I arrived for the soft opening of Lemonade in downtown Palo Alto thinking I was going to miss out on the excitement (seeing as though I was arriving at the tail end of the event). To my surprise, there was a line out the door!
Lemonade
151 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301
http://lemonadesf.com
I wasn’t sure what to expect since I had no background info on this trendy little place and all I can say is WOW. Can I admit that now I’ll be a regular? Or shall we read on?
Upon my arrival, I wandered around to take it all in and snap a few pictures and I truly felt invited. They made me feel comfortable, especially since I was wandering around with a decent sized camera in a packed environment.
After I made my rounds, I jumped in line to test out the food, I was greeted by one of the staff members with instructions and a breakdown of their menu. I was excited to see a fresh brand in a popular downtown district.
Lemonade offers a variety of options for wide range of taste buds.
To help understand what you’re getting yourself into: It’s a assembly line style place, which is great for people on the go and everything was so fresh! In the Marketplace section they off vegan, vegetarian and protein options.
They also offer 3 hand tossed to order salads. I had to check out this one for myself of course. I like to call it “Summer Time Salad Sampling for Research Purposes.” It’s a thing.
The little clusters of peanuts and sesame seeds are all I can think about since I left! The cilantro lime vinaigrette dressing was crisp and fresh. To make it perfect, there was no over dressing going on these leaves either! Just balanced, beautiful and delicious down to the last bite! This one was called the Tatsooi & Mizuna Lettuces with Carrots and Sesame Peanuts for future reference. (wink wink)
I’ll give you a little insider information: Their salads did not need additional salt and pepper (they’re seasoning those silky salad dressings perfectly). Salad snobs like myself will appreciate this monumental moment.
They also offer sandwiches and plenty of hot food options. To the point that it’s honestly worth a few visits to even taste half the menu!
The best way to describe my experience: Their menu is creative yet simplistic and equals flavor across every dish.
I asked the friendly staff to choose something fun for me and luckily she apparently knew me well because she went with the Avocado and Cherry Tomato in the Marketplace section. (Two of my favorite things combined). The texture was creamy, but not too rich and really kept the cherry tomatoes as the star of the dish!
For my second tasting she chose Thai Chicken & Green Beans. It’s a cold dish and blasted with flavor. The red chilies brought a warm heat without over powering the the protein. The chicken was perfectly cooked and the green beans made a perfect pair for the chicken.
Did I mention they have more than one option of Lemonade? I was so overwhelmed with all the exciting options that by the time I got to choose my lemonade, I had to ask the friendly staff to choose for me (thank you for that!).
For the record, blood orange is my new favorite thing.
(Clearly I’m loving it!)
Via @victoriamelshaw Snapchat
There’s also outdoor seating and they recycle and care about the environment!
So, if you live in the area or happen to be in Palo Alto, find yourself a parking spot and check it out! It’s an incredible place and I can see why they are growing as a company! Happy to have you nearby!
I’ll be back soon Lemonade! ~Victoria
