I never really knew much about Pret a Manger until very recently. I’d never really heard of it until Dallas told me there was one by his office that he’d sometimes go to. It was the only Pret a Manger in Chicago. Then…. then I saw that they were opening a second location on the street where I work. And one day I happened to walk past it at lunch time, so I gave it a try.
I was a little iffy because when you walk in, on one side there are just shelves of food. Premade food. Just sitting there. And on the other side was seating.
Usually if I can I will always ask a deli or restaurant to make something fresh for me, because I don’t like food that is just sitting there. You can’t do this at Pret a Manger. No custom orders. You just take what you want off the shelf.
Then you take it over to the registers to check out.
I took my order to go and went back to the office. I got the Chicken & Avocado Salad (Murray’s grilled chicken, avocado, cranberries, walnuts, tomato, baby leaf, Pret’s seasoning). Pret a Manger says “Our salads are freshly made using Earthbound Farm organic romaine lettuce and baby leaf blends (like a luxury cruise nothing ruins a salad more than running into a bunch of icebergs). The salad was tasty. I’d go back. I thought all of the ingredients were fresh tasting.. they must turn the product on those shelves over really fast.
Pret a Manger is based out of London and it’s name comes from the French “pret a manger,” meaning “ready to eat.” They use all natural ingredients and their food is made fresh the day of purchase in the location where it is sold. Food that is left unsold is given to charity. The company was founded in 1986 and 85% of their business is in London. They have been expanding rapidly in the past several years, though. They now have 10 stores in Hong Kong, 24 in New York, 3 in Washington, D.C., and 2 in Chicago.