Buffalo Salad

DAY 10: PROTEIN BAR

Protein Bar is one of my favorite places to grab a quick, super-healthy lunch. The original location of this small but growing Chicago-based chain opened a few years ago near the Willis Tower (which I stubbornly still refer to as the Sears Tower). It’s a sleek, modern, urban space designed to get busy people in and out during the lunch rush.

Protein Bar's Buffalo Salad

I love Protein Bar's story. After growing up overweight and losing his dad to a heart attack, the founder made a conscious decision to change his lifestyle. He adopted a high-protein diet and an exercise regimen, which led to a 50-pound weight loss. With a fit body and a new healthy lifestyle under his (smaller) belt, he was frustrated by the lack of healthy food options in the city, so he left his job and opened the first Protein Bar. Now there are several locations in Chicago, and the chain is expanding into other cities, including Washington, DC.

Meals are made to order at Protein Bar. You order and pay at one end of the counter, then pick up your food at at the other. Bottles of Cholula and Sriracha sauce are set out at the end of the counter for customers who want to kick up the spice of their meal, which is a nice touch. The line is usually really long, but it moves fast and the food is made quickly. I think it’s worth the 5-10 minute wait.

Protein Bar's menu includes their signature bar-ritos, bowls, salads, chili and smoothies. Organic all-natural ingredients and healthy choices flood the menu, starting with organic quinoa. This high-protein grain is in almost every dish. There are also lots of healthy sides and snacks like Skinny Pop popcorn, Kind bars, fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs, Chobani Greek yogurt, nuts and more.

The Buffalo Bowl is my favorite entree. Warm quinoa is mixed with all-natural white meat chicken, cucumbers, celery, carrots, blue cheese and Protein Bar's homemade (and healthy) vegan buffalo sauce. I love it.

There’s also the Buffalo Salad. It combines the quinoa, chicken, blue cheese and buffalo sauce from the bowl with Protein Bar's “Super 6 Salad Mix” of romaine, spinach, broccoli, carrots, kale and purple cabbage. The menu says the mix “was specifically designed to capture the maximum amount of vitamins, minerals, and anti-oxidants and pack a hearty crunch!" Sounds good to me. Since I'm committed to salads this summer, I ordered the Buffalo Salad.

My view at lunch: The Sears/Willis Tower

The original Protein Bar location, which is where I like to go, is pretty tiny. There are a few tables for eat-in patrons, but most people take their lunch elsewhere. I took mine to a grassy park just across the street from the Sears/Willis Tower and soaked up some Vitamin D along with my protein.

Surprisingly, I love the Buffalo Salad as much as I love the Buffalo Bowl. There's plenty of tender chicken and creamy, salty cheese to make this salad substantial without being unhealthy. The chewy quinoa is sprinkled throughout the salad, enough so that it's in every bite but pretty much indistinguishable. The homemade buffalo sauce serves as salad dressing. It adds loads of wonderfully acidic flavor with a little heat, which I amplify with a liberal application of Mexican Cholula hot sauce.

Knowing how much I love the Buffalo Bowl, I was a little reluctant to order the salad. But I'm so glad that I did. With only a few more calories and lots more nutrients, the salad is a smart choice. It contains 409 calories compared to the bowl, which has 387 calories. The only downside is that it's a few dollars more than the bowl. But the quality and quantity of the added ingredients, in my opinion, justifies the added price.

Given the success of the today's adventure, I'm really looking forward to trying more Protein Bar salads this summer. Bring on the quinoa.

EATERY
Protein Bar, 235 South Franklin Street, Chicago, IL 60606

ITEM
Buffalo Salad

MENU DESCRIPTION
All-natural chicken, organic quinoa, blue cheese, and our house-made vegan buffalo sauce over our Super 6 Salad Mix.

CALORIES
409

COST
$9.49 before sales tax

RECOMMEND
Definitely