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| - I've been to Chestnut several times now as I really love the location, quality ingredients and concept. The decor in and out is cheery. Seeing the patio diners from Camelback is really inviting. They have a lot of nearby competition though and I think at the very least, they should adjust two things fast while they still have people's attention: Flavor and prices.
The Sandi with turkey was very bland. The english muffin wasn't toasted, and just lacked overall flavor. It was also $10. That's over $2 more than LGO's commuter which is delicious and flavorful.
Kale salad with chicken was a whopping $17!! WHAT?? I made the mistake of not specifying small or large, and the cashier just selected large for me. The price of adding chicken isn't listed on the menu, but it's $4.95! I realize they have to pay the rent, but at these prices they won't be selling a lot of salads. Other nearby competitors provide GREAT kale salads without protein for $8-9, add protein for $3. The salad is also bland to boot. They use qualilty ingredients here, I think the kitchen just needs work.
Baked oatmeal was delicious!
Grilled cheese was just ok, nothing special. We asked for it on sourdough. The cashier just took the order, but didn't bother to tell us they don't have sourdough.
Bacon is thick, maple glazed and delicous.
They don't have any low-carb breakfast menu options but recently had an egg white, turkey hash, spinich special. I was excited they were testing out a low carb option. However, it was too "deconstructed." Nothing pulled the dish together. The turkey has was flavorful but dry. It was set atop scrambled egg whites that topped raw spinich. I guess I expected the spinich to be steamed. I felt like I was eating egg whites on a salad. The bacon was the best part of this dish.
I haven't had a veggie juice there, but I'm glad they offer it. Madison Improvement Club does fresh 16oz juice for $7, not $10.
They don't list menu prices of coffee, tea, muffins, or adding chicken to salads. For lunch one day we ordered: soup, grilled cheese, kale salad with chicken, strawberry muffin, regular coffee, regular tea and it totaled $47 and this is a place without table service! Our friends in the neighborhood share our sentiments about it being too pricey, and we are people that eat at quality establishments regularly. I think they better adjust some prices if they want regular, repeat diners and referrals.
The service staff is very friendly, but I think the cashiers should be better trained to distill down on questions like, large or small, we don't carry sourdough, etc.. I was also there on a day when one of the owners snapped at her mother. I was shocked, but I understand you might say things to your mother that you wouldn't say to other people. But you are also not standing in your kitchen at home. You are in the public eye. Be nice!
This place could hit it out of the park with their location, healthy food philosophy and quality ingredients; but I think they better start putting out comment cards for people to fill out so they get a handle on what people really think before it's too late. I already don't feel like going back because the food I've had isn't craveable, but I will because I hope they improve, I'll try other menu items, and I want them to survive after all the time, effort, and money they have invested. I think they can make Fox envy their location, but they need to put out delicous dishes at competitive prices.
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