One of our favorite Middle Eastern snacks is Baba Ganoush, a tahini and eggplant dish. This seasonal salad, available only this September at every sweetgreen, is our take on this classic side dish. We like to call it the Baby Ganoush!

The salad features mesclun, local roasted eggplant from Arnold Farms, tomatoes, feta, cucumbers, pita chips, red onion, lemon squeeze, and lemon hummus tahini dressing.

We’ve been getting psyched for the Baby Ganoush this past week by all sharing our favorite “Baby” music videos. Check out one of the best below, and upload your favorite to our facebook wall for a chance to win a free Baby Ganoush!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dirty Gold is an up and coming San Diego duo that personifies a mellow, sun-drenched day at the beach. With perfectly chosen lyrics and rolling melodies Dirty Gold is an instant mood lifter. They have just released their debut ep Roar, soak up their chill tunes below.

This past Sunday we closed all our stores, and gathered as a company behind out Dupont Circle location for a picnic to enjoy games, food, music, and come together as the sweetgreen family. Our employees, supervisors, and managers are what keep us strong as we continue to grow. We felt lucky to have the opportunity to gather as one group, reward those who have worked extra hard to pull us together, and meet our employees families.

Thank you to all our customers who made taking this time out our regular hours possible, and to Laura Rankin and her fabulous team for helping us organize a great event. The Big Cheese and Kabob Bites provided tasty treats for everyone.

More on the picnic will be shared tomorrow – for now, enjoy these photos!

Azeb takes a shot at Tim in the dunk tank!

Sean got drunked!

Melvin from Ballston and Manuel, GM at Logan Circle take some time to unwind

Jon, Nic, Christina, and Laura recognize employees who have worked extra hard at each store

Philadelphia sweetgreen represent!

sweet treats!

sunny skies after the rain!

You may have noticed a change in our stores over the past few weeks – our employees have been wearing new tee shirts, showcasing our vary own signature dressings. The idea for the shirts came from all the thought and time we’ve put into perfecting our dressing flavor profiles. We realized each dressing has a unique personality, so much so that they even evoke an individual color.

So, we took four of our most popular flavors, spicy carrot chili vinaigrette, curry pineapple yogurt, cucumber basil yogurt, and lime cilantro jalapeno, and gave each a signature tee shirt. We hope they brighten your lunch hour as much as they brighten ours.

101 Cookbooks is a food blog started by photographer and journalist Heidi Swanson, from San Francisco. Heidi is the author of two cookbooks, Super Natural Cooking and Super Natural Everyday . Her recipes focus on using natural, whole ingredients. They are all vegetarian, but many can be adapted to incorporate meat. She also has some great vegan recipes and gluten free desserts.

I love Heidi’s blog because it focused on beautiful photography, simple ingredients, and whole cooking.

Here are some of the recipes I have made over the years. While these are tried and trusted – I’d suggest taking a look at more of her recent posts. There are a lot of delicious looking side dishes that I think would be great to bring to a picnic or enjoy as a simple meal.

Enjoy

-McKee

My favorites:

Lemon Anise Slushies – Delicious with water, or a splash of liquor turns it into a refreshing cocktail

Green Soup with Ginger – Tangy and fresh – a great way to get all your greens in one bowl of soup

Porcini Mushroom Soup – I was intimidated by dehydrated mushrooms, but this soup showed me how easy they actually are to use

Buckwheat Cake – This cake is buttery and the flavor of the grain gives it a heavier taste. Great for winter.

Weeknight Carrot Soup – Heidi’s carrot soup takes literally 10 minutes to put together. Use lemon juice to cut down on the salt!

Nikki’s Healthy Cookies – Great way to use up left over bananas!

Amazing Black Bean Brownies – Most bizarre recipe I have ever made, but you can’t taste the beans at all. Vegan, gluten free, and protein packed!

Peanut Butter Cookies – Who needs an excuse to make peanut butter cookies?

Hummus with Green Goo – Hummus is simple to make and Heidi’s green goo gives it a twist.

Here’s a playlist featuring the producers involved in DRC music:

Yesterday, sweetgreen was announced the winner of Reston Patch’s Salad Rivals Contest! We are honored to be your “overwhelming favorite” salad spot, Reston, and we look forward to seeing you in our store soon.

Thanks to everyone who voted. A full list of the reviews can be found on our Reston Patch listing, HERE.

Its the hot August dog days of summer. Cool off with our Watermelon Punch mixtape, featuring refreshing remixes and spicy covers by some of our favorite warm weather artists. Download all twelve tracks here.

Today we’re excited to announce online ordering is available at more sweetgreen locations than ever.

Here is how it works: Visit our online ordering portal – create an account, choose a location and a time to pick up your order, then go ahead and select any of our signature salads, wraps, yogurt, and drinks. Prefer to make your own? You can customize any signature salads or wraps, or make your own, just like in store.

Pay online and head straight to the register to pick up your order in store.

Online ordering is now available at our Dupont, Bethesda, Capitol Hill, Ballston, Reston, UPenn, and Foggy Bottom locations!