A shrimp salad at OG Greens in Sioux Falls. (Photo: Secret Fork)
We went looking for hotdogs and found salad. While reflecting on our great experience with the banh mi dog at Fernson’s downtown tap room, and in anticipation of the Nathan’s hot dog eating competition, I thought I might give hot dogs another chance and see if we could run around town to sample a bunch of them.
Well, besides the obvious places to get hot dogs — B&G Milkyway or DQ — we got stumped. That led to a Google search, which led to Yelp, which mentioned a new place called OG Greens. Yada, yada, yada, we went for salad.
OG Greens is located in the Jones 421 Building. I am always a little amazed when I visit that location. If you haven’t been there lately, it is becoming quite the food hall. I suppose it is sort of a hipster version of a mall food court. Instead of Karmelkorn, Cinnabon and Orange Julius, you can get Cajun food, cold brewed coffee, craft beer, boozy baked goods, wood-fired pizza, gelato and salad. Not a bad place to visit for lunch, or before a show at the Levitt.
A decidedly lighter option, OG Greens specializes in salad/grain bowls. Start with a bed of greens, add a scoop of cooked grains like brown rice, quinoa or farro; and then add other vegetables, beans and a protein like steak, salmon or tofu. OG Greens offers six signature bowls, or you can create your own, customizing as you see fit from the greens, grains, proteins and garnishes.
We tried the steak spicy sioux and the make-your-own option. The steak bowl featured greens dressed with the suggested soy-ginger dressing, brown rice, black beans, corn, tomatoes, asparagus and avocado. The make-your-own featured greens with balsamic dressing on the side, no grain, sautéed shrimp, mushrooms, asparagus and pea pods. The greens were nice and fresh, although I noticed some wilting may occur under the grains and warm protein options. The shrimp were cooked to order and the steak was nicely warmed, but still done to medium. The vegetables were all crisp and tasty. And, I have to say, the composition and presentation was really pretty good. The only thing I found a bit odd was that the brown rice was obviously cooked with some coconut milk or water because it had that tropical twist to it. I’m not sure about that.
If you visit OG Greens, you’ll want to know a couple things. First off, this isn’t necessarily a cheap dining option. If you go with a signature bowl or reasonably restrain yourself with a build-your-own option, plan on forking over about $15. In the grander scheme of things, that’s not outlandish by any means. But if you’re one of those old-school Midwestern types who are hard wired to believe salad=cheap, that’s not really the case. Besides, this is a lot more than a mere salad.
Second, the set up at OG Greens is a bit awkward, if not totally counter-intuitive. Some of the spaces at the Jones 421 are set up more like stalls. That’s one thing if you are offering cupcakes, but for an interactive ordering experience somewhat akin to what you encounter at sandwich or burrito joints, it might be a little short of ideal. To place your order at OG Greens, you have to walk down the north side of the room, past people in the process of getting finishing touches on their selections to start the ordering process. The experience ends back at the main hallway where you pay your tab. This isn’t a huge deal if: (a) you understand that’s what you are supposed to do; (b) it’s not crazy busy; or, (c) no one is in line with a kid in a baby stroller the size of a Smart car. Bring a dose of patience along with your appetite.