I finally try the Green Onion
I finally had a chance to try the Green Onion the other day, and I'm sorry to say I was disappointed. Commenters had been saying it was all about healthy and fresh food, so I had very high expectations.
I thought the menu was strange. It's a buffet. The salads looked good until I got to the canned fruits and the orange bacon bits. Those suddenly made me wonder if all the other toppings I had assumed were fresh were not fresh after all. I tried the chicken noodle soup, which may or may not have had any actual pieces of chicken in it. It did have plenty of vegetables, and I'm sure the peas were canned. Again, that put all the other vegetables in the soup into question.
The entrees(?) were mixed vegetables, fried rice, penne pasta and spaghetti, alfredo and meatless marinara sauce, and macaroni and cheese. The penne was watery, and the parts not submerged in water were dried out—definitely not fresh. The macaroni and cheese was very soft—either overcooked or not fresh. These were all sitting out and not prepared or served to order.
I don't normally add salt to prepared food, but I had to add it there. There didn't seem to be salt in anything; I guess that's where the "healthy" label comes in.
What I think is strange about the menu is everything on it is a side dish! There is practically no protein, but at the same time it can't claim to be vegetarian. It might work for someone on a low-salt diet but not for anyone on a low-carb diet. For this (and one type of pizza, baked goods and sundaes) they charge $8.99 per person plus $1.99 for a drink. What is the owner thinking?
Others have praised it, and the restaurant was quite busy between 1 and 2 p.m. on a Friday. All the employees were friendly and helpful. However, I for one didn't think the food was anywhere near worth the price.
DETAILS: The Green Onion is in the Wal-Mart shopping center on South Virginia Street, just south of the Wal-Mart parking lot.
I thought the menu was strange. It's a buffet. The salads looked good until I got to the canned fruits and the orange bacon bits. Those suddenly made me wonder if all the other toppings I had assumed were fresh were not fresh after all. I tried the chicken noodle soup, which may or may not have had any actual pieces of chicken in it. It did have plenty of vegetables, and I'm sure the peas were canned. Again, that put all the other vegetables in the soup into question.
The entrees(?) were mixed vegetables, fried rice, penne pasta and spaghetti, alfredo and meatless marinara sauce, and macaroni and cheese. The penne was watery, and the parts not submerged in water were dried out—definitely not fresh. The macaroni and cheese was very soft—either overcooked or not fresh. These were all sitting out and not prepared or served to order.
I don't normally add salt to prepared food, but I had to add it there. There didn't seem to be salt in anything; I guess that's where the "healthy" label comes in.
What I think is strange about the menu is everything on it is a side dish! There is practically no protein, but at the same time it can't claim to be vegetarian. It might work for someone on a low-salt diet but not for anyone on a low-carb diet. For this (and one type of pizza, baked goods and sundaes) they charge $8.99 per person plus $1.99 for a drink. What is the owner thinking?
Others have praised it, and the restaurant was quite busy between 1 and 2 p.m. on a Friday. All the employees were friendly and helpful. However, I for one didn't think the food was anywhere near worth the price.
DETAILS: The Green Onion is in the Wal-Mart shopping center on South Virginia Street, just south of the Wal-Mart parking lot.
Hi Ann. I have to agree with your disappointment in The Green Onion. I was really looking forward to a quick and healthy place to eat at a reasonable price, but this was NOT it. The salad bar looked promising- they had spinach and spring mix lettuce instead of just plain iceberg and it wasn't wilted which is always a good sign. They also had a wide variety of toppings. At the end of the salad bar line, my husband and I paid for our dinner at $10.99 each. Of course AFTER we paid, we discovered that the quality and variety that we perceived from our salad bar experience did NOT extend to the rest of the offerings. I honestly felt like if Chucky Cheese opened a buffet, this would be it- cheap, processed food that wouldn't even appeal to most kids. I tried to reserve judgment until I tasted the egg drop soup- my favorite! It tasted like bland cabbage water. The surprising lack of meat (not even the bacon bits were real) was obviously not to appeal to healthy eaters, but a cost cutting measure. Mac and cheese and tiny muffins made from a boxed mix isn't part of any healthy meal I've ever had. In short, the salad and baked potato were edible, but if I had wanted that, I could have gone to Wendy's and would have only paid two dollars.
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That's an interesting observation about paying after you've passed the salads but before you see the rest of it. It seemed odd at the time, but I didn't really think about why they might have set it up that way. I am curious about how much repeat business they get.
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