Green Bean Restaurant and a $50 Giveaway

Giveaway contest ended
Tuesday, May 8 at 3 pm CST.

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St. Louis Yummy fans, have you been hearing the buzz about a new restaurant in the Central West End called Green Bean? King-Man and I recently enjoyed a delicious meal there, and I'm here to tell you all about it and give you the opportunity to enter a Giveaway for a $50 gift certificate to dine there, too. 

Green Bean was selected by General Mills as a stop on their roadtrip to find the best healthy restaurants in America. You can read more about GM's Eat Better America effort here. GM offered me a free meal at Green Bean, and in the process I discovered a great new restaurant.

Green Bean was started less than a year ago by Nick and Sarah who are both under the age of 23. Seriously. That alone kind of blows my mind. Their vision was to have a healthy, eco-friendly alternative to fast food that uses seasonal, fresh produce from local farms as much as possible.

Here is a short video from the GM Roadtrip where you can get to know Nick and Sarah and see their Green Bean Restaurant for yourself.

For more information and directions to Green Bean, visit their website: GreenBeanSalads.com

Green Bean is a no-frills, quick-stop restaurant with a simple, fresh, delicious menu. First thing, you have to choose between either a salad or a wrap. That should be simple enough. I went with a salad and King-Man chose a wrap. Next was the hard part, because I was hungry and everything looked good to me. You can either order one of their suggested combos, or they will customize a salad or wrap with any combo you like. As you can see, there are many possibilities.

I decided on a Cobb Out Salad and watched as they quickly assembled my salad, made to order, from a huge line-up of fresh ingredients. They offered fast, friendly service. I appreciated that they asked if I wanted a light, medium, or heavy amount of dressing; so many restaurants over-dress their salads. I chose light on the dressing, King-Man got his dressing on the side. 

They served Perennial Blonde beer on tap; it's a local, St. Louis micro-brew that was new to us. We both ordered one. Cold and refreshing.

My Cobb Out Salad had romaine, watercress, cherry tomatoes, avocado, blue cheese, hazelnuts, egg, and grilled chicken tossed with a mustard vinaigrette.  They don't skimp on the ingredients. It was loaded with enough hazelnuts to enjoy a crunch with every bite. It was a fantastic combination of flavors, and a complete, healthy balanced meal in a bowl. Totally yummy! The serving size was generous; in fact, I couldn't finish mine. Next time, I may have them toss just half of it with dressing and take the other half home to dress and eat for another meal.

The cold beer was a perfect complement to the salad. Don't be alarmed by the plastic cup; it's made from 100% renewable resources and is compostable. Green Bean is green in more ways than one!

King-Man chose the same ingredients I had, but in a wrap. He loved it. In fact, he suggested we pick these up to take home for dinner on nights when there's no time or inclination to cook. What a concept. Fast, delicious, healthy food that we don't have to feel guilty about eating. 

In keeping with their eco-friendly approach, Green Bean makes it easy to divide trash on your way out. Group hug with Mother Earth.

Thanks to General Mills and Green Bean for treating King-Man and me to a great meal and for providing a $50 gift certificate for a lucky Yummy reader.

Giveaway Details:

If you live in the St. Louis area or will be traveling through in the future and are at least 18 years old, don't miss this opportunity to win a $50 gift certificate to Green Bean.

• To enter, simply leave a comment below and answer this question:

Do you prefer a salad or a wrap?

• For more entries, share this Giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ or Pinterest (or in some other creative way that you think of), and come back here and leave a separate comment for each time you shared.
• Entry deadline:   3 pm CST, Tuesday, May 8.   GIVEAWAY CONTEST ENDED
• A winner will be chosen via a random number generator. I will contact the winner directly via email and announce it on Facebook. Winner must respond within 48 hours, or another winner will be selected. 

Make it a Yummy day!
Monica