Guess what? You’re reading SnapHappy Foodie’s first Sponsored Post. Now what does that mean? I received a VIP Taste Pass from Palmwich to test-drive their food. In the spirit of transparency, you can read the disclaimer below.
Disclaimer: I received free meal vouchers from Palmwich in exchange for writing a review on this blog. All opinions in this blog post are my own and my husband’s.
Hubby and I drove down to Darien yesterday, a work day, around lunch time to see how service at Palmwich would be. It’s pretty accessible because it’s close to I-95 and Route 1. If you’re coming from Norwalk, it is past Costco, Chipotle and Sunoco. This is how it looks out from the outside.
Cute huh! Before ordering, I took pictures of their menu board, which you can find below.
Their menu offers the option of ordering a “Palmwich Pair”, similar to Panera’s “You Pick Two”. You can choose between a Palmwich Pocket or Chopped Salad with either a Savory Side or Sippable Soup. I pored over their menu the night before, so I knew what to order when we went there.
We ordered two pairs – Sonoma Chicken with Chickpea (Palmwich Pocket with Savory Side) AND Asian Salad with Tomato Basil Soup (Sippable Soup with Chopped Salad). I wanted to try their Apple Grape Green Tea, but I learned that it was no longer in the menu. Too bad. I ordered their Raspberry Agave Lemonade, while hubby had Iced Coffee. For the energy bars, we ordered Banana Walnut and Cranberry Almond.
There was a car behind us, but none ahead of us. The wait at the drive-up window took about two minutes.
Here’s the take-out bag and our two drinks. On the left is the Raspberry Agave Lemonade; on the right, Iced Coffee. The lemonade was pretty refreshing. The coffee had no sugar. Hubby told them to put half and half, but forgot to mention sugar. I hope they add it upon request!
Here’s a look inside the take-out bag. Clockwise from right: Sonoma Chicken Palmwich Pocket, Asian Salad, the energy bars, Chickpea side and the Tomato Basil soup.
Here’s the food outside of the bag.
One of two Palmwich Pairs.
The Chickpea side had fresh ingredients like sesame seeds, tomato, cucumber and red onion. It was a very refreshing side.
The Asian Salad had very easy-to-identify ingredients like cabbage, green beans, peanuts, red onions and carrots. The salad cup was full to the brim (yes, it was a cup with cover). Sadly, I wanted more dressing than what I got. Maybe the dressing trickled down to the bottom. Midway, I popped the lid back to shake and distribute the dressing, which helped. How about an instruction to shake the cup before eating? OR maybe the dressing can be in a separate container on the side. Oh, and great if they can indicate in the menu that it has nuts for those with allergies.
The Sonoma Chicken was a pocket sandwich, so you can eat neatly. It was stuffed inside with chicken, grapes, walnuts, bleu cheese, bacon and lettuce. Delicious. There was no skimping on the chicken, yet the sandwich wasn’t oily or greasy. No mess. Points again.
As for the energy bars, one had a label; one didn’t. It didn’t taste like cardboard, so that’s good!
I didn’t get to take a picture of the Tomato Basil Soup. It came in what they call a “Sippable Cup”. It’s like a simple coffee cup with a cover. Hubby pointed out that the soup was just the right temperature for sipping. If it was hotter, then we couldn’t sip it off the cup, could we? It wasn’t too creamy, but it was thick. Did we like the soup? Yes, plus I give them bonus points for the cup. It’s an excellent idea for people on the go because you don’t need a spoon to eat it. How eco-friendly!
I also give points to their packaging. It seems like they’re making an effort to package their food as minimally as possible.
The Palmwich team knew that a blogger was coming over yesterday. However, I didn’t introduce myself beforehand. We ordered our food, took pictures of the menu board, then drove up the window. I revealed that I was the blogger they were expecting at the pick-up window where we met Rey, the manager. Maybe I acted like a mystery shopper, but I did reveal who I was…eventually. Rey mentioned that Palmwich is just for drive-thru and take-out. I asked him about the parking at the back. He said right now, it is for employees only. Maybe it’ll change in the future. We’ll see.
Verdict: Free vouchers aside, we’d go back to Palmwich because their food is really fresh, healthy and everything that’s good for you. You can see it, smell it and taste it. They are true to their tagline “Real Food Fast”. Hubby and I were discussing its potential to be Panera’s competition. Hubby said it’s good to have another healthy option in the area. Now he’s planning to bring his office mates to eat there soon. As for me, I’m trying their Pizza Primavera Palmwich Pocket next time.
Address:
Palmwich
205 Post Road Darien, CT
Good to know there’s a new lunch option in the Darien area.