I have to bring some balance to this place that is HIGHLY overrated!!! C'mon folks!! Ok, ok...I will cut everyone some slack. I think this is one of the only "create your own salad" places in Charlotte so the idea seems fresh and new and exciting and I have to believe emotions are running high.
I absolutely love the concept of Crisp and when done right you can create a salad masterpiece. I just don't think Crisp is "all that." They had some decent toppings to add to your salad but most of them didn't look very fresh and the variety wasn't that great!
The part that truly marked my rating down was the chicken that I added to the top of my salad. They don't have it pre-prepared so if you order chicken there is a cook standing by waiting to grill it or do whatever to it. They pulled this breast of chicken out of some random plastic bucket and started to grill it right away and then slapped it on top of my salad. It wasn't marinated, it wasn't cooked through, it was absolutely disgusting. It didn't even have a hint of salt on it and it was rubbery. I mean, it ruined my otherwise decent salad.
I didn't think the teeny boppers working there were very friendly and I'm sure I wasn't when I used to work in food service at that age but it still took something away from the experience. They were like pushing each other and laughing at who was going to get "stuck" making the salad because none of them wanted to do anything....ahh the youth of today....but that's a whole other story.
All in all, Crisp is a great idea and has some great menu items...I would avoid their chicken like the plague unless you tell them to drench it in flavor somehow and I personally wouldn't go out of my way to return. Clearly, that's just me though. :)