723 Pearl Street | www.ordermarys.com | 858-703-0808
by Robby Robinson
January 1, 2018 – New Year’s Resolution? Eat Healthy.
January 1, 2019 – New Year’s Resolution? Eat Healthy.
January 1, 2020 – New Year’s Resolution? Eat Healthy.
Foiled again? Three ( or maybe 13) straight years and you still can’t get your #1 New Year’s Resolution right? Right? We can help you! Mary’s Gourmet Salads has your back – and your stomach. This new-in-town one-stop shop is all about health. Here’s what you’ll find at Mary’s – healthy salads that make reaching your resolutions easy and yummy! They provide tasty and fresh salads, delicious goodies, and an endless place for creativity and a diverse salad selection. Mary’s has a selection of nine scrumptious salads and, the tenth salad ———— is all yours to design and create. You name it-they’ll make it!
Look at this variety – Super Food (includes roasted sweet potatoes), Kale Caesar (includes baked pita chips), Capri (includes artichoke hearts), Chinese Chop (includes mandarin oranges), Summer Breeze (includes fresh mint), Santa Fe (includes roasted corn), East Coast (includes deli turkey and roasted chicken breast), and Harvest Cobb (includes candied pecans). And, as if that weren’t special enough, every dressing is made in-house with simple and natural ingredients. The most abundant ingredient in salads is lettuce.
Let us discuss lettuce. Are there many species of lettuce? YES! And here goes: Arugula, Summer Crisp, Belgian Endive, Butter Lettuce, Chrysanthemum Greens, Dandelion Greens, Frisée, Little Gems Lettuce, Lamb’s Lettuce, Escarole, Romaine, Asparagus Lettuce, Iceberg, Mesclun, Mizuna, Oak Leaf, Bibb, Kale, and Radicchio. I thought there were only about 3 or 4 types – silly me.
Fabulous news – one cup of shredded lettuce equals 5 calories.
Here are a few lettuce facts:
- Lettuce is the second most popular fresh veggie in the U.S. Potato beats Mr. Lettuce.
- The average American eats about 30 pounds of lettuce a year.
- About 70% of the lettuce grown in the U.S. comes from California – yay for Cali!
- 75% of all lettuce grown in the U.S. is iceberg.
- Because lettuce is about 95% water, it has to be eaten fresh and cannot be frozen, dried or canned.
- Christopher Columbus was the person who actually introduced lettuce to America during his second voyage to the New World in 1494.
Michael Azakie opened Mary’s Gourmet Salads recently at 723 Pearl Street (next to Cafe Milano). He saw the void in the quick and healthy food scene in San Diego. Thus, the concept of Mary’s Gourmet Salads (named for Michael’s mother) was formed. Together, with his right hand, Ivy Cormier, the two young (Ivy is a 23-year-old college student and Michael is a 28-year-old real estate attorney) and ambitious entrepreneurs took the leap, signed a lease and hung up the sign.
“We make everything fresh and from our hearts here in the shop”, says Ivy. “We are the customers”, she concludes. They both adore the location they selected and are extremely fond of their customers. “Our customers have become our friends. They are so loyal to us and we are so grateful to them. One customer, a skilled carpenter organized and helped with our entire renovation”, continued Cormier.
Future plans? Oh, yes! The pair is looking to partner up with small and local farms to avoid purchasing products from large companies. These two are socially conscious.
Mary’s Gourmet Salads will keep you healthy and happy – and full!
Would you like your La Jolla Village business featured in this column? E-mail [email protected]
