Chop't

Chop't: a lunch place that prepares your food so quick, it doesn't even have time to write out “Chopped." This salad specialty place makes salads in almost 30 seconds (more like three minutes, but who's complaining?) and ushers people in and out the door in a New York – or DC – minute. (There are five locations in New York, too.) It's fitting considering the restaurant has about 10 locations between the two cities.

It's a perfect place for Washingtonians who are too busy to eat and probably finish the salads at their desks. The salads are crisp, fresh and made right before your eyes. Chop't is an assembly line for salad – place your order with one individual, the next grabs your ingredients and places it into a bowl, the next person then dumps out your ingredients. With what looks like a two-handled machete, he or she chops up the salad, tosses it together, dumps it back in the bowl, asks what dressing you'd like, then stirs the entire bowl together and then seals it off in a plastic bowl.

The menu list of ingredients from which to choose is expansive – name your lettuce, four free “choppings” which include beets, carrots, string beans, onions, pita chips, cheese and beans. Then choose a source of protein or a “premium chopping” such as angus steak, shrimp or grilled chicken.

You can also decide whether you'd prefer a half sandwich and half salad or an entire salad. To ease the overwhelming experience of selecting through all the options (and wondering if the combination will make or break the salad), Chop't has created its own suggestions for you as well. Sometimes this is a better way to go, particularly if you hate holding up lines with questions or corrections. To top it off, there are more than 30 dressings from which to select. There are also soups available to go with your lunch.

HelloWashingtonDC Tip: There's dining inside the friendly-looking spot, which could pass for a sophisticated pre-school. Most seem to buy & dash. If you like a particular dressing so much you wish you could bring it home with you, well, you can, for $4.99. There are four additional locations in Northwest D.C. and Northern Virginia in addition to the Dupont Circle location highlighted here.

- by Rin-rin Yu, Washington Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Rin-rin Yu

Rin-rin is an award-winning writer and journalist based in the Baltimore-Washington area. Her work has appeared in China Daily, DAYSPA magazine, Luxury Home Design, Aquatics International, Not For Tourists and other publications. Rin-rin has also worked for ABC News, WHDH-TV (NBC) in Boston and Hanley Wood Business Media. She has a master's degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She is an avid world traveler and maintains a travel blog, www.mytravelhats.com.