicious toppings and dressings for some extra flavor. After selecting an endless amount of toppings, you can choose from their variety of dressings, such as sriracha greek yogurt, yellow pepper tahini, yogurt dill, greek vinaigrette, lemon herb tahini, and green harissa. In addition, there are a variety of seasonal options to choose from.
Not far from Rye Ridge, CAVA opened in Greenwich as part of their expansion into the tri-state area. I visited the Greenwich location to see what the hype was all about. It is a small, comfortable space with a modern and simple look. Ordering the food did not take long, and you can choose to eat there or take your meal to-go. I went around lunchtime on a Tuesday and there were quite a few people there, but it was not a long wait in line and there were plenty of places to sit and eat. The grain bowl I ordered for lunch with white rice, chicken, shredded romaine, tomato and cucumber salad, hummus, and a small pita was delicious and full of flavor. If you are in a hurry, there is a CAVA mobile app that was launched as a digital ordering platform, for extra convenience. Overall, the experience was great and the food was delicious.
Although there are a few CAVA locations in New York City, Rye Ridge will be CAVA’s first location in New York outside of the city. CAVA’s CEO Brett Schulman reflected on the Rye Ridge opening, saying, “Rye Ridge is an exciting community to be in, just outside of Manhattan, giving New Yorkers even more opportunities to enjoy their favorite meals with us.”