Blackberry Market surprises suburbs with healthy, affordable options

Array+of+salads+and+sandwiches+Blackberry+Markey+%28Kulat%2FLION%29.

Array of salads and sandwiches Blackberry Markey (Kulat/LION).

Grace Kulat, Co-Art Director

Recently, health conscious food options are becoming increasingly more important to people. Restaurants are switching over to or using better non-processed ingredients. With the slogan “eat better, feel better,” Blackberry Market on 36 South LaGrange Road is doing just that.

 When you walk in you are immediately greeted by the inviting but simplistic design. There are many tables to choose from both inside and outside. When I visited the LaGrange location on a Monday afternoon the restaurant was completely empty, so there was no line to wait in. It took me about 10 minutes to decide on what to order because everything on the menu sounded delicious. I was in awe of how many allergy friendly options that they had available.

 A friend and I decided to order half sandwiches with half salads. I ordered the chicken avocado club with the Blackberry Market salad and the caprese panini with kale Caesar salad, both of the “pick two” items were $9. We also ordered a cold brew coffee which was $3.75 and a matcha tea with soy milk that cost $4. All of the items on the menu were well priced and completely reasonable for high schoolers. After we ordered we sat down and began doing homework in one of the booths. The seating was spacious enough for us, our books and our backpacks.

 Our drinks came quickly after we ordered. The coffee was tangy and slightly bitter but the matcha was exceptionally smooth. My friend, an avid matcha drinker, said that it was some of the best matcha she had ever had. Soon after we received our drinks our meals came and looked fabulous.

The salads were portioned larger than I expected which was a nice surprise. I started off by trying the caprese panini, which had a perfect amount of savory flavor. The sandwich along with the crunch of toasted bread was delicious.

Next I tried the chicken avocado club that was enjoyable but did not exceed my expectations. I have high expectations for anything with aioli on it and this sandwich did not meet them. However I did love the sourdough bread. The kale Caesar salad was a great basic salad.

 My favorite item was the Blackberry Market salad, that tasted amazing, the marinating of blackberries, candied pecans and goat cheese was exceptional. I would highly recommend this salad to anyone.

Overall my experience at Blackberry Market was enjoyable. I would most definitely return to try the breakfast menu which I have heard great things about. The hours at the LaGrange location are 7a.m. to 7p.m. Monday-Friday and 7a.m. to 5p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

3.5/5 paws