Sweet Tomatoes isn't saucy enough for singles

By Jenn Wohletz Thu., Sep. 6 2012 at 8:06 AM

J. Wohletz

Sweet Tomatoes--the Aurora location.

Have you ever stepped into a restaurant and seen immediately that it's meant for families rather than single people? Walking into Sweet Tomatoes, I felt like I was entering a large daycare center with a baked potato bar. Now I know how people with children in tow feel at a hipster joint or a cocktail party.

J. Wohletz

Big salad bar--small selections.

The doors of the Sweet Tomatoes restaurant at 14015 East Evans Avenue in Aurora open up to a hefty, oval wooden salad bar where customers get salads first -- and pay at the end of the bar. That's a clever business decision, since if folks are going to do a hog & jog they'd only get away with a few tongs of lettuce.

I grabbed a war-torn plastic tray and studiously examined the bowls of chopped iceberg (ew), rather rusty-tipped Romaine and wilty, pre-prepped Asiago Caesar salad. The chilly bin of mixed baby greens and spinach looked fresh and hydrated, and the long bar of salad vegetables and fixin's was clean and organized, but the choices were typical, no-frills choices like slabs of pickled beets, cuts of celery, garbanzo beans in their cloudy broth, clumpy shredded cheese, cold peas, mushy tomato wedges, dry button mushroom slices and two containers of pickles.

I decided to be a risk-taker and scoop myself two of the featured pasta salads: Mandarin shells with almonds and tuna tarragon. They did not look promising, but I'm a game-day player.

I stacked my salad plate with greens, cheese, red onion slivers, sliced black olives and daubed the whole masterpiece with blue cheese crumbles and then slathered it with blue cheese dressing for that double-blue-cheese effect. Besides, salad bar dressing is usually bereft of chunks.

Location Info

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Sweet Tomatoes

14015 E. Evans Ave., Aurora, CO

Category: Restaurant

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baked potato, buffet, children, chili, cornbread, salad, salad bar, Sweet Tomatoes, Whole Foods

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WantingRealReviews

NO ONE WHO READS THIS BLOG CARES ABOUT FAST FOOD CHAINS!!!

I am sure I am not the only reader who waits with baited breath to read about Jenn's experience with Ronalds special sauces.

She can write, let her do cheap eats reviews, things the readers care about.

Anon

Come off it, Sweet Tomatoes does not bill itself as anything more than a convenient and mostly healthy restaurant. Yes, it's full of children, but so what? People are up and out of their seats constantly at a buffet, and that includes children. I have never been to the Sweet Tomatoes in Aurora, but I've been to the Littleton outpost at Wadsworth and Bowles many times. The salad bar is always fresh, with attendants constantly refreshing the selections. Ok, the pasta salads are dull, but who wants pasta salad from a salad bar anyway? If you're so desperate for attention that you've turned to trolling at Sweet Tomatoes, then there are more problems in your life limp lettuce. For the majority of us, Sweet Tomatoes is convenient, fast and gives you better selections than many other fast casual restaurants.

jenna-furrr topcommenter

@Anon I agree--limp lettuce is only one of the many, many problems I face in my life. And it's not so much that I must have the pasta salad from a salad bar, as much as it is about wanting better pasta salad than I can make at home, since money has exchanged hands.

NoPolitics

Oh look! Jenn's back from last night's joy ride around the Cafe Societies' Twitter feed. Here's a tip: people read this blog/follow its Twitter for information about the metro area food/bar business - NOT YOUR POLITICS! We don't give a sh*t about your snowballing Obama or even felching the Romneys. There's a reason you've been relegated to only writing about fast food. Leave the politics to the adults and leave it off here.