Salad spot, Mixt Greens, coming to downtown L.A.

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The popular San Francisco lunch spot Mixt Greens is coming to Los Angeles -- downtown next Wednesday, with plans for a restaurant near LACMA and one in Malibu later this year.

Mixt Greens staff prepare salads and sandwiches in front of each customer, using local, seasonal and organic ingredients when possible. It’s a menu that reflects the owners’ philosophy about sustainability.

Diners can feel good about their meals, knowing “our food is healthy, local and our restaurant sustainably built and operated eco-responsibly,” said Andrew Swallow, the executive chef. He owns the company with his sister, Leslie Silverglide and her husband, David.

“Sustainability is a key principle of our business, and it permeates every aspect of our company and restaurant operations,” Leslie Silverglide said in the release about the opening at 2 California Plaza.

Mixt Greens, which calls itself an eco-gourmet restaurant, says it uses non-toxic green cleaning products, compostable takeout containers, and has a comprehensive compost and recycling program. And the location in the Screen Actors Guild building near the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, opening in the spring, will have an “edible wall,” or vertical garden, growing salad greens, herbs and vegetables to be used in the restaurants.

The salad bar’s next generation, custom salad restaurants, such as Tender Greens in Culver City and elsewhere, have proved popular, allowing even the pickiest of eaters to have their meals the way they want them.

The Mixt Greens menu includes the “Orchard” salad with butter lettuce, Asian pear, apple, blue cheese, fennel, candied walnuts, pomegranate seeds and Champagne vinaigrette. “The Cowboy” has herb-marinated grilled chicken, along with romaine hearts, roasted red peppers, black beans, sharp cheddar, red onion and Point Reyes blue cheese dressing with a chipotle honey drizzle. The menu also has sandwiches.

The downtown location will be open weekdays from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Prices range from $7.95 to $11.95 for salads and $6.95 for sandwiches with a side salad.

Swallow has cooked at New York City’s Gramercy Tavern and at the Ajax Tavern in Aspen, Colo. His book, “Mixt Salads,” is due out in the spring.

-- Mary MacVean